Tuktoyaktuk (Feb 23/04) - A famous writer once said it is best to write what you know.

And that's what seven adult students at the Aurora College Community Learning Centre in Tuktoyaktuk did when they were given a writing assignment for an online newsletter, The Northern Edge, created by the NWT Literacy Council.

"Voices from Tuktoyaktuk" is an interactive audio and visual presentation of stories written by community members around the region.

Les Raddi, a 44-year-old carver, is one of those writers.

This was the first time Raddi has ever had one of his stories published and he took full advantage of it by submitting three -- Vince Steen's boat, Husky Lakes and My Carving Work.

Raddi is upgrading his math, science and English courses at the centre.

"I had a lot of good experiences," he said of the Husky Lakes story.

He enjoyed the exercise not only because he got to practise his essay writing skills, he also got to learn more about computers.

After the students were finished their written pieces they had to communicate with the NWT Literacy Council through e-mails.

"Every day I'm learning something different. I love it," said Raddi.

A great way to know Tuk

Lena Pingo thought these stories would help people get to know Tuktoyaktuk, so she wrote about something near and dear to her heart -- the shoreline.

"We all know about it, but (adult educator Michelle Skanes) wanted us to write it down to explain to others our stories," said Pingo.

She picked the shoreline because she loves to stroll there in the summer.

Last summer, she found a bone hook and a piece used to fix nets.

Pingo is upgrading to go on to the Aurora College office management course.

"This was my first time putting anything online, so I was pretty nervous," she said.

"It was my first time putting out a story like this, but I enjoy writing. I could keep writing."

The project served as a way for students to express themselves and get to know computers a bit better, said Michelle Skanes, the adult educator at the Aurora College Community Learning Centre in Tuktoyaktuk.

The centre provides Tuk residents with an opportunity to upgrade their education and prepare for other Aurora College programs.

"My goal each day is to get people interested in learning, period," said Skanes.

The NWT Literacy project did just that.

"It gave students an opportunity to write about something that was important in their community and it was an opportunity to practise (skills)," she said.

The students also learned how to record their voices for the Web site. When you click on a story, the person who wrote it reads it to you line by line.

It took most of the first semester to finish the project and get it into the NWT Literacy Council for formatting.

Skanes is impressed with the finished product.

"It definitely went beyond running a paragraph or one page about their town," she said.

"The Web site is brilliant."

The Northern Edge

This is the third edition the NWT Literacy Council has produced of the Northern Edge.

The site is a pilot project based on a similar one used by a literacy organization in Ontario, said Donna Mulders, the resource development co-ordinator for the NWT Literacy Council.

The first two featured work by adult learners in Fort Good Hope and Fort Resolution. Rae-Edzo adult learners will contribute to the fourth and final edition, which will be released sometime in March.

"Working with the students in Tuktoyaktuk was really nice," said Mulders.

The council hopes the Northern Edge will provide adult learners with a literacy resource that captures their attention.

"It's a way to bring them new technology and to allow them to work on computer skills as well as develop their literacy," said Mulders.