Literacy News

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The Reading Horizons program has helped countless individuals obtain the skills they need to acquire and maintain a job.

Every day, Reading Horizons receives calls from individuals interested in its program in order to help them gain employment in this troubled economy. Every aspect of finding, acquiring, and maintaining a job requires basic reading and writing skills. Most jobs require the applicant to read at or above a 10th-grade reading level. Despite the need for literacy skills in the workplace, it has been reported by the National Institute for Literacy that more than 20% of adults read at or below a…

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Contrary to popular belief, some very smart, accomplished people cannot read well. This unexpected difficulty in reading in relation to intelligence, education and professional status is called dyslexia, and researchers at Yale School of Medicine and University of California Davis, have presented new data that explain how otherwise bright and intelligent people struggle to read.

The study, which will be published in the January 1, 2010 issue of the journal Psychological Science, provides a validated definition of dyslexia. “For the first time, we’ve found empirical evidence that shows the relationship between IQ and reading over time differs for typical compared to dyslexic readers,”…

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Tags: at, concordia university chicago, Technology

Can you identify at least 80 art masterpieces by sight?

A Concordia University Chicago professor says children should be able to identify at least that many by the end of 8th grade. And she’s developed a downloadable learning tool to help teachers encourage a knowledge of art history at a young age.

Debra Herman, M.F.A., Concordia associate professor of art and art education, has spent the last three years developing comprehensive, grade-specific art history lessons that teachers can download online for free.

She and the University have just launched “Artists and Their Art: Sharing Visual Stories,” her curricula of core art knowledge for…

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Today, BAM Radio Network, the education station online, announced that the International Reading Association (IRA) has launched Reading Radio powered by BAM. The new media resource will give IRA’s 85,000 members, reading professionals, teachers, reading specialists, faculty, and researchers worldwide access to the best thinking on the evolution of literacy in the digital age. Standards, assessment, and parent involvement are a few of the topics that will be addressed on IRA Reading Radio.

Each monthly installment of IRA Reading Radio will feature IRA Executive Director William B. Harvey interviewing an expert on a key topic in reading education. The first program…

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Do only computer scientists need an education in computer science? In today’s innovation-driven economy, the answer is ‘not anymore’.

Since the skills learned in computer science, like complex problem solving and analytical reasoning skills, are important for building a foundation for numerous careers including jobs in science and technology, as well as jobs in marketing, journalism and the creative arts, most people will need an education in computer science. Even though the United States is a leader in the field of computer science at the college level, most middle and high school students receive no exposure to computer science. One major…

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Tags: at, teaching kids how to study, web

With growing importance being placed on standardized testing, parents and educators alike are finding that adequate preparation for state-mandated tests and in-classroom exams is critical. The U.S. Department of Education reveals that while most students make steady progress during the school year, they tend to fall behind during holidays and summer months. A solution is needed that helps students continue academic progress during their breaks and achieve higher scores on crucial tests when school is back in session. Come January, schools across Georgia will begin preparing for CRCTs, and the pressure is on principals and teachers to produce.

Qwizzy’s World ( www.qwizzysworld.com ),…

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The impact of text messaging on the decline of formal writing among teens has been debated in pedagogical circles ever since cell-phone ownership became an adolescent rite of passage in the mid-2000s. But according to a University of Illinois expert in media literacy, not only are critics who argue that texting is synonymous with literary degradation wrong, they also often overlook the bigger role that texting and its distant cousin, “tweeting,” could play in education and research.

Carol L. Tilley, a professor of library and information science at Illinois, says that schools and libraries should consider embracing texting and tweeting as…

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Niles Technology Group today announced their Achievers Writing Center apps for iPhone and iPod touch. Achievers Writing Center apps are revolutionizing how high school and college students write essays and papers. The apps make it easier to be more successful at writing, and they also significantly reduce the time and money required to produce excellent work. For a fixed, affordable price, each app comes with professional writing center services and more.

Students know that time is a precious commoditythat they cannot get back and that money is finite and must be used wisely. The main goals of Achievers Writing Center are to help students be more successful writing…

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Bill Drew, author of a successful new e-book on writing, ‘The Secret DNA of Writing Essays – And Everything Else‘, claims Rhetoric has caused the writing crisis in US public schools. Isn’t that a rather harsh indictment of Rhetoric? “Not really,” said Drew. “What’s the dominant emphasis in teaching essay writing in public schools? Introductions, thesis statements, topic sentences, paragraphs, conclusions – all of those came straight out of Rhetoric. And those are just forms, not content. What if a writer did all those forms right, but the audience had already read the content, the ideas, before? The forms wouldn’t…

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Tags: at, ESL, Illiteracy, Literacy, washtenaw literacy, washtenaw literacy power tutoring

Washtenaw Literacy, a non-profit organization devoted to eradicating adult illiteracy, is now accepting registrations for the 6th annual Power Tutoring event. Power Tutoring offers a free series of learning workshops for Michigan’s professional and paraprofessional literacy providers. This year, Power Tutoring will take place on Saturday, February 27th. Washtenaw Community College generously donates needed classroom space and equipment for the event.

Workshops provide answers to tutors’ current concerns and focus on practical teaching techniques.

Sessions cover a broad range of topics including: working with advanced learners, making a book come alive, teaching to the test (both COMPASS and TOEFL), ESL tutoring, and…

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