More Than a Book

No Dumb Questions!

Rita Debook — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:34:35 +0000

I'd like to announce a new blog created by a London literacy advocate.

John Dyson, who works with TD Canada Trust, has been affected by an invisible disability all of his life - a learning disability. John reads well, but has difficulty with writing and spelling.

Thanks to adaptive technology, in particular, Dragon Naturally Speaking, John has been able to overcome his challenges.

Please take a few minutes to visit John's blog and experience his story.

A special moment from Facing Off with Literacy

Rita Debook — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:44:23 +0000

At the end of Facing Off with Literacy I had a chance to speak with some of the attendees about the address from 2 time NHL coach of the year and literacy advocate, Jacques Demers. “Surprising” and “Inspiring” were the words that i heard the most but there was one opinion that stood out for [...]

Rita at Facing Off with Literacy

Rita Debook — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:29:42 +0000

On november 10th I will be at the London Convention Centre for Facing Off with Literacy, a celebration of the trials, triumphs and life of Senator Jacques Demers. A 2 time NHL coach of the year, Jacques will recount his life as a top NHL coach while facing several issues with low literacy during his [...]

Typography and Literacy

Rita Debook — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:05:32 +0000

Typography, the technique of arranging text or type, is a growing field in today’s world of visually appealing presences. At first this practice was used within a very small group of skilled professionals, but with the growth of the digital age, typography has become a widely practiced skill in many professions from comic book artists [...]

Dial M for Misunderstanding

Rita Debook — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:16:03 +0000

11:22pm on a Wednesday night… It’s the dead of night and the landlord to the Literacy Link South Central office is frantically racing to the premises. He pulls up to the building to find policemen surrounding the LLSC office and he already fears the worst. Looking back, it’s funny how a simple decision set in [...]

Reading at the Movies

Rita Debook — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:29:25 +0000

Every time I see a new movie trailer which includes the words “based on the critically acclaimed novel”, my eyes light up; I’ve always enjoyed comparing movies to their literary sources. Looking back, the common consensus tends to favour literary works over movie adaptations but that doesn’t come as a shock to anyone. In fact, [...]

A Scrabble a Day…

Rita Debook — Thu, 05 May 2011 20:01:33 +0000

We either know someone or are guilty of this ourselves; sitting at a desk, you hit a wall and decide to bide your time with the occasional brain teaser. This daily mini-break is even more common now with facebook and its plethora of social games. For the most part you could get yourself in a [...]

Comics, Graphic Novels and Literacy

Rita Debook — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:11:47 +0000

Comics are a beloved pastime for the young and young at heart since the 1940s. Just the mention of the word brings to mind caped crusaders and secret identities. So it seems only natural that when we hear discussions about comics or their more condense counterparts, graphics novels, as a useful investment of our time [...]

Upgrading Literacy: Reboot

Rita Debook — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:54:45 +0000

Engagement is becoming a very prominent component of most educational curricula. It’s no secret that engagement and content retention go hand in hand, so it comes as no surprise for this shift in the educational field. Engaging your learners doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a well-outlined design process to create something that stays with a [...]

Upgrading Literacy

Rita Debook — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 19:05:51 +0000

The term digital literacy is nothing new, but for the most part it has acted as a separate entity from literacy altogether. Literacy is an evolving set of skills and with technology playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives it’s interesting to see how some technological tools can be used (sometimes quite creatively) [...]