Learning Circles: Online Learning, Offline


Description:

In 2015, Peer 2 Peer University and Chicago Public Library develop Learning Circles: lightly-­facilitated study groups for learners who want to take online courses together, in-person. Meeting weekly in the library for 6-8 weeks, patrons worked through online courses in subjects ranging from resume writing to public speaking to web design. Retention rates over 6-8 weeks were close to 50%, very high for both online courses and adult library programming. Furthermore, this was the first online learning experience for 65% of participants. Now, P2PU has released and open source toolkit for running Learning Circles, and organizations around the world are already getting started.


This workshop will dig into the details of the program and provide participants with the mechanisms and materials they need to introduce Learning Circles into their own communities. Additionally, we’ll brainstorm new applications for this new model of blended learning and how it might support digital inclusion outside of public libraries.

 

Location: Durwood Film Vault

Date: Thursday May 19th, 2016

Time: 10:45-11:45 AM

 

 

Facilitator:

Grif Peterson

Learning Lead

Peer 2 Peer University