Happy New Year everyone!  I hope this email finds you well, and I hope
that you are enjoying the holidays.  I'm sending this invitation out to
you to encourage you to visit and become involved in the ALE Wiki - of
course especially in the Assessment Area!!!...but all the resource areas
at the Wiki are interesting, relevant, and seeking YOUR thoughts and
input.  

A couple of 'pros' (there really aren't any 'cons' at all) off the top
of my head for getting involved at wiki:
-you will be a part of a very cutting edge community
-you will learn a bunch of new tech skills - painlessly, easily, and
effortlessly
-you will continue to interact with the names that you see consistently
on the NIFL and other ABE/ESOL Lists
-your name will become one of those you see consistently on the NIFL
Lists and wiki (ah....fame....)
-the ALEwiki is nearly in the same league as the Wikipedia at this point
(ok, perhaps I exaggerate just a bit)
-other ABE communities elsewhere in the world (such as Australia) think
the 
ALEwiki is a super resource
-it's free (I always feel like when something is free, it should be
noted as such)

So there's a lot of reasons to get involved.  Oh yeah, I forgot to
mention that the ALEwiki is The Comprehensive Place to Find Cutting Edge
Adult Education Practice, Wisdom, Thoughts, Questions, Comments, Facts,
Data, Research, Resources, Current News and Events, People, etc...you
name it.  Go check it out!
marie



Dear Colleague,

Are you an adult literacy practitioner (e.g. a teacher, tutor or  
program administrator) who, through teaching, managing, reading,  
coursework, and/or dialogue, has gained professional wisdom - in one  
area or in many - that you would like to share? Maybe you have been  
thinking about your practice for some time, and are now ready to  
write about it for the first time. Perhaps you have written about  
your practice and published your thoughts already.  Perhaps the  
professional wisdom you value is embodied in someone else's writing,  
and this has so influenced and benefited you in your practice that  
you want others to know about this writing.  Perhaps you don't have  
answers but you have questions you would like to share.

I invite you to join your colleagues in contributing knowledge -  
professional wisdom and research - to others who are working in the  
field of adult literacy education (including English language  
learning.)  I invite you to contribute to - and benefit from - an  
adult literacy education community of practice.

The Adult Literacy Education (ALE) Wiki has an odd name.  For some, a  
community of practice with such a name cannot be taken seriously. For  
others, especially for those who may be familiar with the world's  
largest, and well-respected encyclopedia, the Wikipedia, a wiki is an  
innovation, a presence, and a power in 21st century world knowledge.   
The ALE Wiki is a serious and beneficial undertaking to capture and  
make available our field's knowledge and wisdom.

Like most wikis, the ALE Wiki is a collaborative volunteer effort.   
Nearly five hundred people in our field have registered so far in its  
one year of existence. Over forty people have taken the time to  
introduce themselves.  Several people are now responsible for  
developing topic areas such as Assessment, Professional Development,  
Technology, Public Policy, Workforce Development, Family Literacy,  
Numeracy and others.

How can you learn more and get involved?  You could:

. Visit the ALE Wiki regularly at http://wiki.literacytent.org
. Register at http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php? 
title=Special:Userlogin&returnto=Main_Page  or, for short, http:// 
tinyurl.com/a8gz
. Introduce yourself at http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/WhosHere
. Pick one or more topic areas and add your professional wisdom or  
research: answer a question, amplify someone else's answer, cite a  
good reference, define a word in the glossary, add articles you have  
written (or references to them) or add to or clarify something that  
you - or someone else - has written in the ALE Wiki
. Become a Topic Area Leader - for an existing topic area that needs  
a leader, or for a new area that you would like to add (See a  
description of this role at: http://wiki.literacytent.org/index.php/ 
AleAreaLeader ) or
. Become An ALE Wikiteer - get on the mailing list and receive a  
weekly Wiki update.

There is no cost involved - only your time.  But there is benefit -  
to you and to your colleagues.  I hope you will accept this invitation.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

David J. Rosen
ALE Wiki organizer

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