Norma Lesperance Receives Lois Land Award of Achievement

Sioux Hudson Literacy Council (SHLC) and Good Learning Anywhere (GLA) are proud to announce the 2011 recipient of the Lois Land Award of Achievement.  Congratulations Norma Lesperance of Nipigon, Ontario!

When we are working at a distance with our learners, many outsiders have a hard time understanding what we do at Good Learning Anywhere.  How are we helping learners achieve their goals?  And truthfully, we sometimes wonder what sorts of impacts we are having on learners too.  The results are not always quantifiable and recorded in statistics.  It’s part of the challenge when working at a distance.

However, I would like to introduce you to Norma.   I got to know Norma over a period of almost 4 months.  Norma is a tremendously hard worker.  Norma clearly had her goals in sight and worked very hard at figuring out what she needed to do to reach her goal.  We commend Norma on her focus and we know that Norma will continue to apply what she learned from the Good Learning Anywhere and ENABLE programs.   Here is a short video about the ENABLE program that was produced by Thunderstone Pictures.

When I told Norma that we selected her for this award, she was very excited.  I asked if we could share her success story by means of answering a few questions.  She declined that and decided she would like to reply in a paragraph format.  This is her journey.

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 I first heard about this program through an “ENABLE” project that was offered to a handful of adult learners at Lake Helen Reserve. The on-line course was one part of many that we were required to participate in. As an adult learner these on-line courses made me less afraid of the computer. By this I mean, that I took a college course on-line a few years ago and I can honestly say that I was not prepared to do certain tasks with the computer. I didn’t understand networks, modems, e-mails, attachments; nothing. But now thanks to these courses and the jobs that followed; I am more confident in my computer skills.

When I was in high school the first time around, (in the late seventies, early eighties) I was a shy, gawky teenager, you wouldn’t catch me reading out loud, public speaking, or even standing up in front of a room full of my classmates. The computer had given me the ability to “speak up,” to “express my opinion,” to “participate,” without the fear of being laughed at, ridiculed, or rejected.

 Like I’ve stated before, I’ve become more confident in my computer skills and this meant more job opportunities were becoming available to me. Since I have graduated in October of last year, I have gained employment as a relief secretary, an after-school tutor, then onto the Band Manager’s Assistant for the Red Rock Indian Band. I’m very proud of all my accomplishments and I plan to celebrate my achievements at our Annual Graduation Dinner on June 20^th.

The only advice I can offer others is, “Just do it!”

 If I had one word or sentence to describe my experience with GLA/ENABLE, it would have to say: “AWESOME, TOTALLY AWESOME!”

Norma

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Norma earned her Grade 12 diploma with the help of the ENABLE and Good Learning Anywhere programs.  As a matter of fact, she is having a graduation celebration today at Lake Helen Reserve 53A.  She is also going to take the skills that made her successful and continue to apply them throughout her lifelong learning journey.  Norma has told us that she wants to continue her learning and eventually become a school teacher.

Norma…we can’t wait for that day and who knows, maybe you’ll be teaching online too!

On behalf of Sioux Hudson Literacy Council (SHLC) and Good Learning Anywhere (GLA), we congratulate Norma on her achievements and sincerely hope all her dreams come true.

To learn more about the ENABLE program with Anishinabek Employment and Training Services, please visit their website: www.aets.org.  To learn more about SHLC and GLA, please visit us at www.siouxhudsonliteracy.com or call us at 866-550-0697.

Improving Skills and the Internet: Reading Text

Hands up if you like to read!

Did you know World Literacy Canada estimates that 22% of Canadians struggle to read road signs, prescription bottles and can’t fill out application forms?

And did you know that reading text is one of the 9 Essential Skills identified by the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills?

ABC Life Literacy even calls reading a muscle, and like all muscles, if you don’t use it, you lose it.

So, what do you do if you want to improve your reading, but you don’t really know where to begin.

Well, as my colleagues already know, I’m a strong believer in the power of the Internet and what it can give back to the user, and I think that the Internet can be a powerful tool to improve your reading skills.

So, let’s explore some ways that you can use the Internet to improve your reading.

1. Use TTS technology.

TTS, or text to sound is a wonderful tool that you can use for free. It does exactly what it says it does, it takes a paragraph and reads it back to you. So, if you want to catch up on the news, find out who Drew Hayden is, or discover the world of micro-organisms, you can use a TTS program to read along with the text. What a great way to improve your reading skills. Here’s a good program to use. Natural Reader will read back any text that you paste into the reader box.

2. Use a dictionary.

Did you know that Google is like a dictionary?  Try it out. Type in the word matriculate in your search box. The definition will pop up right away! So when you are reading and you come upon a word that you’re not quite sure of, use Google.

3. Follow the links.

Those blue and underlined words that you find on a web page aren’t just for decoration. If you click on them, you’ll be taken to a whole new world. My favorite way to learn about things is to go to Wikipedia. Go ahead, click on the blue word. Then, type in a famous person or event that you want to learn more about. If you’re not comfortable, use your TTS to read the words while you follow along.

4. Take a Reading Class.

We offer reading and English courses that help you with your reading skills. By signing up with us, you can take any of our courses for FREE. You can even call us at 866-550-0697 (free call) to talk to someone about your learning goals, or visit our website to see our course calendar for times and dates.

5. Read Your Favourite Song.

That’s right, read it.  Websites like songlyrics.com and elyrics.com hold tons of lyrics to popular music. Reading the words to your favorite songs will improve your reading ability AND you’ll finally get the words right!!

6. Play games.

Playing word games is a fun way to improve your reading skills. Check out websites like wordgames.com and Faceboook.  Yes, Facebook.  The social media platform has many word games to improve your reading skills.  Check out this article on the top 5 word games on Facebook.

7. Read what you love.

I believe that the things that we are good at are the things that we love. So, when you’re improving your reading skills, don’t read something you’re not crazy about. Read stuff that you are passionate about. Once you are more comfortable and are ready for more, explore: there is a whole world out there waiting for you.

So, what do you think?

Will some of these jump-start your reading journey? Do you have other ideas about using technology to improve reading?

Use the comment section below to leave your thoughts.

Lillian Ruttan – Learner of the Month November

“I jumped in full-force.”

That is how Lillian summarized the beginnings of her journey.

 

I think that pretty much sums up who Lillian Ruttan is when she’s in an online class. Full-force, full-energy, full of life.

And that is one of the reasons why she is Learner of the Month for November 2010.

To call Lillian an ambassador for Good Learning Anywhere is fitting for a few reasons:

1. Lillian is always “there”: she’s always participating, always ready to learn.
2. Lillian is a facilitator: she will troubleshoot with learners and help instructors, in and outside of class.
3. Lillian spreads the word: from Lillian’s enthusiasm and community spirit, we’ve gained more than a few new learners from her neck of the woods and across Ontario.

Just this past fall, I met Lillian when I visited the lovely ladies of the Adult Learning Line in Kenora.  Before meeting her, I felt I already knew her, as she had attended more than a few of my classes: I knew her as a warm, gentle and kind person, a woman who is strong in her faith and who is enthusiastic about learning.  And, that is exactly who she is.  But as it is with most online interactions, what I thought I knew about Lillian was only the tip of the iceberg.

What really shone through for me was Lillian’s sense of humour and her passion for helping others.  As I was busy attempting to set up the iMac to take some group photos, I overheard Lillian telling other learners how our online sessions are all recorded and was showing them how to access the classes within a Centra account.

 

Lillian’s journey to Good Learning Anywhere began over a year ago.  I had the joy of instructing Lillian in her first class, Introduction to Online Learning.  From that day on, Lillian discovered a passion for computers.  In fact, working with computers, understanding how they work, and learning how to fix them is part of Lillian’s goal for the future.  Computer know-how is an important skill to have today, and with the skills she’s gained in the online classroom, Lillian is well on her way.

Lillian’s success boils down to a few things in her life: the Adult Learning Line and Good Learning Anywhere.  She said she was introduced to upgrading and learning by Lynn Kowal, one of the wonderful practitioners of the Adult Learning Line.  It was Lynn who inspired her to take that big leap to becoming an adult learner.  And though Lillian had made the step towards improving her skills twice before, she told me it was the Adult Learning Line and the availability of the Good Learning Anywhere program that really “made it stick”.

 

So Lillian, I thank you for your spirit, your generosity, your committment to learning, and for “jumping in full-force”.

 

It is a pleasure and honour to know you and name you Learner of the Month for November!

Learner of the Year – Krystle S.

Being an adult learner is not a simple thing: when you make that decision to upgrade your skills,  life doesn’t stop, and it certainly doesn’t take it easy on you either.  There will always be bills to pay, children to feed, family members to deal with and countless other things that get piled on top of the  stress of going back to school.  

Knowing the day-to-day challenges faced by many of our learners, we wanted to recognize and celebrate their achievements.

We thought long and hard about what qualifies a learner for distinction.  Is it perfect attendance?  Regular participation?  Excellent marks?  What distinguishes a learner from the rest?

While those things are wonderful achievements, and things that we also recognize, we realized that we were looking for something else when searching for “Learner of the Year”.

Krystle S., a twenty something learner from Southern Ontario embodies what it means to be Good Learning Anywhere’s “2009-10 Learner of the Year”.  

Krystle is a woman who has persevered, who has stood up to challenges, who has supported her peers and led by example.  She has taken the skills and teachings of our courses and has forged her own path to success and continual learning.

What better role model can there be?

As GLA’s 2009-2010 Learner of The Year, a surprise package was sent to Krystle in recognition of her achievement.

Here’s what Krystle had to say:

“I got the package the other day that you mentioned would be arriving. You can’t imagine how surprised and thrilled I was to see that I had won an ipod nano and got a certificate too! I was stunned and speechless at first and then really happy!”

“My experiences in SHLC classes have really convinced me that I can do Centra classes and meeting you has helped me realize that there are programs for adults out there and options for us to finish our education. So I really owe both you and SHLC a lot. Please relay my thanks to everyone. I really appreciate the certificate and ipod nano, its a great reminder for me to keep with it. Taking these classes has actually inspired me to go back to school and work on my OSSD.”

“It’s also inspired my dog Tyson to continue with his puppy classes after graduating and starts his next grade level this month! Thanks again, Krystle and Tyson”

Krystle, Tyson, well done!

Good Learning Anywhere hits the books, online

How good does it feel to be acknowledged?

It doesn’t matter if it’s an official award or even a tagged-on “way to go” in an email.  It feels darn good.

Good Learning Anywhere was acknowledged in a very big way this week by The Sioux Bulletin.

Read the full article below:

Good Learning Anywhere Hits the Books, Online

Thank you Shayla from The Sioux Bulletin.  Job well done!

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