1. Quick Search
Enter a keyword or phrase and select the arrow. This will search the entire New Zealand Literacy Portal.
2. Advanced Search
Enter a keyword or phrase and narrow your search to a particular subject (i.e. e-Literacy, ESOL, Learning Disabilities, Literacy, New Literacies, Numeracy, Te Reo Maori) or context (i.e. Community, Family, Vocational, Workplace or Youth).

Search Tips
The search engine will search by single words, by combinations of words and numbers (for example, date) or by a phrase. It is important to enter these in a way that the search engine recognizes. The following tips may help.

Using words:
For a search, a word may be a combination of letters (for example, north) or numbers (for example, 1999). If you use two or more words, make sure there is a space between each. This helps the search engine find exact matches.

Separate words by using the space bar on your keyboard. The search engine automatically adds "or" between the words you enter so it will return those information items that include either or both of your search terms. For example if you search for : family literacy You will get a list of items which include either or both of the terms "family" or "literacy". The information items returned are prioritised accordingly to how closely they resemble your search string. So those items which include both terms family and literacy will be at the top of the returned list.

Using phrases:
If you want to find an exact phrase, enclose the words and/or numbers within double quotation marks ("like this") when you enter the phrase in the search text box. At the top of the returned list will be those information items which include the exact phrase that you have entered. Using a phrase search can be very helpful when searching for a specific name or title. For example, by entering:

"Ministry of Education"

you will find any Ministry of Education material at the top of your search results.

Using keywords:
A keyword is accessed from the Advanced Search screen. The Keywords feature provides a list of words and phrases that have been used to classify content within the Literacy field. Keywords will speed up your search and will make a positive result more likely.

Using Boolean operators:
You can enter your search words connected by the operators AND and OR to fine tune your search results.
For example:

(United Kingdom OR New Zealand) AND ("adult literacy")

The search results will include those information items which are closest to your specified search string at the top of a prioritised list.

Using Lower and Upper Case:
You need to spell words correctly and to make sure you put spaces between words, but you do not have to worry whether the words are in upper or lower case.

The NZLP searches are not case sensitive so, for example, searches for "european centre" and "European Centre" and "EUROPEAN centre" will all return the same results.

Some words have both an American form (for example, "labor" and "organization") and an English form (for example, "labour" and "organisation"). You may want to try both options in your search.

How to Browse
Browsing is an alternative to Searching and offers you different ways to access the NZLP information.

Browsing can be helpful if you are not looking for a specific piece of information or want to look at the range of information provided by the Portal.

Information in the Portal has been classified as follows:

When you scroll over these classifications you will see a fly-out menu with sub-classifications to make it easier for you to "drill-down" to find the information you require.

A number of these sub-classifications e.g. literacy have been further divided to summarise all the information on the Portal relevant to that sub-classification.

Sign Up for Added Features
By signing up for added features on the New Zealand Literacy Portal you receive:

Both the email update and My Space are provided free of charge.

To sign-up all you need to provide is your name and email address. A password will be sent to you via the email address you provided. You will need to use this password to access My Space. This information will not be used for any other purpose other than to send you a password and the regular email update.

My Space
My Space is an area where you can store and organise information that is of particular interest or use to you. It is similar to Favourites in Internet Explorer. Log-on to My Space and there are your favourite references, organised in a way that make sense to you.

Password:
A password will be sent to you when you sign up for added features. You need to use this password to enter My Space. If you have forgotten your password you can get a new password sent to you by clicking on "Reset it here" on the log-on page. If you want to change your password to something you will remember easily click on "change it here" on the log-on page.

If you wish to store information you will have to enter the New Zealand Literacy Portal using My Space.

Folders:
A home folder is provided for you as a default folder to store information into straight away. However you can add your own folders by clicking on "Add a New Folder". Enter a name for the new folder e.g. Maths Stuff. The active folder is coloured blue. You can delete an active folder by clicking on "Delete current Folder" You can change the name of an active folder by click on "Update current Folder"

Adding items to a folder:
You add items by clicking on a classification on the left hand side of the page e.g. ESOL, then click on a subject e.g. resources. Click on "add" next to a item and select the folder you want to store it in by clicking on the drop down menu.

Adding sections to a folder:
You add a section by clicking on a classification on the left hand side of the page e.g. ESOL, then click on a subject e.g. research. Click on "Add to my Space" under the section heading and select the folder you want to store it in by clicking on the drop down menu.

Stopping email updates:
If you don’t want to receive email updates anymore just click on "Stop Email Updates".

Feedback
If you would like to contribute information or make comments/suggestions about the site please contact us.