The Ontario Literacy Coalition (OLC) hosted Spotlight On Learning: Literacy Takes Centre Stage – a large professional development conference for Ontario’s literacy field. The conference, which was applauded for its wide range of practical and informative workshops, was unique in serving not only the interests of administrators, practitioners, researchers and volunteers in the literacy field, but also those of adult literacy students. The conference offered a stream of workshops through the Adult Learner Leadership Forum that were designed to help build leadership capacity among the adult learner delegates specially invited to the event.
About the Conference
Twenty-nine adult learners, selected for their courage, determination, leadership qualities, and role model potential, participated in the Leadership Forum. The forum offered nine workshops. . .
Twenty-nine adult learners, selected for their courage, determination, leadership qualities, and role model potential, participated in the Leadership Forum. The forum offered nine workshops that covered an exciting array of topics ranging from personal development to literacy statistics to technology. Lesley Brown, Executive Director of the Ontario Literacy Coalition, in an OLC podcast interview says the Adult Learner Leadership Forum was developed with input from adult learners, to recognize and build upon the important role that adult learners play in creating awareness of adult literacy issues in their communities. Organizers of this forum hoped to create a space in which adult learners could meet and talk with each other, and learn how to position themselves as leaders in the literacy movement.
Lesley adds that while many of the learner delegates already had experience promoting literacy through the sharing of their personal struggles and triumphs related to literacy, the Leadership Forum gave them an opportunity to increase their knowledge of how literacy affects society generally so that they can also share this information with their communities. In her interview, Lesley offers the context in which the OLC made the decision to offer so comprehensive a program to adult learners as part of the Spotlight on Learning conference.
In another OLC podcast, Chris Harwood, Coordinator of the Adult Learner Leadership Forum, speaks about the different workshops offered and the importance of each workshop in engaging adult learners as leaders in promoting the importance of adult literacy programs. Harwood is also the Coordinator of the Learners Advisory Network for the Movement for Canadian Literacy, and it is in this capacity that she led a workshop in which delegates learned about the facts that make up the The Big Picture: Literacy in Canada and Ontario.
In another workshop, Susan Nielsen, Executive Director of the Toronto Adult Student Association (TASA), presented Power and Possibilities to show forum participants how knowledge of community and educational resources can build opportunities for civic engagement. Nancy Friday, of AlphaPlus Centre, showed adult learners how to share their inspirational personal stories through the use of social networking technology in her presentation Using Technology to Tell Your Story.
What Adult Learners Said About the Conference
Patricia Ashie, Ontario’s representative on the national Learners Advisory Network of the Movement for Canadian Literacy and Director on the OLC’s Board of Directors. . .
Patricia Ashie, Ontario’s representative on the national Learners Advisory Network of the Movement for Canadian Literacy and Director on the OLC’s Board of Directors, in her podcast interview provides an excellent overview of how the Adult Learner Leadership Forum was received and impacted adult learner delegates. In this interview, Ashie speaks about what delegates took away from the forum, and how hosting the forum as part of an overall provincial conference on literacy served to remind Ontario’s literacy professionals and volunteers why literacy programs exist. “Most learners don’t realize that they have a voice, or how important that voice really is,” explained Ashie, adding that Spotlight on Learning gave adult learners an opportunity to learn about the value of their voices.
The conference planning committee sought adult learner input throughout the planning of the Adult Learner Leadership Forum, and this input resulted in very positive adult learner experiences at the forum.
Here is what one delegate said about the value of bringing adult learners together to talk about their professional development goals and the difference adult learners can make in promoting literacy: “More than ever before I believe that learners need to gather and gain the skills to have a voice to influence policy development.” – adult learner delegate
About the forum goal to empower learners to use their voices at the community level, one delegate said: “We adult learners are not always aware of the leadership role we play in the community and our own lives. In my opinion the leadership forum provided the recognition of the right and the power of our voices and our contributions.” – adult learner delegate
Have Your Say. . .
Spotlight on Learning offered adult learner delegates some additional skills to promote literacy at the local level. In what ways can adult learners continue to promote literacy within their local communities? What additional supports would assist adult literacy learners in building leadership capacity?
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