Apologies I should have been more precise in my first reply, and I suppose
the links I describe are not terribly relevant to US-based practitioners,
but to reply to your questions:

NIACE stands for National Institute for Adult and Continuing Education and
that, (plus I  should add the National Literacy Trust) are websites with
links to research studies, reports and recently published books. It is UK
based, but Canadian education policy is moving in a similar direction to UK
policies these days so I find it useful and interesting for some topics.

Yes, I was referring to the Centre for Literacy at Dawson College in
Montreal. I search their library online and when I find something I would
like to read, and can't get it here in Vancouver,  they send it to me. I
don’t know if they send outside of Canada. I also use our local provincial
Literacy BC resource centre for the same purpose. 

AlphaPlus is a website and data base. Here is the address.
http://alphaplus.ca/eng.asp
It has also recently become a Canadian Centre for Excellence in the use of
technology to support adult basic education learners. 

You click on "library" to search their database. They often have materials
that NALD hasn't uploaded yet, with a great set of resources on aboriginal
literacies too.


I should also add that many adult literacy practioners in Canada are linked
to a First Class system that hosts local, provincial and national
discussions, messaging systems, resources, conference announcement etc. That
is where I check every day to find out what's happening!

And last but not least our Literacies magazine - it features articles by
literacy practitioners and researchers across the country on many topical
issues and also hosts discussions. This I know is available to US
subsribers. 

www.literacies.ca


I hope this helps to clarify for you. 

Best, 

Suzanne


-----Original Message-----
From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov
[mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of David Rosen
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 1:29 PM
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List
Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education Knowledge

Hello Suzanne,

Thanks for your reply.  I have a couple of questions (please see below):

On Nov 9, 2005, at 3:51 PM, suzanne smythe wrote:


> I use NALD here in Canada, but also find NIACE in the UK very 

> comprehensive, with lots of links to full articles. I like ERIC too, 

> but am aware that its research content is somewhat restricted, 

> particularly the online version.

>

> The resource centres attached to provincial literacy associations and 

> clearing houses also contain reports and materials not easily found in 

> mainstream libraries or searches, the Quebec Centre for Literacy, 

> AlphaPlus are also great, have online searchable databases and they 

> will ship things to you.


I am not very familiar with how these are used.  Could you provide a bit
more information please?

1. Is NIACE a Web site? A database? Something else?

2. Do you mean Centre for Literacy in Montreal, at Dawson College?   
And were you referring to its online searchable database,  or the physical
library or both?

3. How do you use AlphaPlus?


Thanks.

All the best,

David
David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net


>

> Suzanne Smythe

> Vancouver BC

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov

> [mailto:focusonbasics-bounces at dev.nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Robin Millar

> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 11:33 AM

> To: focusonbasics at dev.nifl.gov

> Subject: Re: [FocusOnBasics] Finding Adult Literacy Education 

> Knowledge

>

> I mainly use ERIC and the NIFL site.  But here in Canada we also use 

> the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) for research purposes.

>

> Dr. Robin Millar

> Executive Director

> Centre for Education and Work

> 515 Portage Avenue

> Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9

> 204-786-9395

>>>> djrosen at comcast.net 11/09/05 6:03 AM >>>

> Colleagues,

>

> Many adult literacy and English language learning practitioners turn 

> to this electronic list to find knowledge and wisdom, and to get 

> answers to specific professional questions.  We also have other ways 

> of finding knowledge.  We learn from our experience and that of our 

> colleagues. We read certain journals, magazines and newspapers, we 

> seek out opinions from reputable sources, and we try to find the best 

> research which addresses our question or problem.  So, here's my

> question:

>

> How do you find answers to your adult literacy and English language 

> learning questions?

>

> 	a. For example, do you use any of the following?

>

> 	• NIFL LINCS Special collections, LINCSearch, discussion lists, and 

> the included online documents and archives

> 	• Canadian-sponsored National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) and its



> online documents and archives

> 	• National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy

> (NCSALL) Web site and its hard copy publications

> 	• ERIC Database

> 	• The Adult Literacy Education Wiki

> 	• OTAN

> 	• EdWeek

> 	• PEN

> 	• Other electronic lists

>

> 	b. What else do you use?  What hard copy journals do you find

useful? 

> Are there other electronic resources that are helpful in answering 

> questions?

>

> Please e-mail your answers to me. I will compile what I get and post a 

> summary back to those who e-mail me so we can all benefit from our 

> collective wisdom.  You can send a short email with just items to add 

> to the list above or, if you prefer, you can write a longer, more 

> reflective answer which contextualizes the question, describes how the 

> question hits home for you, expresses frustration with how little 

> research and professional wisdom our field has, or whatever you would 

> like to say.  If you think your comments pertain to the focus of this 

> list, of course, you could post them here.

>

> Thanks for your help in answering this question, which I hope is not 

> mine alone.

>

> David J. Rosen

> DJRosen at comcast.net

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> Focus on Basics mailing list

> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> Focus on Basics mailing list

> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

>

> --

> No virus found in this incoming message.

> Checked by AVG Free Edition.

> Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date:  

> 11/8/2005

>

>

> --

> No virus found in this outgoing message.

> Checked by AVG Free Edition.

> Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date:  

> 11/8/2005

>

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> Focus on Basics mailing list

> FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to 

> http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics




----------------------------------------------------
Focus on Basics mailing list
FocusOnBasics at dev.nifl.gov
To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
http://dev.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/focusonbasics

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005
 

-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.362 / Virus Database: 267.12.8/163 - Release Date: 11/8/2005