Holly Ruffner
Media Specialist
School District of Palm Beach County Professional Library

I am just beginning to invision a Virtual Learning Commons project for my school district. My goal is to reinvent my current small professional library that currently provides traditional research service to faculty members seeking advanced degrees or certifications. My vision is to create a Learning Commons both as a physical location and as a virtual service that would meet the needs of not only faculty members but students in our Virtual School and those involved in Home Schooling. I see the commons as a point of contact for all of these groups to borrow materials through ILL sources, access digital information and create knowledge products both through virtual contact and physical presence in the commons. I am only just developing this idea. I'll be watching this page for ideas. You have inspired me!

Jan Novak
Director Library Services
Aurora Public Schools, Aurora, Colorado
APS is building two new schools on our new P-20 Campus. Our P-20 Campus will focus on instruction of multiple pathways from pre-school through post-graduate.
A traditional library will not work. The New Learning Commons Where Learners Win! Reinventing School Libraries and Computer Labs has been interesting reading.

I am in my fourth year as a high school Teacher Librarian and would really like make my library a learning commons so I'm here to learn from you and help in any way I can.

We are two weeks in, and the library/commons is a hive of activity.
Changes for this year include

1. Academic Schedule - each department has a full planning day every two weeks [faculty are using the faculty library and laptop classroom for training and meetings on these days] We are already booked for the next two weeks with lessons and other information assistance.

2. New laptop cart with 20 laptops [this makes 35 total computers for the library - our facility is wireless] average class size is 12 students so we can host two classes each period

3. We added a SmartBoard to our computer room for presentations

4. New and improved "Information Desk" includes ready reference, genre lists, contest entry forms, other information for the residential community link menus, directories, and local services.

4. We offered a snack cart this week; this made our students very happy. We have made this available as an opportunity for student clubs to set-up ... as it appears we will be a little busy helping with projects

5. Coming soon ... we are hoping to update our current AV equipment to correlate with curricular needs


BTW, I am super inspired by Ms. Valerie Diggs work up in Chelmsford, MA
Thanks for the mention of her on this site.

Experimenter: Kathleen Porter, Foxborough High School, Foxborough Mass.
http://fhslearningcommons.pbworks.com
http://fps.vinsin.com/fhs/departments/library-media-center.htm
http://fhsmediacenter.pbworks.com
MsPorterAtFHS@gmail.com | username MsPorterAtFHS on Twitter, Facebook, Delicious

Project: We're in early stages of transformation. Our focus has been on team-building with staff, increasing collaboration with other teachers, making more comfortable spaces, increasing access to computers, polling teachers and students on what helps and acting on suggestions. We're in the process of expanding our virtual library for 24/7 access. We have a subcommittee of our School Council (including students, parents, teachers, and administrators) advising on space utilization, collection development, and long-range planning. The full committee watched and discussed the "Metamorphosis" video of Chelmsford HS Learning Commons as described in April '09 Teacher Librarian* (Google Docs http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=df369mb7_68frqwjwf6 ) to fuel our vision of community engagement and client-side orientation. We're introducing students to social bookmarking and wikis...

Thank you to David and the rest of the community for the active participation on this site. It's really been helpful!

*Diggs, Valerie. "From Library to Learning Commons: a Metamorphisis," Teacher Librarian, April, 2009, p. 32-38.

In the spring, I met the librarian from the Harvard Business School. She has 22 people on her library staff. They put out their shingle to the faculty saying that there are three levels of service any professor can expect: We will help you by ENRICHING a learning experience, by TRANSFORMING a learning experience, or by DEVELOPING FROM SCRATCH a learning experience. All new courses proposed require the sign off of the third level before they can be approved. She and her staff are very very busy. Education at all levels, particularly where there are professional learning communities, is discarding the notion that a teacher can do what they darn well please when the classroom door closes in favor of a collaborative stance. I do not think that we should take for granted the isolated classroom kingdom any more. Any headmaster, principal, dean, or administrator should be reading and hearing about this idea in their professional literature and gatherings. If not, shower that person with the plethora of articles out there. Collaborative school improvement is discussed everywhere and that is the key on which your program rests. While many think collaborative means only within a department or grade level, all the specialists in the school should just move into the center and presume they have the expertise to contribute. There are likely, with the encouragement of administration, enough faculty to keep you more than busy. The challenge is that two heads are better than one. If you don't care about raising achievement, ignore the learning commons staff! Harsh words but an accurate picture of reality. To everyone, my advice is to just move into the center where you belong both in physical space and in virtual space. Talk school improvement, higher achievement, or whatever language the school is using for progress. Congratulations on your vision. I am certain that you not only already have progress to report here and elsewhere, but will continue to lead out.

David,
Thanks so much for all your research and especially for the latest book “The New Learning Commons Where Learners Win! Reinventing School Libraries and Computer Labs”. I am a big fan. I very much want my library to be the center of teaching, learning, and professional development for The Webb School. In fact, the title of my library strategic plan is “The Hub”.
I think that academic librarians would love to embrace the Learning Commons ideas and I do not think that the direction is very different from the direction K-12 should pursue. After seven years in Academic libraries, I can certainly agree that there is a struggle for librarians to have a role in instructional design, and school improvement initiatives. Some are making progress towards collaboration. However, Colleges and Universities hold the promise of autonomy for professors. When a librarian initiates collaboration, they are often met with a [proprietary/ego] defensive response. These professors are extraordinary and I understand why they are possessive of their time and planning. In my academic life I can say that I was invited into a number of classes to teach research skills when a professor was setting up a major project. However, these invitations were only extended after the library made an especially assertive “Information Literacy” initiative.

College-prep high school teachers are not all that different from the university professors in that many have the same autonomy. I am very lucky that my administrators encourage a balance between collaboration and autonomy. The information commons for me is the high-touch, high-tech service, as well as facilities. With this environment created, I hope that we are able to evolve into a complete learning commons where everyone works together.
Hannah

Hannah: Thank you very much for the references. I have not read the book you recommend, but will do so very soon. In my mind, there is a difference between an information commons and a learning commons. As I read a number of the academic sites including the ones your list, I get the idea that the information commons is a major extension of the reference function of the library where many types of information and technology assistence are available and where students can work in small through large groups. The distinction we are trying to make is a larger one that pushes the library into the very center of teaching, learning, and professional development for the entire institution. I do not see academic libraries getting involved in various levels of instructional design, school improvement initiatives, or the idea of an experimental learning center. I don't see knowledge construction centers where the librarians, professors, and students are jointly constructing, pursuing, communicating, creating, and storing student projects. I wonder what you think is the difference and the direction the K-12 sector should take in these matters?

Hannah Byrd Little
Library Director
The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN
hlittle@webbschool.com
on twitter & facebook

Hannah Byrd Little
Library Director
The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN

Because I am at a boarding school, I often employee ideas from the academic library world. I am intrigued by the "Information Commons" trend in academic libraries. So we are implementing a commons philosophy and physical arrangement for the 2009-2010 school year.

I have read several books this summer
The most helpful for me was D. Russell Bailey's "Transforming Library Service through Information Commons"

Also, websites from colleges and universities have helped
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/arcade/
http://www.libraries.uc.edu/services/reference/infocommons/index.html
http://einside.kent.edu/?type=art&id=749

After two semesters of creating virtual learning commons with my graduate students, we are going to push designs of the VLC during this summer and throughout the school year 2010-11. If you would like to participate in this development here on this site, add your name to the list in the VLC section on this web site. We will be developing under the Google APS umbrella.

See http://www.adamscott.ca-a.googlepages.com/netbookpilotproject

In April 2009 our school received 17 netbooks as part of a pilot project through the school library. The netbooks are being used with different classes from grades 7 to grade 12.

I used the class set of netbooks yesterday with a grade 7 class. It was very successful as the students were very engaged. The feedback from the staff has been very good. Security is an issue. Presently the netbooks are being booked out of the school library.

To make best use of them you need a good wireless connection - that can support all the netbooks at the same time.

I am still looking into a netbook cart (they are expensive $2000+ US) which can be wheeled into any classroom, but I may get a carry unit which would hold 5 netbooks. These carry units then would allow the netbooks to be split up among different classes.

I installed the following software (all are free) on each netbook.
Open Office (like MS office)
Audacity (for making podcasts)
Photo Story (making multimedia presentations)
Google Earth
I am encouraging students to use Google Apps Education Edition (our school is registered- for free) for their word processing, spreadsheet work and save their files in the "cloud". See more about Google Apps from my non-profit web site (connectingeducation.com ). The model of cloud computing and portability fits in with the 2009 Horizon Report

Part of the pilot project is to write curriculum to be used with the netbooks. This curriculum will be written over the next year.

Why I picked netbooks instead of laptops:

Netbooks are cheaper than laptops (at least 33 % less).Netbooks are more portable (about 1 KG each) which mean they easier to move around the school. They tend to be tougher than lap tops (eg. if they are dropped) and they also use less electricity. If they are signed out to be taken home. they are small enough to fit into a student's purse or small backpack.

Waltham High School in Massachusetts is proceeding in this direction! We had the opportunity to have Library Teachers from the surrounding communities and consultants, Carolyn Markuson and Rolf Erikson, who were both involved in the Chelmsford Library (MA) redesign, join us at a recent meeting where we shared aspects of the current library program in Waltham and then brainstormed possible changes. Some changes we look forward to: loosing the circulation desk and replacing it with multiple office areas, divided by partitions, with signage that says ASK ASK ASK to encourage all users to seek out the Library Teacher, Library Paraprofessional and the Instructional Technology Specialist that we have invited to move into the library (she will have to loose her office that is currently outside of the library in another part of the high school!) The (former) library offices (2) are going to be transformed into areas that students and or teachers can sign-up for - we need to change up the technology available in the rooms and the furniture. We even imagine the library staff will “sign-up” and use this space at times when they need to co-plan with others or do some work in a quiet space. Another change is that the library website http://whslibrary.net/, beautifully designed and maintained by the Library Teacher, is going to be transformed to a wiki – 2-way communication. This is just the beginning for us!

Implementation of Google Apps - Education Edition (Cloud Computing)

We implemented Google Apps Education Edition at my school (Adam Scott C.V.I. in Ontario Canada) in January 2008 through the school library. Every student in the school is registered. It has been a huge success.

I would love to share my experience with other schools who are interested in cloud computing. please contact me at:connectingeducation@gmail.com

According the leading experts in education the two defining trends in education for the next coming years in technology is cloud computing and portability Read 2009 Horizon Report (http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report.pdf). Google Apps allows educators to implement cloud computing.

Google Apps Edition Editon is free for non-profit educational institutions and has no ads. Google has explictly stated it will never charge for Google Apps. Millions of students and thousands of educational institutions have signed up.

It allows students and teachers to create documents(Word, Excel, PowerPoint), share calendars, email, chat, create web pages,video and more. It is secure as everything stays within the registered domain and cannot be accessed by people who do not have a school login. It is an excellent tool to provide elearning. It works on any computer including Macs. Many Personal Digital Devices - such as cell phones - can access many of the tools.

Read more :http://www.adamscott.ca-a.googlepages.com/googleappsproject
and
http://www.schoolinfo.ca/connectingeducation/googleApps.htm