21st Century Learning

The rate of technological change in the last two decades has been extraordinary. Digital technologies and the Internet have transformed the world into a place where vast amounts of information can be accessed instantly. People around the world are connected, work in collaboration and rich media content is created with relative ease.

Students in our schools are digitally savvy, born into a world of universal access to information. It's up to us to provide our students with the tools, skills, and knowledge they require to flourish in this new world. The Durham Catholic District School Board is committed to preparing students to live, learn and contribute ethically in the 21st Century. View our presentation to learn more about our vision for 21^st Century Teaching and Learning.

Transforming school libraries to Learning Commons

"Learning in ever-changing environments demands new ways of educating- a focus on inquiry creative and critical thinking, multiple literacies, and working together to meet shared goals and knowledge building." (Leading Learning, page 4)

The Research

What is a Learning Commons?

A Learning commons is a flexible and responsive approach to helping schools focus on learning collaboratively. It expands the learning experience, taking students and educators into virtual spaces beyond the walls of a school.

"The Standards of practice for school library learning commons in Canada are framed around five core standards of practice that put school libraries at the centre of school improvement." (Leading Learning, page 4)

A Learning Commons is a vibrant, whole-school approach, presenting exciting opportunities for collaboration among teachers, teacher-librarians and students. Within a Learning Commons, new relationships are formed between learners, new technologies are realized and utilized, and both students and educators prepare for the future as they discover new ways to learn.

Best of all, as a space traditionally and naturally designed to facilitate people working together, a school's library provides the natural dynamics for developing a Learning Commons.

(Together for Learning: A Vision For the 21st Century, page 3)

Why a Learning Commons?

There is a growing consensus among educators that students need to learn transferable skills in order to work efficiently and successfully in our future world.

To achieve this, students will need to become critical consumers of information, effective problem solvers, capable decision makers and innovative communicators. They will require the skills and ability to flow with change. More importantly, students will need to understand that these transferable skills give them the capacity as an individual to make a difference in their world.

A Learning Commons provides boundless opportunity for growth. It is based on a cross-curricular perspective that recognizes literacy, numeracy, knowledge, thinking, communication, and application as foundations for learning how to learn.

A Learning Commons becomes the physical and virtual catalyst where inquiry, imagination, discovery, and creativity come alive and become central to growth - personal, academic, social and cultural.

(Together for Learning: A Vision For the 21st Century, page 3)

The Role of the School Library in a Learning Commons

The school library, a key component of a Learning Commons, has an integral and transformative role to play in implementing this fresh and innovative vision for education.

Every member of a school's population will ultimately participate in the creation of a Learning Commons, but the concept's early coordination and leadership will rest with school library expertise.

Where properly developed, a school's library is already the hub for networking and information access. As the Learning Commons' concept grows, a school library's collection-based facilities will continuously change and expand, creating access-based services suited to a school community's needs.

This process will mean changes in the operations of a school's library. Resource collections will need to be reshaped even more rapidly and readily than they are currently to reflect their communities as well as the world at large. It is the only way a library's access to the global, interconnected and interactive communication networks of the future - whatever they may be - can be assured.

(Together for Learning: A Vision For the 21st Century, pages 3&4)

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

BYOD means students bring their own electronic devices to school for educational purposes. We expect students to use devices responsibly, and only with the permission and direction of teachers or other staff members.

Research shows that the use of technology increases engagement, which leads to improved student success. Here are some reasons why BYOD works well:

students are usually expert in the device they have and customize it to suit their learning needs;
students can use it to learn anytime, anywhere;
students can collaborate and work anytime: before school, after school, at lunch;
student owned devices are often more up-to-date than those schools provide.

Student Learning Portal -- LaunchPad

Our Board is committed to providing 21^st century learning skills. Our new learning portal, LaunchPad, offers students access to board and ministry approved digital resources anywhere and anytime!

LaunchPad provides access to:

Microsoft Office 365;
Blended Learning and e-Learning courses;
Homework Help;
Encyclopedia Britannica Online;
Mindomo, Learn 360, BookFlix and much more.

e-Learning

Students can earn Ontario high school credits online through our Board's e-Learning program. Courses meet all curriculum expectations and standards and all courses are taught by fully qualified teachers in collaboration with the Technology Enabled Learning and Teaching Contact and the Ministry of Education.

An e-Learning course is conducted entirely online using the Ontario Learning Management System (LMS) and other school board tools (like Office 365). Taking an e-Learning course gives students more flexibility in their timetable and opportunities to earn credits while building valuable independent learning skills that will be beneficial to any post-secondary pathway.

Success in e-Learning courses requires students to be independent and self-motivated learners. eLearning provides options to students including:

the need for flexible timetabling due to special circumstances;
differentiated form of instruction to suit student needs;
access to courses that are not offered at the student's school; and
timetable conflicts that cannot be resolved at the student's school.