The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center

For Administrators Learn new program adminstration techniques for outreach and communication. Gain exposure to free wikis, blogs, and and audio/visual materials.

You may register online at the VALRC calendar (http://www.calendar.valrc.org). Click on the workshop's heading and complete the online form. Directions will be sent upon registration.

Grant Writing Workshops

The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center is conducting a series of workshops designed to help you strengthen your grant writing skills. Whether you're a veteran grant writer or a novice, these workshops will help you to identify what grantees look for in a well-developed grant and hone your writing skills.

Needs Statement
New River Valley - April 3, 2008 - 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Capacity and Design
Hampton Adult Education - March 20, 2008 - 9:00 am - 3:00 pm (lunch provided)
New River Valley - April 4, 2008 - 9:00 am - 3:00 pm (lunch provided)
Evaluation and Budgeting
Henrico County Adult Education - April 1, 2008 - 9:00 am - 12:00 noon & 1:00 - 4:00 pm (two sessions of the same workshop)
Rocky Mount - April 15, 2008 - 1:00 - 4:00 pm

You may register online at the VALRC calendar (http://www.calendar.valrc.org). Click on the workshop's heading and complete the online form. Priority will be given to Adult Education practitioners in adult education programs affiliated with public schools and community based literacy organizations who receive Department of Education funding.

Program Planning for Content Standards Implementation Workshops

Are you a program manager wondering how you are going to address the implementation of content standards to fit the needs of your program?

The workshop, Program Planning for Content Standards Implementation, is designed to help you develop strategies for aligning content standards (both GED and ESOL) with curriculum, instruction, and assessment at the program level. Emphasis will be placed on program planning, including staffing, professional development, and budgeting.

Program managers/administrators along with 1 or 2 lead teachers or coordinators from each program are invited to attend. Lunch is included.

Schedule of workshops:

Richmond, April 11, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Prince William County, April 15, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Newport News, April 18, 12:00 - 4:30 pm
Wytheville, April 22, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
Fishersville, April 25, 10:00 am - 2:30 pm

To register, click on the "Calendar" tab above, click the day of the workshop you wish to attend, and complete the online registration form. Confirmations and directions will be sent out by email.

See you there!

GED/ESOL Public Service Announcements on TV

The Henrico County Adult Education Center has just launched two public service announcements promoting adult education for GED and ESOL students. The videos have been uploaded to YouTube and can be accessed by search on the general site or the Virginia government channel of YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=Virginiagovernment .

Henrico County Adult Education has done a great job in producing the segments which will run on NBC, Channel 12, in Central Virginia.

Check them out!

GED Connection and eLearn Va Workshop in Winchester

Northern Shenandoah Valley Adult Education
156 Dowell J. Circle
Winchester, VA 22602

Date: January 26, 2008
Time: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Registration Deadline: January 23, 2008

Audience: GED teachers and tutors

GED Connection is a multimedia instructional program that combines workbooks, videos, and online activities. The online management system allows teachers to monitor student progress with online activities, and the Teacher's Guide makes planning a cinch. In this workshop, participants will explore the use of all components in creating GED lessons in classroom and distance learning environments.

Using GED Connection and a number of other programs, eLearn Va delivers GED, pre-GED, and workplace instruction online to Virginia students. Workshop participants will examine the characteristics of a good online learner, structure of the eLearn Va program, content of the online curricula, and strategies for implementing and supporting distance learning at their programs.

To register, complete the online form found on the VALRC training calendar.

New Promotional Materials Available for Download!

Promotional materials for the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center's new programs and initiatives are now available online on the VALRC website. These attractive brochures, posters, and flyers are provided in pdf format (with printer's lines) so you can easily print and distribute as many of them as you like to your program's teachers and students. These publications can help you promote the new eLearn Virginia distance learning program, the GED® On Demand program for digital cable subscribers.

To access these printable pdf files, click here. If you have any questions about content, file formats, or technical issues, please contact the VALRC's Assistant Instructional Technology Specialist, Christopher Poole at cpoole2@vcu.edu.

VALRC Has Upgraded its Events Calendar, Registration System

The VALRC has launched a new online events calendar to replace our previous system. Not only is our new calendar simpler and easier to use, but users now have the ability to register for events online through the calendar interface!

Navigating the calendar On the VALRC website, click on the Calendar tab at the top of the page.
You'll be taken to a list of upcoming events, with the nearest events listed near the top. On the right, you'll see a small monthly calendar. Days with scheduled trainings or other events are highlighted in red. Clicking on a specific day will take you to that day's events.

If you want a more concise look at our upcoming events, there is a list titled Upcoming Events for the Next 90 Days on the right hand side of the page that offers a quick overview of events. This list is also clickable.

Registering for events Under the title of each event is a link in green text that says Click here to register for this event. When you click that link , it will take you to another page with a full description of the event and a short online form at the bottom of the page. To register, complete all of the fields in this form and then click the Send Registration button. Voila--you're registered for the event you chose, and should receive registration confirmation via the email address you provided on the form.

If you have any questions about registering for events, please contact Marianne Baker (mdbaker@vcu.edu) or Christopher Poole (cpoole2@vcu.edu).

GED Connection streaming videos

Adult learners in Virginia can now access all of the GED Connection programs anytime from an Internet-connected computer. All 39 episodes are now being "streamed" online from the eLEARN Virginia website in 3 video formats--Windows Media, Flash, and Quicktime--for both low speed and high speed computer connections.

The 39 instructional programs, produced by KET-TV, cover the subjects and skills students need to pass the GED tests. With the programs now available online, learners will be able to receive quality GED preparation at times that fit their schedules.

You don't need to be enrolled in eLEARN Virginia to access these online programs, but you do need to be a resident of Virginia and have a valid username and password. To receive your username and password and begin watching, please call 1-877-37-MY-GED (1-877-376-9433) or send an email request to richard@elearnva.com

GED Connection ON DEMAND

Virginians who subscribe to either Comcast or Cox Digital Cable can now watch any of the GED Connection episodes from the comfort of their home any time they want. This initiative, a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia, Comcast and Cox Communications, the Virginia Department of Education's Office of Adult Education & Literacy, and the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, integrates the GED Connection videos into the "ON DEMAND" programming that Cox and Comcast offer free to their digital cable customers.

The 39 instructional programs, produced by KET-TV, cover the subjects and skills students need to pass the GED tests. With GED Connection ON DEMAND, learners will be able to receive quality GED preparation at times that fit their schedules, alleviating the needs for transportation and child care.

eLEARN Virginia: a free statewide distance learning GED program

eLEARN Virginia is a new statewide distance learning initiative, funded by the DOE/OAEL and managed by the VALRC, now freely available to your GED students. eLEARN Va is a great option for any student who has access to a networked computer and either a) can't attend face-to-face GED classes at your center, b) must interrupt their face-to-face GED class due to employment, transportation, or childcare issues, or c) wants supplementary GED lessons to work on outside of their regular face-to-face GED class. eLEARN Va is also an option for any out of school youth, formally released from compulsory attendance, interested in working towards a GED online.

2007-2008 Race to GED Outreach Guide Available Online

In addition to introducing the new GED Success Story materials, the 2007-2008 Race to GED Outreach Guide: Virginia's GED Succes Stories provides a comprehensive resource for programs trying to reach out to potential learners and to the wider community. Find information on how to target groups and develop outreach strategies, create a communications strategy, establish relationships with the media, use promotional items, and gain publicity.

New Math Workshops for the Non-Math Teacher!

As we delivered the four strands of Numeracy Workshops around Virginia last year, teachers began asking us interesting questions - not just how to teach math concepts to learners, but more detail on what those concepts were all about for their own professional development. Many of you adult education math teachers are not certified in math and feel that math is not your strength, but you bravely teach our students because you have a good heart and a multi-level and/or multi-subject classroom! These workshops are for you. They are expanded to allow time for extra Q&A, and will not only offer new activities, but revisit ones demonstrated in the standard workshop. You will get a chance to dig deeper and truly understand the math involved, to teach it better to your students.

This year two strands of "Math for the Non-Math Teacher" will be offered: Numbers & Number Sense and Patterns & Algebra

The other two strands for the "Non-Math Teacher" will be offered in 2008-2009: Measurement & Geometry and Data & Statistics

Be sure to request a numeracy workshop in your region. Ask for one of the two new "Math for the Non-Math Teacher" workshops or one of the "Standard" Numeracy Workshops (still available in all four strands this year).

Contact Nancy Chapin, the new Numeracy Project Coordinator, at 540-989-8005 or nachapin@cox.net

COABE 2007: The Colonial Institute

The Colonial Institute, Virginia's regional COABE conference, is scheduled for October 10-12, 2007 in Williamsburg, Virginia. The featured speaker is Stephen D. Brookfield, internationally acclaimed scholar in adult education. Dr. Brookfield has written ten books on adult learning, teaching, critical thinking, discussion methods and critical theory. In addition, there will be strands by Barbara Given, Rosemary Caffarella, Lennox McLendon and many others. A Williamsburg Tavern Style dinner is included in the cost of registration. Please visit the VAACE website for conference information.

Online Course Registrations

Due to an upgrade of the Blackboard server here at VCU, we will be unable to process any online course registrations after Friday, May 4 until Monday, May 21. You may still submit your registration during that time, but it will not be processed until Monday, May 21. If you have any questions regarding this shutdown, please contact Lauren Ellington at courses@valrc.org.

Happy Holidays

The Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center will follow the Winter Break schedule established by Virginia Commonwealth University. VALRC will be closed December 22 - January 2. We will reopen with our regular schedule on January 3, 2007.

All of us at VALRC wish you a very happy holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year. We have enjoyed serving you during the past year, and we look forward to working with you in 2007.

The Condition of Education

A SNAPSHOT OF THE STATE OF U.S. EDUCATION

From Public Education Network Weekly NewsBlast, December 1, 2006

Did you know that despite all the criticisms leveled from coast to coast about K-12 public schools, most parents report being very satisfied with their child's school? Did you know that distance education courses are offered at more than half the country's two- and four-year postsecondary institutions? These and other statistics are in the 2006 Condition of Education report published by the U.S. Department of Education, reports Valerie Strauss. Each year, the department collects reams of data and statistically paints a portrait of where U.S. education stands. Between 1972 and 2004, the percentage of racial or ethnic minority students enrolled in the nation's public schools increased from 22 to 43 percent, primarily because of growth in Hispanic enrollment. In 2004, Hispanic students made up 19 percent of public school enrollment, up from 6 percent in 1972. The distribution of minority students in public schools differed across regions of the country. For example, minority public school enrollment in 2004 exceeded white enrollment in the West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), 57 percent to 43 percent. The number of children ages 5 to 17 who spoke a language other than English at home more than doubled between 1979 and 2004, from 3.8 million to 9.9 million. Total expenditures per student increased 23 percent in constant dollars, from $7,847 to $9,630 between the 1995-96 and 2002-03 school years. In 2002-03, total per-student expenditures were highest in low-poverty districts ($10,768), next highest in high-poverty districts ($10,191) and lowest in middle-poverty districts ($8,839). To read more of the article go to The Washington Post or click on the full report entitled The Condition of Education,2000-2006 at The National Center for Educational Statistics.

November issue of Update

We are excited to offer you the November issue of Update. This issue has many timely resources for all adult literacy educators. Find out about new resources from NCSALL, online resources for classroom teachers, new workplace health and safety curricula, a family literacy toolkit for Hispanic families, online word processors, and much more. To view it, go to: http://valrc.org/publications/update/update1106.htm.

The Literacy Institute Hosts LESLLA, an International English Language Forum for Researchers and Policy Makers

For Immediate Release October 30, 2006 News Release

The Literacy Institute will host the international LESLLA 2006 forum for over 80 international, national, and statewide researchers, practitioners, and policy makers on November 2-3 at Virginia Commonwealth University.

LESLLA, which stands for Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition, is an international forum focusing on the development of second language skills by adult immigrants with little or no schooling prior to moving to the country of entry. "It's hard for individuals to learn to speak and read in English when they cannot read in their own language," says Nancy Faux, ESOL specialist at the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center and the conference's organizer.

Researchers from as far the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and East Timor, and from across our nation will study and discuss education policy development in countries where immigrants settle and most need educational support. The conference features more than twenty presentations and discussion groups, opening with an address on "A National Citizenship Implementation Plan" and including the U.S. premiere of the European Quality Label Prize-winning film, "Newcomers to Morocco," which documents what happens when Dutch literacy teachers become the students in an Arabic class in Morocco.

Toward the conference's conclusion, working groups of experts from The Center for Applies Linguistics; Brown University; University of Minnesota; American Institutes of Research; Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.; Literacy Work International; Newcastle University, UK; Tilburg University, NL; and Radboud University, NL; Virginia Commonwealth University; and the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center, among many others, will develop research and action recommendations for international implementation.

The Literacy Institute is a partnership between the Virginia Literacy Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Education and Center for Public Policy.

To find out more about the conference and participants, please visit the LESLLA website at www.leslla.org or see our Media Advisory at www.valrc.org. The conference, held on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, is open to registered participants only.

Contact: Hillary Major Phone: 800-237-0178 Fax: 804-828-7539 Email: hmajor@vcu.edu

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Media Advisory: The Literacy Institute Hosts International Forum

The Literacy Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University will host the second annual international LESLLA Conference on November 2-3, 2006, at VCU.

LESLLA was founded in 2005 to address the needs of immigrants who have little or no schooling in their native language and are trying to learn a new language. LESLLA 2006 brings together a group of international experts to explore how ground-breaking research can be applied in the classroom and in policy making.

The conference features more than twenty presentations and discussion groups, opening with an address on "A National Citizenship Implementation Plan" and including the U.S. premiere of the European Quality Label Prize-winning film, "Newcomers to Morocco," which documents what happens when Dutch literacy teachers become the students in an Arabic class in Morocco. Working groups of experts will develop research and action recommendation for international implementation. The Literacy Institute, a partnership between the Virginia Literacy Foundation and Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Education and Center for Public Policy, is proud to host this event.

The Literacy Institute: Mark Emblidge, President of the Virginia State Board of Education and Executive Director of The Literacy Institute at VCU; Barbara Gibson, Associate Director of the Literacy Institute and Manager of the Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center

LESLLA Founders: Martha Young-Scholten (Newcastle University, UK); Jeanne Kurvers (Tilburg University, Netherlands); Ineke van de Craats (Radboud University, Netherlands)

Plenary Session Speakers: Jeff Chenoweth, Division Director of National Operations and Support for Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC); Heidi Spruck Wrigley, Senior Researcher, LiteracyWork International; Joy Kreeft Peyton, Director of the Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) and Vice President of the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) Nancy Faux, ESOL Specialist at VALRC Larry Condelli, Managing Director of the American Institutes of Research

In addition:Local, national and international ESOL teachers and researchers

For press information, contact: Hillary Major, Phone: 804-828-7535, Email: hmajor@vcu.edu; for secondary contact, Victoire Gerkens Sanborn, Phone: 827-2638, Email: vjsanbor@vcu.edu

Progress Fall 2006

The fall issue of Progress should be arriving in your mailbox any day now. This issue was focused on Correctional Education, with articles from Dr. Bill Muth, Anita Prince, and an interview with Judy Philpott. Reading through it, you can learn more about the Department of Correctional Education, the Plaza Comunitaria program at the Lunenberg and Coffeewood Correctional Center, and how local programs around the state work in correctional education. If you're not currently subscribed to receive Progress in the mail, you're welcome to read through the latest issue online.

Update on LD

We are excited to offer you the latest issue of Update on LD. This issue focuses on Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning. This issue includes a review of an excellent resource available from the Resource Center library, links for free assistive technology resources, and websites where you can learn more about Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning. To view it, go to: http://www.valrc.org/publications/updateonld/updateonld0906.htm.

Registration for Online Courses Is Now Open

The Resource Center is excited to offer all of our online courses this fall. These courses are free to adult educators in Virginia, and you may complete them on your own schedule in the convenience of your home or office.

Courses offered are Adults as Learners: An Orientation, ESOL Basics, and Using Technology to Enhance GED Instruction. The registration deadline for all courses is Friday, October 13; courses begin Monday, October 16. Register now to reserve your spot in one of our innovative online courses! More information and registration for each course is available below:

• Adults as Learners: An Orientation
• ESOL Basics

• Using Technology to Enhance GED Instruction

If you have any questions regarding these courses, please contact Lauren Ellington at leellington@vcu.edu or 800-237-0178.

Spring 2006 Online Courses

The Resource Center is excited to offer all of our online courses this spring. These courses are free to adult educators in Virginia, and you may complete them on your own schedule in the convenience of your home or office. Courses offered are Adults as Learners: An Orientation, ESOL Basics, and Using Technology to Enhance GED Instruction. The registration deadline for all courses is Thursday, April 20; courses begin Monday, April 24. Register now to reserve your spot in one of our innovative online courses! More information and registration for each course is available below:

• Adults as Learners: An Orientation
• ESOL Basics
• Using Technology to Enhance GED Instruction

New Teacher Training Handbook

The updated New Teacher Training Handbook is now available online! The New Teacher Training Handbook 2005 includes an overview of the field of adult education in Virginia for the new teacher or teachers who may need a refresher. Additionally, trainings on this topic and a self-assessment CD are available upon request.

Virginia Literacy Foundation 2006-2007 Grants

The Virginia Literacy Foundation (VLF) is pleased to announce that applications for our 2006-2007 matching grants are now available for 501(c)(3) organizations. Our grants target organizations in Virginia that primarily provide literacy and numeracy services to adults 18 years and older.

To download application materials, click here.

For questions about the application forms or to have forms sent to you, contact Julia Norman at 804-237-8909.

Happy Winter Holidays

Happy Holidays from the staff at the Resource Center! We will be closed from Wednesday, December 21, until Monday, January 2, 2006. We would like to wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season, and we look forward to serving you in the new year. In honor of the holidays, we'd like to offer you the following gifts:

• Our new website: We've got a new look, but we're still providing the same great services you've grown used to. We've also got a new domain that will hopefully prove easier to remember - www.valrc.org. Be sure to update your bookmarks and links!
• Another session of online courses: Our winter session for online courses will be starting shortly after the new year. Be sure to register now so you can take part!

We Have Moved

At the beginning of June, we relocated from our offices in Oliver Hall to a new space in the Franklin Street Gym on VCU's Monroe Park Campus. During the move, we had limited access to phones and email, so we apologize for any inconvenience if you were unable to reach us. Our phone numbers and email addresses remain the same, but our mailing address has changed. Please make note of the new address:

Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center
817 W. Franklin St. Room 221
P.O. Box 842037
Richmond, VA 23284-2037

Again, thank you for your patience during the move. We look forward to hearing from you.

Race to GED Success Stories Now Online

For those of you interested in Race to GED recruiting or marketing materials, the success story videos from around the state are now available for download. These videos feature interviews and testimonials from GED recipients in Henrico County, Hampton Roads, and Prince William County. Show them with students, businesses, and other agencies to stress the impact that getting a GED can have on a person's life. To download, visit the Race to GED marketing page and scroll down to the bottom. The four videos are listed there. Right click on the video(s) you wish to save and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" (the exact name may vary depending on what browser you use) to save them to your computer.

Content Standards in Adult Education

In 2003, Dr. Roberta McKnight, of the Virginia Literacy Institute, conducted a thorough review of the literature to prepare a comprehensive report regarding the development of content standards. The report summarizes current developments across the United States, discusses issues related to content standards, and provides an interactive matrix of links to each state's website. Read the report.