Add Let's Write to Your iGoogle Page

We have started a new blog called Let's Write. We update it regularly with writing topics for students. We encourage you to use the writing activities to improve your skills. Now, you can add the Let's Write blog onto your iGoogle page.

ASSESS YOUR ESSENTIAL SKILLS

This is the place to go to do an on-line check-up of your essential skills levels. Once you have done this, you can fill in your Essential Skills Passport. If you don't have one, you can get one from your Learning Facilitator. You can use this information when you are researching jobs that you are interested in.

Perk Up Your Projects

Perk Up Your Projects is a website created by a teacher. It includes lots of generators and other activities.

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day

Larry Ferlazzo is a teacher that has created an amazing website where each blog entry is a specific list. Take a look at his list of the Best Places to Learn Web2.0 Basics. We should add what is appropriate to Learn2. Please Let me know which parts you like.

MY GATES

Just in case anyone has not heard of the mygates site, it is a good one. This site is for students and instructors and it is geared to people upgrading their essential skills for employment that does not require post secondary education. There is a list of 120 entry level jobs and their descriptions as well as a detailed explanation of the essential skills required for each.

FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY

Here is a great online resource for learners who are working to improve their essay writing skills.

IDEAS

Ideas is a web site that goes out into the web and brings back to you photos, videos and links etc. when you type a word of your choice into the box. Try it. It's fun!

Essential Skills- Ontario Skills Passport

The Ontario Skills Passport web site is an amazing, in-depth and "essential" resource for all of our programs.

The Ontario Skills Passport (OSP) provides clear descriptions of the Essential Skills and work habits important for work, learning and life. Essential Skills are used in virtually all occupations and are transferable from school to work, job to job and sector to sector.
The OSP offers high school students, adult learners, job seekers, workers, employers, teachers, trainers, practitioners, job developers and counsellors a common language, resources and tools that help build competence, confidence and connections.

To watch an insightful tutorial on the OSP website, click on the link below:

http://skills.edu.gov.on.ca/OSPWeb/jsp/en/OSPWebcast.jsp

At the Ontario Literacy Coalition annual conference, I was thoroughly impressed with the presentation on the OSP. Although the focus of the passport is work-related, there will be additional resources added relating to life and independence in the near future.

TOEFL PREPARTATION

This is a great site for self- assessment in the different areas of the TOEFL test.

There was an update on pbwiki about BCPS and their web 2.0 activities. They have a version of 23 things and a wiki about teaching thoughtful learners. Please take a look at the wikis.

GOOD QUESTIONS

1. "Tell me why you're here"
"Can you show me what you've been working on?"
"What brought you to the learning centre?"

Things to show her and talk about:
A: Goal sheet / page - this shows her all the things you would like to work on at the learning centre.
B: Some of your work (things that you're most proud of)
C: Training Plan - this shows her what you are working on now.


2. "How do you know you're achieving your goals?"
"How do you know you're getting better?"
"How do you know you're showing progress?"

Things to show her and talk about:
A: Progress Sheet - this shows her the skills that you have acquired since coming to the program.
B: Any demonstrations - these "demonstrate" that you have reached a short term goal.
C: Training plans - changes to your training plans / more training plans once you have reached a goal show that you are moving on.


3. "Do you feel that you have enough hours / time at the learning centre?"


4. "Do you have access to the computers?"
"Do you use the computer?"
"What kinds of things do you use the computer for?"
i.e. learning software, internet, email, research, learn 2.0, facebook

5. "Do you use other things besides text books for study purposes?" (especially if employment is goal) i.e. computers, cash registers, calculators, phone books, log books, manuals, checkbooks, pay stubs, bills, etc.

Note: This would be a good post for ALC Updates.
Stock.xchng: Jay Lopez

The Lost Generation

Kaitlyn was given this link from Youtube by a colleague with the School Board. It's a very interesting and thought-provoking video.

Everyone needs to listen to this!

IMPROVE WRITTEN ENGLISH SKILLS

Here is a wonderful link listing suggestions which could help anyone improve their written english.

Math Resources

The following websites have been recommended as some of the best math resources available.


http://ronblond.com/MathGlossary/

The math glossary here is well done. It has grade levels, but you can explain them to adults as when we may have been first introduced to the concepts. Most of us need to review them throughout our lives.


Have you ever needed to solve an algebraic equation and wished that you could just pop it into your calculator. Try this quickmath link. Other parts of the site will solve other math problems as well.


http://cindy.edtechteachers.com/ has a great list of math resources. I tried one of the links. It was from the BBC and about multiplication. The page is colorful (maybe too juvenile), but the exercise was fun to complete.


http://www.homeschool.com/ has the following list of math resources that they recommend:

Ask Dr. Math http://mathforum.org/dr.math
The Math Worksheet Sitehttp://www.themathworksheetsite.com/
Math Goodies.com http://www.mathgoodies.com/
Math Playgroundhttp://www.mathplayground.com/
Mega-Mathematics http://www.c3.lanl.gov/mega-math
Purple Math http://www.purplemath.com/
Web Math http://www.webmath.com/

PurpleMath is amazing! I have added these sites to our delicious bookmarks. Have fun!


P.S. If you can see what is wrong with the math in the picture, please let us know in the comments.


Photo Credit: Mighty Optical Illusions

Fun with Vocabulary

http://www.whatalovelyname.com/ is a website which matches dispositions with name meanings. You can select up to three words to describe someone and the application will suggest possible first names. The dispositions are common ones that are often looked upon favourably by others. Playing with the site might be a good way for students to think about their own transferable skills and abilities.

Multiplying with your Fingers

Metacafe has two explanations of the finger method for multiplying. Here is the first video clip. It is 57 seconds long. Here is another video explanation which is 1 minute and 21 seconds long.

A comic book explanation with muskrats is available as a pdf.

Illustration: Tim Hunkin

Obama Learning Activity

Try a Google image search for Barack Obama and you will get 26,500,000 results. I found a useful learning activity for our level one students at the following address: http://www.skillsworkshop.org/e1lit/e1obama.pdf .

The printable document includes information about the new president, a Dolch word activity, true or false questions, and a wordsearch.

For a full text of Obama's inaugural address, go to this CBC website. You can see a video of the speech at the New York Times website.

180 Technology Tips

I learned about 180 Technology Tips at the AlphaPlus Blog. The tips are five minute explanations that can be emailed to you daily. Please go to the tipsite and sign up for the daily email.

Career Cruising

A web site that you and your students may be interested in visiting is at http://www.careercruising.com/. Try "simcoe" for the username and "31460" for the password.

Grammar Resources

This is a great website if anyone is looking for grammar worksheets. It covers apostrophes, commas, and punctuation. The website also includes explanations, and expamples of each subject for the learners to better understand grammatical rules. http://www.worksheetplace.com/

Wordel creations

Using Wordle, you are able to create beautiful word clouds of student writing. The web site is http://www.wordle.net/.
Here is the original text from the journal topic:

What is the best advice you have ever received?

The best advice I have ever received was when my parents wanted me to go to school and get my grade 12. Without your high school, you won’t get a good job, and you also wouldn’t be able to go to college.
Becca, 21
© 2008 Jonathan Feinberg
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GED Writing Dates

Session Code Date
OS-02 February 27 2009 and February 28 2009
OS-03 March 27 2009 and March 28 2009
OS-04 April 24 2009 and April 25 2009
OS-05 May 29 2009 and May 30 2009
OS-06 June 26 2009 and June 27 2009
OS-07 August 14 2009 and August 15 2009
OS-08 September 18 2009 and September 19 2009
OS-09 October 23 2009 and October 24 2009
OS-10 November 27 2009 and November 28 2009

Test Dates and Times for above sessions:
Friday 5:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling

Here is another great website! The Purdue University offers OWL an Online Writing Lab. In this sight they offer handouts and exercises on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. They also have PowerPoint presentations related to grammar, and have an entire section of handouts and resources for English as a Second Language learners that might also prove useful.