Grif Peterson, Dirk Uys, Philipp Schmidt P2PU

1. Dirk Uys
@riskycud
@p2pu

2. Who has taken an online course before?

3. There are many providers...

4. ...with big promises!

5. Anyone can learn
anything,
anywhere, for free.

6. Anyone can learn
anything,
anywhere, for free.

7. Anyone with a friend or with sufficient
digital/linguistic literacy (+ other literacies)
and a good amount of motivation who also
knows where to look can learn a lot of
mostly Western oriented things that already
exist, anywhere with connectivity, for free
some sort of cost (in theory), but these
people won’t actually know if they learned
anything...but what is the point anyway?
Mozfest 10/2016

8. Anyone with motivation with access to
tools/internet (or other mechanisms) +
digital/linguistic literacies and social
support in a state that doesn’t block
materials can learn some content (maybe
not pedagogical lessons) in your language,
anywhere that you can access the tools
needs to access the materials, for free some
cost of your time/transport/tools.
Berkman Klein Center 11/2016

9. ● Non-profit organization
● Started in 2009
● Distributed community of volunteers and
partners

10. Mission
To provide communities with access to education
opportunities.

11. ● Online courses using OER
● Online platform for making & running
courses
● Open badges
● MOOCs

12. ~7%

13. Photo from Flickr CC-BY-NC 2.0 Tom Woodward

14. DIGITAL
DIVIDE
UNAWARE OF
OPPORTUNITY
LACK OF
SUPPORT
For many individuals, online learning is
lonely, difficult, and overwhelming!

15. +
Learning circles
Lightly-facilitated study groups for learners
who want to take online courses together at
their local library.
+

16. ● Not a content expert
● Comfortable with online course platform
● Invested in community
● Available to host each week and moderate
discussion
Facilitator

17. ● Highly accessible space
● Consistent internet/power
● Mission of open access
● Strong links to diverse audiences
● Highly-skilled employees who work to
disseminate knowledge for all
Libraries

18. ● Everybody has expertise
● Sharing and connecting are often the best ways
to learn
● Feedback is necessary in order to improve
● Recognition that tech is not neutral
Peer learning

19. Weekly Structure
Beforehand:
● Edit reminder
● Review
materials
● Set up space
Afterwards:
● Clean up
● Share weekly
feedback
During:
● Check-in
● Activity (recipe
card)
● Coursework
● Plus/delta

20. Recipe cards
● Week One: Manage expectations
● Week Two: Help set goals
● Week Three: Give good feedback
● Week Four: Draw connections
● Week Five: Celebrate mistakes
● Week Six: Reflect on goals

21. ● Background information
● Course selection tips
● Space/supplies checklist
● Software instructions
● Promotion templates
● Facilitation tips
● Recipe cards
● Learning circle application
● Certificate
Facilitators handbook

23. Any questions?

24. CPL 2015 pilot
● 65% first time online learners
● 45%-55% retention over 6-8 weeks
● 80% did work outside of Learning Circle
● 90% are interested in taking another
● 60% may want to facilitate in future

25. Reflection on pilot
● Increases digital skills and academic
mindsets alongside course content
● Community can overcome bad courses
● Supports diverse learner pathways
● Successful when aligned with library
mission

26. “The Facilitators
continually made me
feel comfortable.
which I really
appreciated this, the
informal atmosphere
was great!”

27. “[The best thing about my Learning Circle was] knowing that I
was not the only one out there with a dream of writing and
being able to share this with my fellow Learning Circle
members.”

28. “I appreciate
[Chicago Public
Library’s]
commitment to
learning and
expanding tools of
the library. I feel
lucky to have the
opportunity to take
the class.”

30. Chicago

31. Nairobi/Nakuru

32. Boston/Portland/Providence

34. Paris

35. Paris
Making and Learning

36. Discussion
If you were creating an online course and you knew it
would be used in a learning circle, what would you do
differently?

37. Discussion
How can learning circles fit in with other existing
opportunities?

38. Discussion
How can learning circles help you in your current work
with OER?

39. Get involved
● Facilitate a learning circle → www.p2pu.org
● Join our community → bit.ly/p2pucommunity
● Develop learning circle material → howto.p2pu.org
● Help us:
○ expand to new communities
○ publicize our work
○ looking for a freelance web designer

40. www.p2pu.org
@p2pu
thepeople@p2pu.org

42. DIGITAL
DIVIDE
UNAWARE OF
OPPORTUNITY
LACK OF
SUPPORT
FACILITATOR LIBRARIES
PEER
LEARNING