LCCT Update: 2012 Annual Providers Meeting

Executive Director, Meg Poag and Operations & Communications Manager Maegan Ellis review the 2011 Impact Report with partners February 15, 2012 at the Annual Providers meeting.

In case you missed it- the 2012 Annual Providers Meeting was held Wednesday, February 15^th from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM at LCCT offices. It was quite a sight to see representation from over 30 partner agencies together in one room, working to identify our coalition’s priorities for literacy services in 2012!

The meeting included highlights from the 2011 Impact Report, updates from LCCT programs, partnership renewals as well as a review of the goals and strategies for the upcoming “Literacy Illuminates” campaign.

Feedback was also gathered from brief surveys and smaller break-out discussion groups. We spent time considering several key questions in regards to agencies’ individual literacy programs and the direction for LCCT support in 2012. 

Partners completed a dotting exercise, marking current LCCT programs and services that were most important to their agency.

The overall “voice” from the discussion groups was extremely dynamic, however several key themes are highlighted below:

Increase Volunteer Support!

50% of Adult Literacy Providers responded that Volunteer Recruitment/Retention/Management was “High” or “Very High” priority for their program to improve in this area in the next 12 months. Other literacy providers also agreed that increased volunteer support would address a variety of programmatic needs in regards to capacity building and improving services.

Increase Funding!

42% of Adult Literacy Providers identified (increased) funding as the #1 thing LCCT could do to help increase service capacity for their programs in the next 12 months.

Increase Information Sharing!

This theme included a call for greater dissemination of program success stories, including both the individual stories of clients as well as programmatic best practices and key contacts. Providers felt that this would contribute to a further integrated literacy community and further familiarize and “map” the literacy community in Central Texas.

Increase Technical Support!

Themes of increased centralization and integration also emerged in the call for increased technical support. 75% of Adult Literacy Providers responded that Measuring Impact was “High” or “Very High” priority for their program to improve in this area in the next 12 months. This included but was not limited to providing training and guidance on data collection and management and exploring possibilities for a centralized coalition-wide database.

If you were at the meeting, what was your experience? Did you hear a different “voice” emerge in discussions? If you weren’t at the meeting, what ideas/priorities/needs do you see for literacy services in 2012?

LCCT continues to build on the experiences and insights of partners each year- the feedback from annual meetings is crucial for identifying both strengths and weaknesses of the coalition. We look forward to continuing these conversations among Advisory Committees throughout the year.

Want to continue the conversations this week?

The Advisory Committee for the Literacy Illuminates campaign is meeting this Friday, March 2 @ 9 AM. Partners are encouraged to join this open committee as we work to design a massive literacy campaign in the Austin area tailored not only to address the issue of literacy, but bolster the existing literacy programs in the community. For more information on the campaign or committee meetings, contact Maegan Ellis.

Not a partner, but still want to get involved today?

Visit our website for information on Volunteering -Or-  join our cause by Donating!

Learner Web Turns 50!!

No not really. At least not in terms of age. But last week we did reach the milestone of 50 learners enrolled in the project, and that's something to celebrate!! When I first joined the Coalition and was handed this nebulous project with the basic instructions, "Here, run with it!" I had no idea what to expect. I didn't have a clear vision as to what Learner Web was or how it could be most beneficial to our partner agencies and the community at large. I couldn't really define 'digital literacy' much less talk to others about the need for increased computer literacy in Central Texas.
Now that we've got a full quarter of implementation under our belt, we're at the very beginning stages of seeing the fruits of our labor take shape. The ambiguity is gone, and we're growing by the day! We've brought on partners beyond the initial implementation team and we've trained almost 40 Learner Web tutors (affectionately referred to as CLICs or Computer Literacy & Internet Coaches). These CLICs have spent over 150 hours in the computer lab helping learners. Now that's a whole lot of giving!

Now go, develop for us!

A few months ago, our talented Development Officer moved on from LCCT. It was a sad time for us and we missed her (self-proclaimed) snarkyness around the office. On top of missing her personality, we gravely missed her high-quality development work. But rather than stretching our budget to hire a new development employee, we decided it would be best to split her roles (and they were many!) between a few of us here at LCCT.

Here's how my initial development meeting went down...

"So Peter (who admittedly has very minimal development experience), how would you like to take on the role of event manager, individual giving cultivation (huh, what's that!?!), and health literacy grants writing and management?"

"Umm, yeah that sounds good. Thanks." (Peter immediately heads to his computer to Google "Individual giving cultivation" and spends the following nights reading books on "The Benevon Model.")

Well, maybe it wasn't that simple...I mean, I did have a bit more to say than "umm, yeah that sounds good." But walking away from the meeting I felt like I was in a whirlwind trying to wrap my head around the new roles.

It's been a sharp learning curve (that I'm still in the midst of!), and my first big event is coming up this Sunday. It's called Literacy on Tap and it's going to be a friggin blast! It's an invite-only event (ooo la la!) and we're going to have live music, free appetizers from Zax, free beer from Jester King and Live Oak Breweries, and lots of word games. All is coming together these last few days before the event and (the purpose of this blog post) I have collaboration to thank for it.

Although I came into this position feeling a bit nervous about my new jobs, I was fully supported by colleagues, board members and volunteers. Take the Literacy on Tap planning committee for example, our planning committee is comprised of a development coworker and our ED, two members of our board of directors (one of which is the chair), and three highly committed volunteers (who happen to be two close friends of mine and my gf). This eclectic group coalesced and planned the most successful event in LCCT history! Well, that's a bit of stretch considering the event hasn't even taken place yet, but I can say that with only three more days to prepare I'm feeling very calm and stress-free. I'm confident it'll be a great event.

I've been with the Literacy Coalition for 2 years now and I've come to realize that it's the collaborative effort on projects and unending support that allows me to really love my job. I know that on any given day I can reach out to colleagues, board members, volunteers and community members for guidance and collaboration, and they'll be there without hesitation.

Volunteer for Computer Literacy!

I’m excited about LCCT bringing volunteers and students together through the Learner Web... and the launch date is almost here! I like to know what volunteers experience with different opportunities, and there’s only one way to find out. So I decided to co-tutor a computer class at LCCT's good friend and partner program, Manos de Cristo.

So far it’s been an interesting, fun experience, and I’ve learned a lot in a short time. With ESL and ABE, I’ve worked on giving concise directions, but now I try to say each step in 3 words or less. Of course, the most rewarding aspect is getting to know the students. Almost everyone in our evening class has a job, but they still go to class after for two hours, two nights a week. What motivates them? After our first class together, I asked them to do a quick notecard quiz. Here’s one question with their responses:

Why is it important learn computers and the internet?

“I want to learn email and pictures, I want to use the computer to look for information and not fall behind on the internet.”

“Porque quiero aprender mas ingles y tener mas oportunidad en mi trabajo.”

“I want to learn to manage files in order to easily manage my small business in the future.”

"To be updated with the rest of the world. So when my kids ask me questions about anything, I can be able to say something positive and answer. Learning basic computer lessons can help me achieve part of it."

If you can get online and find this blog, you can help the workers, small business owners, and parents in your community. Most tech-savvy people of my generation take their skills for granted, not realizing the amount or value of their expertise. By sharing your knowledge, you can share the opportunity and free information that the internet can bring. Volunteer to be a Computer Literacy and Internet Coach!

Never a Boring Classroom!

Only one thing will get me out of bed early on Saturday—an LCCT training for literacy instructors. Maybe you don’t kick off your weekend by getting up early to talk about the fascinating world of language acquisition, but there are some seriously smart and fun people who do. The volunteers and staff instructors I meet through LCCT never fail to impress me with their passion, insight, and ability. Yet what I enjoy most of all is how our classroom becomes a community.

We’re like-minded: we all care about literacy and the people we serve. We’re driven toward a common goal: to learn and share what we know about good teaching. We reject that a classroom should be boring, repetitive, or pointless. We pursue the prop or image that engages people, the lesson that builds on itself, and we want meaningful communication most of all. Here’s a look at last Saturday’s ESL Instructor Training!

Interest Inventory Cards let students look at images and make associations: they depict people at work, a doctor, a person holding a map, etc. Participants rank them based on what’s important to learn in class vs. what’s less important. I’m amazed at how many different associations one picture can produce.

One picture on the cards has a little blond kid holding a boombox. People in the training have said this image represents music, technology, dancing, childcare, entertainment, spending money, and Justin Bieber. Now that I think about it, I guess those are all related.

Authentic materials are props to represent the real world in the classroom. A volunteer, Ray, uses an authentic toy cellphone to make an authentic imaginary phone call.

Hard at work planning an ESL lesson—this group’s topic was “Housing” and they did a great job. If you need to find a new apartment on craigslist, I highly recommend them!

Another group hard at work planning… wait, is that a Toblerone? This group is hard at work planning a lesson and eating a Toblerone.

Classrooms don’t have to be boring, and with the people who show up for LCCT trainings, they never are. We had teachers, writers, gardening enthusiasts, musicians… and each person had a unique story that would make them great company on the weekend. I wish I could write here about how awesome all of these people were, but I’m out of space. So if you want to meet great people who make the classroom a fun place to be, get involved with literacy! Go to http://www.willread.org/Get-Involved.html