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.

Panelist:

Grif Peterson

Learning Lead

Peer 2 Peer University