EdInfo Digest: 2008 April 21
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/edinfo/
This past April 14 and 15, B.C. played a key part
in the nation-wide, Pan-Canadian Interactive
Literacy Forum. The forum was the first of its
kind, using leading-edge, B.C.-proven
webcasting technology, including real-time
streaming video, to connect 3,500 learners,
literacy experts and representatives from the
education, non-profit, business and labour
sectors. The technology will be used to leave a
legacy of resources online, benefiting educators,
learners, literacy providers, and all Canadians for
years to come.
Concurrent forums took place in nine sites across
the country, ranging from Arviat, Nunavut to
Saint John, New Brunswick to Vancouver. Each
site took on a specific theme associated with
literacy. B.C.’s theme was “Communities Working
Together for Literacy.”
B.C. is the Pan-Canadian lead for literacy and
worked with the Council of Ministers of
Education, Canada (CMEC) and our colleagues in
the other jurisdictions to organize the forum.
The forum is the first step in implementing
CMEC’s new literacy action plan, which aims to
raise awareness and increase literacy rates from
coast to coast to coast. The action plan includes
sharing literacy policies among the provincial and
territorial governments, creating networks of
organizations and individuals to gather and share
teaching resources for learners of all ages, and
encouraging additional literacy research, statistic
sharing, and the effective use of data.
