1. New VALBEC Life Members

It was with great pleasure that the VALBEC committee recognised the commitment to the Adult LLN field, and in particular, VALBEC,  by awarding Lynne Matheson and Sarah Deasey Life Membership.

Lynne Matheson has been a member of VALBEC and the committee for many years – the driving force behind many conferences, forums, and other events. She is passionate and committed to the sector and has a strong sense of justice for Adult Learners and a vision for the future.

Sarah Deasey is the Further Education Coordinator at Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre and has led the Learn Local - RTO for 20+ years. Sarah has convened Fine Print, VALBEC's journal of Adult LLN for many years and has been instrumental in volunteer committee with her knowledge of the sector, its history and people involved.

Both Lynne and Sarah are so well and highly regarded in the sector – professionally and personally. Congratulations Lynne and Sarah.

2. Spend this year's money on next year's event

Spend this year's money on next year's event (talk to your boss about that!). 

Got money stuck in an account that will disappear on June 30? Register now and we'll invoice you immediately.

Also you get discounts for Early Birds - better than worms!

And there's discounts for ACAL and VALBEC members too

3. VALBEC conference 2018 - Literacy 4.0

Thanks to all the presenters and those who attended this year's conference. It was a very successful day with some interesting discussions and positive feedback.

A key issue for success in Industry 4.0 is in understanding the nature of the literate practices of contemporary work that increasingly involves smart factories, robotics, and the gig economy. Keynote speakers from Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Prof. Lesley Farrell and Dr. Chris Corbel set the scene for the day with their research into 'The literacy 4.0 project'. You can read more about their work here.

The afternoon followed with many practical workshops. Some of these presentations can be found here.

For more photos and comments of the day see here

4. New VALBEC logo

We are turning 40 years old this year and have decided to have a bit of a facelift!

This is our new logo.

This is still reminiscent of the old logo but hinting at the digital aspect of new literacies.

5. Resources

40 Stories of Adult Literacy Learners

Here are 8 stories from the USA - 'Literacy Changes Lives' Proliteracy blog.

Many more stories can be found on the site.

Provided by Meg Cotter, Co-President

Everyday Numeracy: Street Maths

What Numeracy skills do our students need to survive and thrive at home, at the shops, at work?

Take a look at Laura Overdeck's TED Talk, Street Math.

Laura talks about how our fear of numbers can trip us up daily and how we only really need to understand relatively simple Maths concepts – addition, multiplication, proportion, fractions, powers of 10.

Laura Bilodeau Overdeck is also the founder of Bedtime Math, a not for profit that helps kids love maths. You can sign up for Overdeck's wacky nightly math problems online.

If you are into the Flipped Classroom style of teaching and / or you have students with a range of numeracy needs, then the free tutorials on the Khan Academy website are another great resource.

Provided by Rhonda Raisbeck, VALBEC Secretary

Building Strength with Numeracy

'Building Strength with Numeracy' – practical, tested resources for teachers to use in a range of settings and made accessible online. Each section of each topic is a PDF allowing immediate downloading, printing and use by teachers and students.

The first six topics are provided as a free download for all numeracy practitioners. The topics 'Decimals' and 'Measurement' are free to VALBEC members and available for a small charge for non-members.

6. Australian Training Awards, Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy

The applications for the Australian Training Awards 2018 are closing soon. Applications for the Excellence in LLN Practice Award are direct entry and can be peer or self nominated. Consider all our achievements as Practioners and put yourself out there. Watch the videos from previous winners and finalists

7. VALBEC Facebook page

'Follow, Like, and Share' VALBEC on Facebook@valbec.org.au