Avenue usage reports are coming to attach to SPO proposals to IRCC
The Avenue – LearnIT2teach Project is getting a number of requests for support letters from frontline LINC and CLIC agencies. We value our clients and want to support service providers that have already integrated Avenue.ca in their local teaching and learning, or which are at earlier stages in learning technology innovation and submitting plans to IRCC for broader uptake.
We’ve considered responding case by case to requests, but we think we have a better idea: we are customizing the Avenue.ca reporting system so that it generates unique activity reports for each agency.
This new functionality will be ready to produce reports by mid-January. At that time we will be sending out reports to all the service providers in the system which they can attach as supporting documents to their IRCC proposals.
As part of a strategic review of all our services and activities, we are conducting a survey of teachers and administrators who use Avenue.ca in their language training programs. Please help the Avenue team engage with constant improvement by completing this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/avenue23-24 Any input you can offer will inform our work on your behalf. We’ll be closing the survey to responses on January 15 2024.
The technology leadership courses were released in 2015. Since then, several hundred LINC pros have made their way through. But we decided early this year the course content needed refreshing. That’s done, but we’ve taken things a step further by re-formatting the course as ten microcredentials. The course is now divided into ten mini-courses, each of which will take about 2.5 – 3 hours to complete.
Every time a participant completes a microcredential, a digital badge will be awarded. Once all ten microcredentials are completed, a certificate in newcomer language training learning technology leadership will be awarded.
We invite professionals in IRCC or MLITSD-funded language programs like LINC, CLIC or Ontario Adult Language Training to request enrolment.
The course is mentored and delivered online through Avenue.ca. Participants in the course have self-identified as technology leaders, and their forum posts reflect valuable lessons from their local language training programs.
The Introduction & the Ten Micro-courses:
Avenue Leadership Course Introduction (a pre-requisite for the other nine)
Technology-enhanced language learning (TELL) & Computer-assisted language learning (CALL)
Blended Language Teaching and Learning
The Avenue Project
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Avenue Teacher Technology Standards
Avenue Student Technology Standards
Avenue Program Technology Standards
Program Performance
Leadership & Innovations Theory
Leadership
Micro-courses can be completed in any order after a participant completes the Introduction. Participants progress at their own pace and as their schedules allow. Please note that all microcredentials are not complete yet. We are working to complete them all over the next few months.
If you are looking to delve deeper into the question of learning technology innovation in the newcomer language training sector, here’s a link to the enrolment form.
The PBLA team at the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks has released a new document for programs using physical or electronic portfolios with their learners. The document provides information about the Language Companion binders, a checklist for learner portfolios and it references Avenue.ca’s binder and ePortfolio solution. It is called “Key Considerations for Language Companions and Learner Portfolios” and can be accessed on the PBLA Guidelines site under the FAQ section. Here is the direct link to the document.
In early 2023, the Avenue – LearnIT2teach Project began development of an informal language training online platform for newcomers to Canada. The CanAvenue.ca platform will begin piloting in September 2023. Conceptual work on this initiative had been ongoing for some years prior. The site will provide self-access resources for a variety of learners: prospective immigrants still in ‘pre-arrival’ mode, newcomers on waiting lists for LINC seats, or currently in LINC but wanting additional language learning resources, and newcomers who have completed their formal ESL eligibility but want to continue the development of their English fluency and Canadian cultural skills.
The course encourages and prepares learners to learn independently. The pilot tests a number of relevant methodologies especially Extensive and Intensive Reading or Listening. The pilot platform will provide resources on citizenship preparation, pronunciation, Aboriginal voices and other representation from Canada’s diverse cultures.
For settlement language training educators, the site will be an option for assigning work beyond the formal classroom, and for learners, the site will provide orientation and bridges to formal language training such as LINC.
The Avenue team is pursuing partnerships with front-line agencies to encourage learner referrals. If you’d like more information, please email admin@learnit2teach.ca .
The Avenue – LearnIT2teach Project is reaching out to TESL professionals in the settlement language training sector for guidance: We invite you to join a conversation on sector learning technology standards. Please take a few minutes to fill out this online survey to help guide our work: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/techstandards
Some deeper background to put this initiative in context:
Information Technology (IT) is ubiquitous in 21st Century life. One can argue we’re at the point where the term educational ‘technology’ is redundant. Just as books, notebooks, blackboards and chalk were normal features of education for many decades, IT is now an indispensable part of the toolbox for teachers and learners. The variety and complexity of the technology and the fact that it constantly changes continue to present teachers and students with significant challenges.
The Avenue – LearnIT2teach Project analyzed existing educational technology standards and developed a strategy for creating homegrown standards for the Canadian settlement language training (SLT) sector. The project team took a deep dive on two standards frameworks: The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE.org), and TESOL Learning Standards for Educators.
The project decided that our own made-for-Canada standards are a necessity if the standards are to reflect the unique needs of newcomers and sector professionals. An expert team of researchers and writers began work in February 2023. The research – writing team includes three of the authors of the TESOL standards plus strong representation from SLT professionals. The development process is a dialogue with front line professionals in the sector.
“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” Margaret J. Wheatley
Do you have ideas on blended or remote teaching to share with your settlement language training peers? The Avenue – LearnIT2teach Project may be willing to support you in communicating your better practices in a Zoom webinar, project portal post, journal article or the moderation of a discussion on the Avenue Teacher-only Forum.
If you want to explore a topic before submitting a proposal, feel free to consult teachers in our project forums about your approach. This may be helpful in refining your proposal and demonstrating the need for it.
If you have your own experiences and better practices to share, please use this form to submit a proposal: https://forms.gle/h5ZQKAwA6pLTruSbA
If your proposal is selected, the project team will assist with the development of your idea, the promotion, and the logistics. There will be negotiated compensation for successful proposals. The Request for Proposals will remain open for some time – submitted proposals will be evaluated as they come in.
This 3- to 4-hour course prepares teachers to facilitate an Avenue course in the Instructor (non-editing) role. Teachers with this role in a course can show and hide content, move content on the course page, but they cannot edit the courseware. The Instructor (non-editing) role is ideal for supply teachers who need to fill in for teachers with their own Avenue courses who must take leave for short or even extended periods of time. (Avenue teachers who have progressed to LearnIT2teach Stage 2 can facilitate a course without this training and do not need to enroll in the Avenue Basics for Supply Teachers course.)
In addition to learning how to show, hide and move content, the Avenue Basics for Supply Teachers course introduces participants to the learners’ Avenue Help block and the teachers’ Live Help widget. It also prepares teachers to use (not create or edit) Discussion Forums, Assignments (including PoodLL speaking tasks), BigBlueButton, Quizzes, H5P activities, the ePortfolio and more.
Avenue Basics for Supply Teachers course participants also learn how Avenue supports settlement language training (SLT) in Canada, how Avenue works as a Learning Management System, how units compatible with Portfolio-Based Language Assessment are structured on Avenue and they get a general overview of the LearnIT2Teach project and the training it offers SLT teachers. In addition, participants explore different types of activities as a LINC learner in a sample Avenue (PBLA-compatible) module.
For information about enrolling (temporary) teachers in this course, contact admin@learnit2teach.ca.
Calling all LINC instructors: Opportunity to test new NLOC courseware!
If you are a LINC instructor on avenue.ca and you’d like to add PBLA-aligned units to your course next semester, the National LINC Online Curriculum Project is pleased to share that more ready-made content will be made available for testing. This winter, Achēv is seeking LINC instructors to test up to three CLB-4 e-Units. Your feedback is valuable to us in the improvement of all NLOC courseware! All units will be hosted in Avenue.ca. The following new units can be added to your course(s) for this test period:
Going to the Emergency Department
Understanding Job Scams
Telling a Friend About a Library Program*
*Note: Telling a Friend About a Library Program will be made available slightly later for the winter semester
Avenue.ca instructors can click here to preview e-unit activities and become a tester today for selected e-Units. Complete this registration form to request access to test units for the winter semester. Please register by Monday, January 16th, 2023.
The following PBLA-compatible modules are available on Avenue. Teachers can request any of these modules through their mentor and preview them in the PBLA Sample Modules course (available on their Dashboard).
Grocery Shopping (CLB 1L-2L)
Dealing with Emergencies (CLB 1L-2L)
Finding a Place to Live (CLB 1L-2L)
Numbers (CLB 1L-2)
Canadian Money (CLB 1L-2)
A Calendar (CLB 1L-2)
A Child’s Education (CLB 1L-2L) ———-
Saving Money When Shopping (CLB 1)
Back-to-School Shopping (CLB 1-2)
Work and Pay (CLB 1-2)
Personal Banking (CLB 1-2)
Insurance (CLB 1-2)
Finding a Place to Live (CLB 1-2)
Dealing with Emergencies (CLB 1-2)
A Child’s Education (CLB 1-2)
Safety at Work (CLB 1-2)
Reporting a Lost/Stolen Bank Card (CLB 1-2) ———–
Canada: Provinces and Territories (CLB 2-4)
———–
Canada: Population (CLB 3-4)
Work and Pay (CLB 3-4)
Internet and Phone Scams (CLB 3-4)
Online Banking (CLB 3-4)
Choosing a Bank Account (CLB 3-4)
Dealing with Household Problems (CLB 3/4)
At the Walk-In Clinic (CLB 3-4)
Reporting a Lost or Stolen Bank / Credit Card (CLB 3-4)
Getting Around a City (CLB 3-4)
Shopping for Groceries (CLB 3-4)
Making Requests in the Workplace (CLB 3-4) ————
Canada: Indigenous Peoples (CLB 3-5)
Canada: People and Diversity (CLB 3-5)
Taxes in Canada (CLB 3-5)
Online Shopping (CLB 3-5) ———-
Avoiding Scams and Fraud (CLB 5-6)
Dealing with Issues in the Community (CLB 5-6)
Dealing with Common Health Issues (CLB 5-6)
Giving and Listening to Presentations (CLB 5-6)
Roles and Responsibilities in Workplace Meetings (CLB 5-6)
Giving and Receiving Advice (CLB 5-6)
Shopping Online (CLB 5-6)
Preparing to Attend a Workplace Event (CLB 5-6)
Participating in a Brainstorming and Problem-Solving Meeting (CLB 5-6)
Developing Academic and Research Skills (CLB 5-6) **new Sept. 2022 ———–
Workplace Culture (CLB 5+)
Workplace Laws and Policies (CLB 5+)
Instructions and Procedures at Work (CLB 5+)
Making Requests at Work (CLB 5+)
Participating in Meetings (CLB 5+)
Participating in Online Meetings (CLB 5+)
Resolving Conflicts at Work (CLB 5+)
Reading Product and Service Reviews (CLB 5+)
Getting Information From Tables, Charts and Graphs (CLB 5+)
Reading News and Feature Articles (CLB 5+)
Taking Notes While Reading (CLB 5+)
Taking Notes While Listening (CLB 5+) ———–
Asking For & Receiving Feedback in an Annual Performance Review (CLB 7-8)
Arranging a Workplace Event (CLB 7-8)
Participating in Workplace Meetings (CLB 7-8)
Job Interviews (CLB 7-8)
Understanding and Giving Presentations about Workplace Safety (CLB 7-8) **new Oct. 2022
Entries in the bibliography summarize the contents of more than 100 articles from the research literature.
Updated with fresh entries and offered as an online resource, the bibliography provides summaries of key research into the application of learning technology and modernized approaches in the settlement language training sector.
Hello and welcome to the new LearnIT2Teach live chat support. Help is available through Live Chat daily, Monday to Friday. Your mentor is also available to support you.
Please click on the Green Chat button on the bottom right hand side of the page to see if we are currently available for a live chat or to leave us a message.
Thank you
Learnit2teach Team
Completing Stage 3 or Stage 4 of the LearnIT2Teach teacher training has been recognized by TESL Ontario as a Post TESL Certificate Training Accreditation Course. Upon successful completion of one of the stages, TESL Ontario members are encouraged to apply to the organization for the accreditation. However, if a teacher completed Stage 3 prior to July 2014, she or he is not eligible as the training stage has been modified to meet TESL Ontario PTCT criteria.
LearnIT2teach Word Cloud
LINC Home Study
Learn English at Home with LINC Home Study
Do you want to learn English but can’t attend classroom courses? If you qualify, LINC Home Study offers English language training at a distance for free. You can choose to study online or using a book and CD. A TESL-certified instructor will contact you once a week for a lesson by phone or VoIP, monitor your progress and provide you with ongoing feedback and support.
Ontario: www.linchomestudy.ca
Canada: www.linchsnational.ca
CLIC en ligne
« CLIC en ligne » un programme GRATUIT qui vous permettra comme nouvel arrivant au Canada d’améliorer vos compétences linguistiques en français à votre rythme. Vous n’êtes pas seul, un formateur personnalise votre apprentissage, vous échangez avec d’autres apprenants. Vous n’avez besoin que d’un ordinateur et d’un accès internet. www.clicenligne.ca
« CLIC en ligne » is a FREE program that helps you as a newcomer to Canada improve your French language skills at your own pace. You are not alone, a trainer personalizes your learning, you exchange with other learners. All you need is a computer and internet access www.clicenligne.ca