Did You Know??

The Literacy Information and Communication System (LINCS) offers courses in six (6) topic areas:

• Career Pathways
• Disabilities and Equitable Outcomes
• English Language Acquisition
• Integrating Technology
• Science
• Teaching and Learning

The LINCS Learning Portal is an open-access, web-based learning platform that provides professional development for adult educators and practitioners.

The courses offered on the LINCS Learning Portal are available to educators at no charge. There are over 20 self-paced online courses available for use anytime, anywhere. Each course is virtually facilitated, though registration is required.

To find out the average amount of hours it takes to complete each course, please see the descriptions listed below. Note: The courses do not track the amount of time it takes for a user to complete them; rather, the number of hours given for each course is based on a general estimate.

For more information on completing LINCS Learning Portal courses, please view the Learning Portal Course Guide.

A few examples of courses offered include:

• The Teaching Adults to Read: Teaching Beginning and Intermediate Readers course is for adult educators and explores evidence-based instructional practices for supporting adult beginning and intermediate readers in mastering essential skills, from alphabetics to comprehension. This course includes six modules: Introduction, Diagnostic Assessment, Alphabetics, Vocabulary, Fluency, and Comprehension.

• The Teaching Adults to Read: Teaching Advanced Readers course is for adult educators and explores evidence-based instructional practices for supporting adult advanced readers in mastering essential skills. This course includes four modules: Introduction, Advanced Diagnostics, Advanced Comprehension, and Advanced Vocabulary. These two Teaching Adult to Read (TAR) online courses replace the previous TAR trainings and include updated research.

• The Integrating Technology in the Adult Education Classroom course covers the purposes for integrating technology, explores guidelines for planning to integrate technology into instruction, and organizes thinking about the wide range of technology tools available. Examples of adult education practitioners’ experiences in integrating technology are incorporated throughout the course. In the culminating activity, participants create a Technology Integration Action Plan for a unit or lesson that they select for use with their adult learners.

The course descriptions listed are only a few of the courses offered through LINCS. For a full listing of courses, go to: LINCS Learning Portal.

USA Learns Launched a New “Integration ESL” Course: Access America

Learn more about the new course "Access America" from USA Learns. It helps immigrants improve their English and learn how to succeed in the United States. Visit USA Learns to learn FREE!

In the course, you will meet the Martinez family. They moved to the United States from El Salvador. Moving to a new country is not easy, but the family has learned a lot about living in the U.S. In this course, you will learn along with them, as you watch videos and practice new vocabulary and grammar.

·       Access America Flyer for Students

·       Access America Flyer for Teachers

DISABILITIES

The LDA Podcast

What is ADHD?

Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects focus, attention and behavior, and can make learning challenging.

ADHD is a disorder that includes difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity. Although ADHD is not considered a learning disability, research indicates that 30-50% of children with ADHD also have a specific learning disability, and that the two conditions can interact to make learning extremely challenging. It can be determined to be a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), making a student eligible to receive special education services.

Listen to our latest podcast episode on ADHD!

We talk with Dr. Vincent Alfonso about the types of ADHD, how different symptoms show up in children and adults, common ADHD myths, the frequency of having both ADHD and LD, and more!

ALA’s annual conference, Building Resilience, was held May 19-20 at the AALRC. It was our first in-person gathering since the AACAE Conference in November 2019. Speakers this year covered topics including Technology for Older Students, Coaching Student Mindset & Self Efficacy in the Age of Anxiety, Customer Service, Equity in Adult Education: The Importance of Cultural Competence and Inclusion, LACES, Health Literacy Resources and Teaching with Ellii.

Following the conference was the annual luncheon, held this year at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion. Keynote speaker was Karen Walker (2022 AACAE Keynote Speaker). A highlight each year is the annual awards. And the winners are:

• Student of the Year: Khoa Tran, Literacy Action of Central Arkansas and Jackie Grissom, Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties
• Tutor of the Year: Barbara Fagan, Dogwood Literacy Council
•  AmeriCorps Member of the Year: Irma Jaime, Literacy Action of Central Arkansas
• Outstanding Business Partner Award: We Are Washington Community Center, Donnie Reid
• Innovative Project Award: Lit to Go, Ozark Foothills Literacy Project
• Win Paul Rockefeller Leadership Award: Paul Chapman, nominated by the Literacy Council of Bowie and Miller Counties