eVALBEC June 2006
This is the electronic newsletter of VALBEC, the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council, and is sent to about 900 practitioners on the first of each month (other than January). It is also available in the ‘News’ section of our web site http://www.valbec.org.au
Disclaimer: The activities, goods and services mentioned in eVALBEC are not endorsed by VALBEC in any way. People should make their own judgment about the suitability of each item.
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IN THIS ISSUE OF e-VALBEC:
1. AGM & Twilight Forum - Thursday June 8th 2006
2. RItHre RItNow 2006 VALBEC Conference – papers and pictures
3. VALBEC Membership
4. ACAL national conference ‘Literacy: it’s everyone’s business’  6th – 7th October at the Adelaide Hilton
5. Course Contacts
6. Adult literacy, numeracy and ESL teachers required at CAE
7. Working from Strength
8. CGEA Reaccreditation Update
9. Coming up in the Winter 2006 edition of  Fine Print
10. National Survey of Non-accredited Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy.
11. Three Useful International Numeracy Websites
12. NMIT Faculty of Further Education Conference - Friday 14 July 2006
13. Subscribe to eVALBEC?
14. Unsubscribe?
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1. AGM & Twilight Forum - Thursday June 8th 2006
Kew Neighbourhood House, 2-12 Derby St, Kew. Melways 46 D5
7 pm – 8.30pm
A light supper will be provided
Members and friends of VALBEC are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Council that will be preceded by a Twilight Forum
RSVP by June 6th 2006 to info@valbec.org.au
Twilight Forum:  Life After ACE
After working for 10 years in an ACE provider, Rachel is now co-ordinating training programs at Foundation House, home of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, http://www.foundationhouse.org.au
Foundation House provides specialised services for refugees who have survived torture and other traumatic experiences prior to arriving in Australia, and also works to promote understanding of the issues concerning survivors of torture and their families to as broad a range of government, community and health agencies as possible.
Rachel will share some of her experiences in making this career change, talk about the work the Foundation does in advocating for systemic change, and reflect on life after ACE.
Annual General Meeting
Members are invited to attend and hear reports on the 2005 VALBEC year and elect their representatives for the coming year.
The agenda for the AGM is to receive reports and elect new office bearers.
Members will have received a notification in the mail.
VALBEC Committee nominations http://www.valbec.org.au/ then ‘Governance’
Thinking about taking a more active role in VALBEC?
Are you a committed, active and informed practitioner? Do you enjoy engaging in dialogue with colleagues over a meal and a glass of wine? Do you have strong ideas about how the adult literacy, basic education and numeracy fields have evolved and should continue to develop? Then consider “stepping up” to join the VALBEC committee at the AGM. The VALBEC committee is a dynamic and collaborative group who meet once a month to discuss, plan and take action on behalf of members and the ALBE field.
Call one of the committee to discuss what is involved in being on the VALBEC committee:
Lynne Matheson 0409592164            Ron Munro 9269 1328
Ann Haynes 92698381            Robyn Hodge 96520719
John Radalj, 52250788            Pauline O’Maley 93720675
Jeannie Turnbull 5434 1432            Jacinta Agostinelli 9304 2830
Debbie Soccio (overseas in May-June)            Yvonne Russell 9217 8459
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2. RItHre RItNow 2006 VALBEC Conference
Thanks to everyone for making our RItHre RItNow conference such a sparkling success. As usual, a very big thank you to the presenters who were generous with their time and talents. We had participants from Queensland, new South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania as well as Victorians from metropolitan and  regional areas.
Many presenters have provided their material in digital format and the following are available on http://www.valbec.org.au
 Conference picture gallery
You can also visit the conference picture gallery and see the famous, infamous and ordinary people who were there on the day
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3. VALBEC Membership
Third and final notices have been sent to those who have not yet renewed their membership. Payment needs to be received by June 4 to stay as a member.
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4. ACAL national conference
‘Literacy: it’s everyone’s business’
Hosted by the South Australian Council for Adult Literacy
6th – 7th October at the Adelaide Hilton
Conference information at http://www.sacal.sa.edu.au/conf06/
Cheap flights – right now Virgin Blue has a return Melbourne air fare for as little as $150 http://www.virginblue.com.au/ . Also check http://www.jetstar.com.au/ and http://www.qantas.com.au/
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5. Course Contacts
One of the most visited pages of our web site is ‘Course Contacts’ which offers information on the nature and location of courses . This is where we direct the public when they phone looking for a local course - they might find yours!
Check the current listing for you at http://www.valbec.org.au/contacts.html
Update the information at http://www.valbec.org.au/contacts/addnew.html.
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6. Adult literacy, numeracy and ESL teachers required at CAE
CAE (http://www.cae.edu.au) is seeking expressions of interest from qualified adult education teachers interested in doing emergency and/or sessional teaching in 2006. Teachers may be required for CGEA Literacy, Numeracy, Science, or GCO’s; and ESL Frameworks. Located in CBD. Expressions of interest including a CV, or requests for further information, may be submitted to: access@cae.edu.au.   
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7. Working from Strength
Workplace Learning Initiatives has a research project, Working from Strength that is seeking new directions for adult literacy and basic education. Newer thinking tells us that cultures are diverse, ‘truths’ are subjective and various, and change is normal. This project explores the strategies that health and welfare professionals use to see whether we can learn something instructive from them.
We’re going to use a rather unusual way of finding out - using an actor who will present characters (ie potential clients/customers/learners) and their situations to groups of ALBE teachers and to health and welfare professionals. The actor will interact with these groups in an interview situation to build understanding of the way service providers conceptualise, interpret and ‘frame’ the issues or problems they are facing  - and see where these interpretations lead us.
If that sounds like an interesting bit of fun to you, we would love to talk to you. Maybe the staff at your centre would be interested in a visit from us with our actor in tow. We are looking for groups of about 6. The activity would take about 2 hours but you would get a chance to observe and discuss how you interact with new clients and how they might react to the experience.
See more details at http://www.valbec.org.au
Interested? Please phone Peter Waterhouse or Crina Virgona on 9486 8600
or email crina@wli.com.au or pwhouse@wli.com.au
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8. CGEA Reaccreditation Update
Approximately 50 people attended the first CMM - General Studies & Further Education CGEA Network Meeting on held on 19th May.
A session at the VALBEC Conference was an opportunity to preview the draft structure at Certificate I level and a sample unit at the new Entry level. Session feedback helped refine the structure and the level of the unit and alerted us to the need to further explain some of the changes. We are working on some FAQs to provide guidance which will be loaded onto the SitnTalk website: http://tls.vu.edu.au/cf/sitntalk/main.cfm
Next Network meeting - Friday 4th August in Shepparton (Mooroopna Education & Activity Centre). (More news soon)
The CGEA Network will be a forum for implementation of the new curriculum, coordinate moderation activities in 2007 and provide important feedback on the curriculum to the CMM - General Studies & Further Education during its accreditation period.
Contact Lynne Fitzpatrick & Liz Davidson to provide feedback on the CGEA or
to join the network via sicmm.generalstudies@vu.edu.au
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9. Coming up in the Winter 2006 edition of  Fine Print
See youse later by Rosemary McKenry
Work Ready with a Head Start by Jodie Matthews;
What you do first is get them into groups ….’ By Martyn Brogan
What do I do next? Literacy for a sustainable community by Maree Keating
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10. National Survey of Non-accredited Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy.
Dr Darryl Dymock from Griffith University is conducting a survey of non-accredited programs – the deadline has been extended to June 9.. Adult Language, Literacy or Numeracy includes adult literacy for native speakers of English, adult English as a Second Language (ESL) students, and adult numeracy students. Non-accredited provision is any Adult Language, Literacy or Numeracy (ALLN) course or structured activity (including literacy embedded in other courses) for which no formal recognition or accredited certificate is provided. It includes courses where students are given a statement of attendance or participation, but not for example a Certificate I.
The questionnaire is available on request from Daryl at d.dymock@griffith.edu.au
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11. Three Useful International Numeracy Websites
This information is supplied by Gail FitzSimons, gail.fitzsimons@education.monash.edu.au, a presenter at the 2006 conference.
The European (Network) for Motivational Mathematics for Adults intends to pay attention to difficulties with numeracy. Includes research articles and teaching resources.
Journals and newsletters available as PDFs
Newsletters available as PDFs
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12. NMIT Faculty of Further Education Conference - Friday 14 July 2006
NMIT Faculty of Further Education Conference will be held on Friday 14 July 2006, at NMIT Epping Campus.  Keynote speakers will be Don Watson (author or Watson’s Dictionary of Weasel Words) on the Decay of Public Language and Merv Edmunds (VCAL co-ordinator) on Why humans dream, and why it matters.  
Workshops  include: The Refugee Experience, Meeting Learning Styles, Re-engaging Young People, VECCI – Skills Shortage, Staff Matters – Well being at Work, Communicative Methodology in the IELTS Classroom, the Aurora Pathways Program, Pronunciation – Teaching and integrating the sound of English, Mediation & Conflict Resolution, We all count but count differently, Still Me being old and in Care, Advancing equity and much more.
For registration details please contact Rita Hawkins on ritah-fs@nmit.vic.edu.au or telephone 9269 1081
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13. Subscribe to eVALBEC?
Click this link <mailto:info@valbec.org.au?subject=eVALBEC_Subscribe> and we’ll put you on the list to receive this monthly enewsletter.
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14. Contact VALBEC
eVALBEC is the monthly electronic newsletter of (VALBEC) the Victorian Adult Literacy and Basic Education Council.
E-mail: info@valbec.org.au
Web: http://www.valbec.org.au
Postal: Box 861 Springvale South VIC 3172
Ph: 03 9546 6892
Fax: 03 9546 0421