Evaluations of our work

Adult Literacy Organisers Forum 2012 Report

In 2010 the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) carried out a project with 12 adult literacy centres across the country to introduce and use www.writeon.ieas a part of traditional face to face centre based tuition.  Participating organisations were invited to take part in an evaluation of this blended learning approach with a view to documenting how the literacy centres worked with www.writeon.ie and NALA to deliver blended learning opportunities to adult literacy learners. 

In total, 110 adult literacy learners took part in the project.  Site visits to each of the centres took place after learners from the sites started using www.writeon.ie.  The data gathered at each site visit details and describes how blended learning worked in each of the sites.  The visits were conducted while blended learning activities were taking place and allowed us to observe how the learners and tutors participated in the activity, their level of engagement and the interaction between learner and tutor.

The main findings from the research show that;

●      centres and NALA collaborated effectively in providing additional flexible learning opportunities to learners;

●      centres found that basic literacy learners were interested in using ICT to improve their literacy skills;

●      www.writeon.ie was proven to be a useful tool in providing accreditation options to interested learners, both from the learners and from the centres’ viewpoint;

●      learners’ ICT skills improved as a result of taking part in the project;

●      blended learning provided a means of extending learning time and encouraging independent study;

●      the approach allowed tutors to more effectively address individual learning needs in a group context.

Since this pilot project,www.writeon.iehas been used by 63 different learning centres across Ireland. NALA believes that the information in this report will be of value to practitioners interested in working in this area.  The www.writeon.ie  programmes at both Level 2 and 3 are on the FETAC Register for theRecognition of Prior Learning (RPL).  The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs report Developing Recognition of Prior Learning described the NALA RPL process available in www.writeon.ieas “an effective RPL mechanism”, and recommended it as a platform for the development of RPL within further education and training services at Levels 1-3.

This report aims to document the development of Literacy Tools in its first six months and make proposals for its improvement.
The three objectives are to:

• give an overview of the growth of ICT and how this impacts on adults with literacy difficulties;
• evaluate Literacy Tools in pilot mode; and
• and make proposals for the future development of Literacy Tools.

Each objective is examined in separate chapters.

In 2010 external consultant Dr. Wendy Cox assessed the impact of NALA’s student development work 2007 – 2010. The evaluation was timely in that it was done while NALA was preparing its new strategic plan. Dr. Coxreported that the overall findings ‘demonstrate the impressive quantity and quality of NALA’s student development work during the period. They also show the consistent way NALA has put its guiding principles into practice, particularly in relation to the [NALA] Student Subcommittee and its responsibilities.’

This report presents the findings of the final evaluation of the National Adult Literacy Agency’s (NALA) distance education project – The Really Useful Guide to Words and Numbers. The evaluation process commenced in December 2006 and was completed in April 2007. An interim report was compiled in February 2007. This report incorporates the findings of the interim evaluation report.

This evaluation has two key general objectives and a number of more specific objectives as follows:
I. Identify the added value of including Information Communications Technology (ICT) in the RWN Series 5
a. How useful have learners found the ICT element of Series 5?
b. How useful has the website been?
c. Identify good practice and learning in relation to the role of ICT in the Read Write Now project.
d. Make recommendations on the role of ICT in the future development of literacy programmes.
II. Identify the added value of the RWN Learner Support Packs as a resource for adult literacy and education service providers
a. How useful have the adult literacy and educational service providers found the Learner Support Packs?
b. How have the Learner Support Packs been used by adult literacy and education service providers?
c. Identify good practice and learning in relation to the use of Learner Support Packs by adult literacy and education service providers.
d. Make recommendations on the role of the Learner Support Packs in the future development of the project.

In responding to the brief to evaluate the Read Write Now 4 and to make recommendations for the future direction of the initiative, the consultants have adopted the following approach; this report is prepared as follows:
1. In the context of the overall aim of the Read Write Now Series which is to ‘create further awareness about adult literacy provision, where to source support and to provide learning supports for other adults who wanted to improve their literacy skills’.
2. In the context of the specific mission for RWN 42 which is to ‘develop and deliver a distance learning programme in adult basic education, consisting of a series of 12 television programmes supported by a learner support pack, which will help adults improve their literacy skills in the privacy of their own homes’ and
3. In response to the brief as provided by NALA to evaluate the RWN 4 focusing on the following:

• The learning from the series, specifically the ‘Learning to Learn’ element, mainly for independent learners;
• The support processes; and
• To make recommendations for the future direction of the RWN series.

Read Write Now, TV Series 3 is the most recent production in a distance education initiative which is designed to provide support for adults who want to improve their reading, writing and numeracy skills. This is part of a Literacy through the Airwaves project which began with a pilot radio series in 1999 and comprises radio, TV and print materials. For the last three years the Department of Education and Science (DES), Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) and the National Adult Literacy Agency have combined resources and expertise to produce and disseminate three 12-part TV series complemented by learner workbooks and support from adult literacy tutors available through a freephone telephone helpline. The series targets adult literacy ‘improvers’ rather than complete beginners: that is, at people who already have some reading and writing skills which they need to develop.

Read Write Now series 2 consists of 12 half-hour TV programmes, which aim to provide a learning resource for people who want to improve their reading and writing, in the privacy of their own home. It is part of the Literacy through the Airwaves initiative which is funded by the Department of Education and Science, supported by Radio Telefís Eireann and co-ordinated by the National Adult Literacy Agency. The twelve programmes were broadcast three times each week from September to December, 2001. This is the second such TV series in the Literacy through the Airwaves project: the first was produced and transmitted in the autumn of 2000.

The development of the Read Write Now distance education project began in 1999 with the establishment of an Editorial Board to oversee the development of the project. The idea for the television literacy series had originated from the Literacy Through the Airwaves project with NALA approaching the Department of Education and Science with a proposal for a nation-wide literacy distance education series. The Department of Education and Science agreed to fund the project and
together with NALA, RTÉ and various representatives from literacy organisations formed the Editorial Board. The series was produced during the summer of 2000 and broadcast in the autumn schedule on RTÉ. This document is an evaluation of the project.