FAQs
Some answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
Who created ALO?
Adult literacies online (ALO) was created by Learning Connections, a division of Scottish Government, in response to a recommendation in the Adult Literacy and Numeracy report 2001. In April 2010, Learning Connections moved to Learning and Teaching Scotland as the Communities Team.
Are the resources free?
Yes, you are free to use any of the resources on this site. Where links are given to other websites, you should check with those sites about their policy on using the materials on their site.
How can I contribute resources?
Check our How to contribute page for more details.
Can I get help to prepare my materials for inclusion in ALO?
Yes. When you submit any learning materials, your email will be acknowledged and your materials will be reviewed. You will then be contacted either to let you know that we have uploaded your contribution to the site or we may suggest that you make some amendments in terms of presentation or explanation so that others will have a better understanding of your activity.
Can I customise resources for my own use?
You are free to customise the learning and teaching materials held on our site, but you should acknowledge that your customised version is based on the ideas of the original writer. We would be happy for you to share your customised version with us for posting to the site.
Can I make comments on the resources I find on this site?
We would encourage you to make comments on the resources, especially if you have downloaded and used the learning and teaching resources with your learners. Please use the comments button attached to each resource to make your comment.
How do I download the materials?
Click on the download button on the information page about that particular resource. This will open up a new window where you can choose "save"; to save the document to your own computer.
How can I get involved in helping literacies learners as a tutor or volunteer?
Adult literacies work in Scotland is provided by a range of organisations, and each local authority has a local adult literacies partnership. Most partnerships provide support through a mix of paid tutors and volunteer tutors / tutor assistants. To find out how you can become involved, contact your local adult literacies partnerships. There is a full contacts list in the 
Learning Connections directory.
What is an adult literacies partnership?
An adult literacies partnership consists of two types of partners. There are those who deliver adult literacies support to learners, such as the local authority, further education colleges, training agencies or voluntary organisations. Other partners do not directly tutor learners but have close contacts with learners or potential literacies learners, for example, jobcentres, libraries or careers advice centres. The partnership receives funding from the Scottish Executive to run a range of projects and activities, including awareness raising.
Where can a get training or qualifications to tutor adult literacies learners?
Currently there is an award, the Professional development award: Introduction to adult literacies learning (stage 1 of the national training framework of qualifications in adult literacies) which is a basic introduction to adult literacies work in Scotland for those who wish to be volunteer tutor assistants. A new qualification, the Teaching Qualification: adult literacies (TQAL) is being piloted at present and will be made more widely available following the pilot. Contact your local adult literacies partnership for more details of their tutor training programme and their minimum requirements for tutors.
