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Virtual Learning CommonsDr. Holly Weimar and Dr. Karin Perry
Sam Houston State University
He might be a dirty dog, but
THINK POSITIVE!
The PowerPoint, examples, and tools we’ll talk about today will be available to
you at the end of this presentation.
DON’T cramp your hand taking notes.
How many of you have heard of
David Loertscher's Virtual Learning
Commons?
So, how is a Virtual Learning Commons
different from a traditional library
website?
In order to make the shift from library website to Virtual Learning Commons, a
sense of community needs to be fostered and
developed among all stakeholders.
With the advent of new technologies that allow for the real-time participation
and collaboration of users in an online community, the opportunity presents
itself for the VLC to become the 'infrastructure' of the school (Loertscher
& Koechlin, 2012), to transform itself from informational website to participative
community.
Teachers’ Participation, Creation, & Learning
Students’ Participation, Creation, & Learning
Stakeholders’ Participation, Creation, & Learning
• Dr. Weimar and Dr. Perry created a survey using SurveyMonkey.
• We posted the survey link to the SHSU Library Student Listserv, TLC, LM_Net, Facebook, and Twitter.
• We received 200 responses.
How did we come up with the examples for this presentation?
What would your ideal virtual presence look like?
What should it contain?
What should teachers/students/parents have access to?
Turn and Talk
Why should you provide a Virtual Learning Commons for
your teachers/students/parents?• We need to encourage collaboration to
prepare students for the future.
• We need to make learning accessible in order to provide for “on-the-fly learning” and transform students into self-starters. (Remember what Nicole Cruz said yesterday about what her former student told her he wished he’d known before going to college?)
The Five Main Portals of the
Virtual Learning Commons
The Information Center
The Literacy Center
The Knowledge Building Center
The Experimental Learning Center
School Culture
The Information Center• The landing page.
• Links users to useful tools.
• Features a “hook” in the center of the page to draw users to the entire site. (photo slideshow, club info, screencast tutorials, links to blog, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites)
• Calendar of events or for teachers to reserve space/equipment.
Virtual tours don’t have to be that fancy. Here is another example of
what you can do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMcf7iBI8hY&index=1&list=
PL67E5355A0FB59304
RebelMouse or Totally.me
Blog Posts
Calendar
Sign-Ups
1. Users click available time slot
2. Fill in information3. Automatically goes to
user’s calendar
The Literacy Center
• The place for all things reading, writing, speaking, and listening
• Digital and In-person Book Club information
• Writing Club information
• Book trailers
• Book reviews (from both students and teachers)
• App recommendations
• YouTube Channel (from both students and teachers)
• Website recommentations
Book Trailers
(Librarian Made)
The Knowledge Building Center
• Personal Learning Networks – hobbies, personal interests, organizations (causes people are passionate about), informational learning
• Resources for units of study
• The learning experiences featured here can be done in a variety of learning environments including Moodle projects, projects done in content management systems, technological learning spaces, or face to face projects with the organization done in digital space.
• Examples of successful projects
Resources for Units of Study
Project Tools
What is missing from these examples?
The Collaborative Learning Experiences. It is difficult to find examples of a true Knowledge Building Center.
In addition to Project Resources, you need to provide:
CalendarsStudent work spaceInformation about assessmentA place for them to communicateAn area for reflection
How can this be accomplished? TURN AND TALK
The Experimental Learning Center
• Educational technology information. Tips, tutorials, guides, resources
• The home of the student technology group that tests out and teaches a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools to adults and students around the school
• Current school-wide focus issues: calendars, progress reports, plans, action research projects
• Project progress plans
Irving Middle School Annual Report
Norman High School Annual Reports
Flyer Library October/November Monthly Report
Progress Reports/Statistics
Mobile Site
Survey
School Culture
• A living school yearbook; the place that draws in students, teachers, administrators and even parents. It is the exhibition space of individuals and groups connected to the school
• Events, assemblies, interviews, celebrations, contests, candid camera shots, sports, concerts
Library/School Newsletters
Student Library Advisory Board
BookFace Contest
Closest Example of True VLC
https://sites.google.com/site/loyolaschoolvlc/
http://thelibrarianslocker.com/video-tutorials/
Google Sites (FREE)
Haiku Learning (individual teachers can have a FREE account)
LibGuides
Blackboard Engage (formerly School Fusion and Edline)
Platforms to use for Virtual Learning Commons
What the librarians want if there were NO obstacles.
• Ebooks and a budget for titles (Overdrive??)• Interactive website that students actual use• Individual school library websites and NOT just one for district• Flexible website and NOT the canned site set by the district• Ability to update the website• Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blog (basically social media)• Fewer blocked websites• BYOD or 1:1 mobile devices• Library’s website prominently displayed on the school’s
website• Ability to share photos of students, teachers, projects, and
school events• Easy-to-remember URL• Live, embedded video and/or chat functionality. (Ask a
Librarian https://chat.zoho.com)
Where are you going to start?
What is something you’ll be able to accomplish next year?
If you’ve already started, what are you going to add?
Turn and Talk
To download or view the PowerPoint, please visit http://slideshare.net/karinlibrarian
To access all the links used in today’s presentation (and even more resources) go to https://www.smore.com/1kem9
American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21st-Century learner. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards.
Kajder, S. (2010). Adolescents and digital literacies: Learning alongside our students. National Council of Teachers of English.
Loertscher, D. V., & Koechlin, C. (2012, October). The Virtual Learning Commons and school improvement. Teacher Librarian (39)6. pp. 20-24.
Loertscher, D. V., Koechlin, C., & Rosenfeld, E. (2012). The Virtual Learning Commons: Building a participatory school learning community. Learning Commons Press.
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