Literacy & Technology: The Importance of Quality End-points for Student Work!
Micaela shows off her 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer zine!
It’s funny how we expect our students to get excited about learning literacy when most of their hard work ends up sitting on a shelf, in their folder, with no purpose and no productive outcome. Yooralla’s Adult Education Program ‘AbleLinks’ for adults with disabilities, banishes the trend of useless projects, with its policy of having a quality end-point for students work. Our 2010-11 Literacy and Technology classes are structured around the module ‘Technology for Life VBP492’ from ‘Certificate I in Transition Education 21671VIC’ a unit that addresses students identified technology needs. Students are given the scope to decide whether they will send their projects out via the student email list, post their work to the student blog, upload a simple website or publish their work for sale in a ‘zine (a homemade magazine).
Notes on ‘Zines:
The word ‘Zine is short for Magazine. ‘Zines can be about anything, they can be any size, the smallest one at Sticky Institute is about 2cm x 2cm, the largest are A3. At Ablelinks we usually use 3 sheets of A4 plain paper folded in half and students glue pictures and typed text into this ‘mock-up’, then we photocopy the pages, double sided and staple them together with a ‘long-arm’ stapler. Students also draw their own pictures, use their own handwriting, take their own photographs and use magazine clippings. ‘Zines are all about creating something unique that will be a ‘gift’ to the person who reads it. For this reason our students often use pencils or textas to colour the cover and interior. ‘Zines are a great was to personalise a project, making it all about the writer’s passion and/or experience. ‘Zines are sold in various stores for between $1- $5 depending on how much work or expense has gone into making it.
‘Zines, home-made magazines, have proved particularly popular in our literacy and technology program, adding to their appeal, they can be sold in various specialty stores around Melbourne. ‘AbleLinks’ Literacy and Technology students sell their ‘zines at Sticky Institute (Shop 10 Degraves Subway Melbourne), a store that exclusively sells homemade ‘zines. In 2010, all students made their own ‘zines, completing them to students own literacy levels and at their own pace. Additionally, students built their web searching skills by using the internet to find pictures and complete research. Their ‘zine projects were extremely successful, both in providing a tailored project for each student and increasing confidence, with many ‘zines selling out, some requiring more copies to meet demand.
Thomas tentatively produced his first ‘zine last year, writing under a pseudonym and putting his magazine up for sale in Sticky Institute. First, he wrote a story using his own experiences, he did this slowly with the help of his trainer. He then created an original A5 version of his ‘zine from three sheets of A4 paper folded down the middle, pasting in pictures and typed text.
Finally, he ran off 10 photocopied versions of his ‘zine and stapled them ready for sale. After filling in a few simple forms with assistance he was ready to submit his magazines for sale. His ‘zine was a huge success, with Sticky Institute requesting extra copies to sell. Staff at Sticky then asked for the next instalment and a fantastic new journey in literacy learning began. Prior to working on ‘zines Thomas had struggled to find his niche, but with his new project he has found a zeal for his writing that was previously untapped. The benefits of this approach to his work are multi-layered, he can direct his learning by choosing a topic to write about, other students are interested in his work, Sticky Institute allows him to hang out there and use their resources and on top of that he makes a few dollars from the sale of his ‘zines. Thomas is currently working on his second ‘zine, a sequel to the first and has found a new drive to create quality work that others will want to read.
Providing a quality end point for our students work has dramatically improved motivation in literacy learning among the student body and some students literally, can not stop writing. Everyday students approach me, to show me what they’ve been working on at home or in their spare time. Students who create work for an audience of their peers are also making a valuable contribution to the quality of their shared literacy learning and forming enriched student communities in the process. Work that goes out into these student communities, encourages peers to learn, read and write, in a non-threatening, inclusive way.
It’s crucial that literacy educators recognise the potential value of our students work; it is often the out-pouring of their lives, an expression of their thoughts or record of their personal experiences. Projects that are written up in their own words, naturally pitch themselves at the right level for their peers who read them. Sharing their work provides feedback, affirmation to reward their efforts and increased motivation for future projects. (Article published as 'Starting with the end in mind' in Valbec's FinePrint Journal, 2011)
- Carmen Harris
Trainer & Assessor
Yooralla Adult Education- Ablelinks
Carmen has worked as a trainer, assessor and project manager for Yooralla’s Adult Education Program, ‘AbleLinks’ for over 3 years. She has built a cutting edge literacy program from the ground up, focusing on using new media to connect students and share their work in a holistic and meaningful way.
“Yooralla’s Adult Education - AbleLinks Program delivers accredited and pre-accredited training courses. Students will gain essential skills and knowledge to equip them for future study and employment opportunities. Benefits include modified program delivery and small class numbers. Students will have access to real work-experience opportunities within a small supportive environment. There is also the opportunity to link them into open or supported employment.”
Yooralla’s Adult Education - AbleLinks Program is located at: Level 2/ 244 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Ph 9916 5812
Notes on ‘Zines:
The word ‘Zine is short for Magazine. ‘Zines can be about anything, they can be any size, the smallest one at Sticky Institute is about 2cm x 2cm, the largest are A3. At Ablelinks we usually use 3 sheets of A4 plain paper folded in half and students glue pictures and typed text into this ‘mock-up’, then we photocopy the pages, double sided and staple them together with a ‘long-arm’ stapler. Students also draw their own pictures, use their own handwriting, take their own photographs and use magazine clippings. ‘Zines are all about creating something unique that will be a ‘gift’ to the person who reads it. For this reason our students often use pencils or textas to colour the cover and interior. ‘Zines are a great was to personalise a project, making it all about the writer’s passion and/or experience. ‘Zines are sold in various stores for between $1- $5 depending on how much work or expense has gone into making it.
‘Zines, home-made magazines, have proved particularly popular in our literacy and technology program, adding to their appeal, they can be sold in various specialty stores around Melbourne. ‘AbleLinks’ Literacy and Technology students sell their ‘zines at Sticky Institute (Shop 10 Degraves Subway Melbourne), a store that exclusively sells homemade ‘zines. In 2010, all students made their own ‘zines, completing them to students own literacy levels and at their own pace. Additionally, students built their web searching skills by using the internet to find pictures and complete research. Their ‘zine projects were extremely successful, both in providing a tailored project for each student and increasing confidence, with many ‘zines selling out, some requiring more copies to meet demand.
Thomas tentatively produced his first ‘zine last year, writing under a pseudonym and putting his magazine up for sale in Sticky Institute. First, he wrote a story using his own experiences, he did this slowly with the help of his trainer. He then created an original A5 version of his ‘zine from three sheets of A4 paper folded down the middle, pasting in pictures and typed text.
Finally, he ran off 10 photocopied versions of his ‘zine and stapled them ready for sale. After filling in a few simple forms with assistance he was ready to submit his magazines for sale. His ‘zine was a huge success, with Sticky Institute requesting extra copies to sell. Staff at Sticky then asked for the next instalment and a fantastic new journey in literacy learning began. Prior to working on ‘zines Thomas had struggled to find his niche, but with his new project he has found a zeal for his writing that was previously untapped. The benefits of this approach to his work are multi-layered, he can direct his learning by choosing a topic to write about, other students are interested in his work, Sticky Institute allows him to hang out there and use their resources and on top of that he makes a few dollars from the sale of his ‘zines. Thomas is currently working on his second ‘zine, a sequel to the first and has found a new drive to create quality work that others will want to read.
Providing a quality end point for our students work has dramatically improved motivation in literacy learning among the student body and some students literally, can not stop writing. Everyday students approach me, to show me what they’ve been working on at home or in their spare time. Students who create work for an audience of their peers are also making a valuable contribution to the quality of their shared literacy learning and forming enriched student communities in the process. Work that goes out into these student communities, encourages peers to learn, read and write, in a non-threatening, inclusive way.
It’s crucial that literacy educators recognise the potential value of our students work; it is often the out-pouring of their lives, an expression of their thoughts or record of their personal experiences. Projects that are written up in their own words, naturally pitch themselves at the right level for their peers who read them. Sharing their work provides feedback, affirmation to reward their efforts and increased motivation for future projects. (Article published as 'Starting with the end in mind' in Valbec's FinePrint Journal, 2011)
- Carmen Harris
Trainer & Assessor
Yooralla Adult Education- Ablelinks
Carmen has worked as a trainer, assessor and project manager for Yooralla’s Adult Education Program, ‘AbleLinks’ for over 3 years. She has built a cutting edge literacy program from the ground up, focusing on using new media to connect students and share their work in a holistic and meaningful way.
“Yooralla’s Adult Education - AbleLinks Program delivers accredited and pre-accredited training courses. Students will gain essential skills and knowledge to equip them for future study and employment opportunities. Benefits include modified program delivery and small class numbers. Students will have access to real work-experience opportunities within a small supportive environment. There is also the opportunity to link them into open or supported employment.”
Yooralla’s Adult Education - AbleLinks Program is located at: Level 2/ 244 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Ph 9916 5812