Oceanside Library ▬ Offers Free Online Courses To Help The Unemployed

Library Offers Free Online Courses To Help The Unemployed

SD Union Tribune: 7.21.2020 by Linda McIntosh

The Oceanside Public Library provides free online skill-development courses to help unemployed, furloughed or part-time workers get back in the job market. The courses are offered through the Coursera for Workforce Recovery program, administered through the library and made available by Coursera in response to people losing their jobs because of the pandemic. 

Folks can self-enroll in 40 curated collections of courses or view and enroll in any of the more than 4,000 course offerings from universities across the world.

The courses range from computer programming, digital literacy, data analytics/business analysis and software or app development to entrepreneurship, web design project management, marketing and business English among others.

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“The courses offered are taught by instructors at leading universities around the world,” said Chelsea Genack Eggli, literacy coordinator at the Library’s READS Learning Center, which offers access to the Coursera program along with other virtual learning programs.  READ MORE ➤➤

Become a Tutor or Talk to a Teacher

Call 760-435-5680, text 442-222-8298

or email  READS@oceansideca.org to

see if READS is a good fit for you

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 13

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 18-19 yrs. old

(college level entry)

Camarena Library ▬ First Virtual Tutor Meeting on August 17

First Virtual Tutor Meeting on August 17

The Literacy Place: August 2020

Our first virtual tutor meeting will be on August 17 via Zoom. It has been some months since we've held our regular tutor meetings, as they were previously held in the library. Now, we will hold our meetings online in order to check in and collaborate with each other. Since tutors are the backbone of our Adult Literacy Services, these meetings will focus on tutors' needs and concerns. During this month's meeting, we will discuss adapting to virtual tutor sessions, goal-setting for learners, and the many workbooks and resources the ALS program offers.

Workforce Literacy Workshops in Development

The COVID-19 public health crisis has worsened an already high unemployment rate in Imperial County--27.3% as of June 2020, according to the Employment Development Department of California. Because of this urgent need, the Adult Literacy Services program is responding by developing several workshops for adult learners. These workshops, which begin in September, will aim to help learners build confidence, explore career options, prepare for interviews, build their communication skills, market their skills, and conduct effective job searches.

Our literacy program is also working with existing community organizations to help learners receive the support they need during these times. The main purpose of these workshops is to assist learners with employment goals and direct them to the social services they need.  READ MORE ➤➤

Call the library at (760) 768-2170 to set up an appointment.

Automatic Readability Checker

Readability Consensus

Based on 7 readability formulas:

Grade Level: 12

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: 17-18 yrs. old

(Twelfth graders)

Free Virtual Workplace Experience Online Learning ◯ Edge Factor

Online Learning Is Easy with a Free Virtual Workplace Experience

@EdgeFactorShow

Edge Factor: 5.14.2020

Online Learning Is Easy with a Free Virtual Workplace Experience

As the 2019-20 school year winds down, COVID-19 is restricting students from exploring their options or allowing them to get out on Co-op or workplace tours.

In answer to this, Edge Factor proudly presents an all-new series of Virtual Workplace Experiences (VWE) to empower students to go behind closed doors and discover real-life work environments.

In the voice of an Industry professional, each Virtual Workplace Experience covers topics such as the equipment and tools used, typical aspects of the job, safety, technology and materials, and more. Each episode features a different company, including Niagara Parks, I-Cubed Robotics, Flying Colours, Brouwer Construction, and many more. The accompanying lesson plan equips educators to assess students’ prior knowledge of the industry, assess the information that students learned after watching the video and help students to create goals for their future career pathways.

FREE Videos & Lesson Plans

Any educator can click here to download the free weekly Lesson Plan and share the video with their students!  READ MORE ➤➤

Automatic Readability Checker

Based on (7) readability formulas:

Grade Level: 16

Reading Level: difficult to read.

Reader's Age: College graduate

SCLLN TUTOR ◯ LEARNER RESOURCES

Adult Learner LINKS

Organizations - Blogs - Exercises - Pronunciation & More

Learn to Earn Toolkit via NCFL

Learn to Earn Toolkit

National Center for Families Learning

Use the Learn to Earn Toolkit to build skills to prepare you for the workforce. Through your training on the Learn to Earn Toolkit, you will:

➧ Create your personal account and profile

➧ Be introduced to 10 topic areas of learning for the workforce

➧ Learn specific lessons within each topic area

➧ Explore career possibilities

➧ Learn new vocabulary in context

What is the Learn to Earn Toolkit?

Learn to Earn Toolkit is a free online collection of articles that focus on work skills. Articles focus on ten skills that employers say are important for new employees to have. The skills are also ones that employers say many new employees do not have. There are a total of 30 articles at each level that focus on these ten skills. Adult students can read articles and take quizzes on their own. The topics can also be used in adult education or family learning programs. Instructors can track a learner’s progress, and learners can print a list of the skills they have learned.

What is included in the content?

Learn to Earn offers a topic overview for each of the ten focus skills. Skill overview pages include a short introduction to the skill, an activity to practice with a partner, and a link to explore for more information about a specific job that uses the skill. On each skill page, you can link to three lessons for deeper learning about specific concepts of that skill.

What is the grade level of the text on Learn to Earn Toolkit?

Intermediate texts on Learn to Earn Toolkit are written at an average 4.7 grade level. Advanced texts are written at an average 7.7 grade level. Grade levels were determined using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.

How are the quizzes structured?

Each quiz consists of six content questions, one idiom question, and three vocabulary questions.

Choose a skill and start learning!

You’ll find an introduction to read for each skill. Read the overview, practice the skill, and explore more information about the topic. You will find three articles for each skill.

You’ll find vocabulary words to help you learn more. You can use the Word Wheel to see how many words you learn. Take a quiz after each article to add that skill to your work-related skills list.

✬ Critical Thinking

✬ English Language

✬ Oral Communication

✬ Reading Comprehension

✬ Teamwork

✬ Diversity

✬ Information Technology Application

✬ Professionalism

✬ Social Responsibility

✬ Written Communication

National City Library :: Work Readiness Workshops

Work Readiness Workshops

National City Community Calendar

Literacy Services helps adults improve their basic reading, spelling, and math skills empowering them to reach their full potential in life. We match adult

learners with trained tutors for one-on-one or small group sessions.

Services:

Reading, Writing, Spelling and Math Tutoring

Computer Readiness Classes (Basic and Intermediate)

GED, Citizenship Test Prep, Driver's License Test Prep

Literacy Computer Lab

The Literacy Computer Lab is a special computer lab for adult literacy learners. The lab includes access to Mavis Beacon Typing, Lexia Strategies, Ultimate Phonics, Rosetta Stone, Math Tutor, and Learning Express. The lab is open during Literacy Office hours.

If you or someone you know needs help, contact Literacy Services staff.

All services are free and confidential! 619-470-5860

Azusa Library : : Making Skills Everyone's Business

New Report Summons a Call to Make Skills Everyone’s Business 

Azusa Library, The Literacy Update: March/April 2015

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE) released a new report in February: Making Skills Everyone’s Business: A Call to Transform Adult Learning in the United States. Its authors’ review of a convergence of data, analysis, and policy highlight just how much skills matter – to individuals, their families and communities, and to the economy overall.  The Literacy Program at the Azusa City Library answers that call and invites you to join with us.  Here are a few highlights from the report that emphasize why we do what we do.

In the United States 36 million adults have low skills, scoring below Level 2 on the most recent international literacy assessment.  Further, the skill levels of U.S. adults have remained stagnant over two decades. The report details who has low skills and who would benefit from gaining higher skills.  For instance, we find that two-thirds of the low-skilled population (nearly 24 million people) are employed. With slow projected growth in the labor force, that means that most of tomorrow’s workforce already is  working today. Low-skilled workers tend to be employed in retail and auto mechanics, hospitality and food service, health and social work, manufacturing, and construction.

  

How can individuals benefit?

 Higher skills lead to higher wages.

 Increasing parents’ skill can improve education outcomes for their children – “double duty” dollars is what some people call it.

 Higher-skilled adults are healthier, with implications for their ability to work,     parent, and participate in their communities.

How can business and industry benefit?

 Increasing adult skills increases productivity.

 Because higher-skilled workers are also likely to be healthier, helping adults  improve their skills indirectly raises productivity.

 Increasing skills expands access to better employment and better-paying jobs, creating new customers for products and services.

How can the community benefit?

 Raising adult skills could lift community educational attainment for the next generation as well.

 States with better-educated workforces have higher economic growth and higher wages.

 Raising adult skills could potentially save communities substantial amounts in healthcare costs.

 Integrating immigrants may benefit communities economically.

 Raising adult skills could result in more civic engagement in communities.

Centro Latino for Literacy - L.A. Has Work to Do on Literacy

L.A. Has Work to Do on Literacy
LA Business Journal: February 25 – March 3, 2013, p. 75
Op-Ed written by Mari Riddle
(president and chief executive of Centro Latino for Literacy)
on Centro Latino for Literacy Website - Media

In recent national speeches, President Obama has outlined a series of principles on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. While immigration remains a key issue in a global city like Los Angeles, the current local elections and its victors will steward our vibrant city in this highly competitive, complex and interconnected world.

To remain competitive, we – as elected officials, business executives and non-profit leaders – must focus our efforts to maintain and produce an educated and skilled workforce not only in the formal economy, but also in the informal economy. By the informal economy, I’m referring to unregulated and unreported economic activity.

According to a 2005 Economic Roundtable report, “Hopeful Workers, Marginal Jobs: L.A.’s Off-the-Books Labor Force,” an estimated 16 percent of the city’s workforce is employed in the informal economy. This represents $3.6 billion in annual payroll, if we assume an annualized wage of $12,000. At the Los Angeles County level, this annual payroll amount rises to $8 billion.

For many individuals who experience lack of upward mobility in the formal economy due to lack of human capital, English proficiency and basic literacy skills, the informal economy remains a viable option for them to pursue economic opportunities. While informal workers lack basic governmental regulations and protections in the workplace, they also fail to report income during tax season.

To help integrate these informal workers into the mainstream, we first need to address the high rate of nonliteracy among many of these individuals, particularly among Spanish speaking adults. In the county, for instance, the U.S. census’ 2011 American Community Survey finds that more than 220,000 adult Spanish speakers are functionally nonliterate in either Spanish or English. By increasing literacy among these individuals, we will increase the level of human capital and economic productivity in our local economy.  READ MORE !

Centro Latino for Literacy - NCLR Workforce Development Forum

NCLR Workforce Development Forum
October 2 – 3
Los Angeles

Centro Latino for Literacy will present a “Workplace & Adult Literacy” workshop at the 3rd Annual NCLR Workforce Development Forum. For the past 2 years the National Council of La Raza has convened over 400 workforce development professionals from nonprofits, WIBs, community colleges, employers, foundation and public agencies to discuss programs and policies that strengthen the Latino workforce.

Workplace and Adult Literacy
Aida Cardenas, Executive Director, Building Skills Partnership
Paul Garza Jr., Board Chair, Centro Latino for Literacy
Cathay Reta, Adult Literacy Coordinator, Azusa Library
Mari Riddle, President and CEO, Centro Latino for Literacy

Over 1.6 million Latino adults in the U.S., mostly women, are functionally non‐literate in either Spanish or English. In L.A. County, 11% of adult Spanish-speaking immigrants are non‐literate. At this workshop, you will learn about an innovative pre‐ESL literacy solution that transforms lives, as well as the critical role that literacy plays in empowering the Latino workforce, family, and community.

Jobs for Main Street Act = ACTION ALERT

ALA Action Alert

Out of Work Librarians Need Your Help !

Call NOW to Include Libraries in the Jobs for Main Street Act !

Right now, the House of Representatives is debating the Jobs for Main Street Act, and this bill would provide funding to a variety of programs aimed at creating jobs. No other organization is as dynamic or as well-equipped to build jobs as libraries, yet neither the House nor the Senate version of this legislation mentions libraries. By including specific bill language that includes librarians, we can continue to help people look for jobs, help people obtain their GED, build valuable job skills, and much more. To read the full proposal, please click here.

The House is expected to vote on this legislation TODAY. Please call your representatives TODAY and your senators tomorrow; tell them you would like to see librarians included in the Jobs for Main Street Act and explain to them that those funds are critical in putting librarians back to work so they can help people get back to work.

1. Libraries play a key role in getting America back to work again. Nationwide, the library is the only source of no-fee Internet access for 71 percent of Americans. With more and more job applications only being accepted online, the public library is becoming the center of most American's job searches.

2. State Library Agencies reported in November 2009 that 77 percent of states cut funds that support local public libraries, which has meant layoffs, staff furloughs, and forced retirements. This has caused a 75 percent cut in services to the public including canceled statewide databases used for job searching, homework help, and cuts in 24/7 reference, which are used by small businesses and students.

Not Sure Who to Contact = Click Here !
Find elected officials, including the president, members of Congress, governors, state legislators, and more.

For Illiterate Americans, Help is on the Way . . . sort of via VALUEUSA

For Illiterate Americans, Help is on the Way . . . sort of
Medill Reports: July 22, 2009 by Chris Linden

WASHINGTON—Question: What do a retired teacher, an auto worker and a multi-million dollar business owner have in common ?

Answer: They can’t—or couldn’t—read.

National estimates suggest nearly 90 million American adults are just like them. Many would have trouble reading a headline, and it’s likely they struggle to read this story, too.

Marty Finsterbusch can read this sentence, but he has difficulty writing it – even though he holds a college degree. As the executive director of VALUE, Finsterbusch and his nonprofit group train literacy volunteers and push for better adult education programs.

Finsterbusch, who is in his forties, can read and comprehend a sentence, he said, but a learning disability makes it difficult for him to write. He uses computer programs to read emails and dictate messages.

“My reading level is there, but I can’t put it in writing,” Finsterbusch said.National surveys suggest that illiteracy is most common among the poor and immigrants. Finsterbusch’s entire organization, based in Media Pa., is run by highly-functioning adults who can neither read nor write.

Since he joined an adult education class in the mid-1980s, Finsterbusch has been involved with literacy coalitions to ensure other adults get the same opportunity. He launched VALUE in 1998 to continue pushing for education programs.

Bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate last week could provide new resources for adult learners, including increased access, more funding and workforce and technology training. But cash alone—which could equal half a billion dollars—only skims the surface of the problem, advocates said.

“We’re really fighting to get a seat at the table,” said Jeff Carter, executive director of DC LEARNs. READ MORE !

Literacy . . . Info . . . News . . . Questions - WebQuest

WebQuest

To help adult literacy learners in three different areas: health literacy, family literacy, and workplace literacy. Although these WebQuests can be used by the learner independently, working together with a tutor will produce the best results. WebQuests also provides audio as well as visual support, the learners will be able to successfully learn how to gather the information they need.

~ You will learn to use the internet
~ You will learn to use video and sound on the internet
~ You will learn about the healthcare world
~ You will practice your writing skills
~ You will learn how to find information on the internet

Follow the steps in WebQuest. The steps need to be done in the order you see them listed.

WebQuest will also teach you how to use the internet and improve your writing.