Facilitating Creative Learning Online Course
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Facilitating Creative Learning Online Course

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We have finished this first iteration of the Facilitating Creative Learning online course. Check out all of the archived material on the course page and make sure to sign up for our newsletter to hear about upcoming workshops.
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Join us for a 4-week online course exploring the fundamentals of creative learning. Gain practical skills to facilitate STEAM learning programs in your library. Starts the week of April 26th.

Overview

The PLIX team enthusiastically invites you to our first-everĀ Facilitating Creative LearningĀ Online Course. With these four weeks of interactive professional development, you'll gain the skills and confidence to start facilitating creative STEAM programming for your patrons.

The Details šŸ”

  • Who is this course for?Ā Public library professionals interested in creative learning and STEAM programming. šŸ‘©ā€šŸŽØšŸ‘©ā€šŸ”¬
  • When is it?Ā The 4-week online course will begin the week of April 26, 2021. We plan to spend about eight hours total togetherā€”some in shared time together, but mostly asynchronous. šŸ’»šŸ¤
  • What can I expect?Ā We'll learn about and discuss seven principles of facilitating creative learning. With peers nationwide, you'll develop your own facilitation practice and leave feeling prepared to hostĀ PLIX activities or otherĀ creative learningĀ activities of your own design. šŸŽˆšŸ‘¾
  • Why should I participate?Ā Librarians are increasingly asked to lead educational programs with emerging technologies. At PLIX, we feel itā€™s important not just to get new tools into the hands of patrons, but to cultivate a learning environment where they can experiment and create with technology. šŸ§ šŸ’ƒ

Schedule šŸ“…

Each week, we'll delve into a creative learning theme together, exploring some big ideas, as well as practical facilitation techniques you can implement with PLIX activities.

  • Week 1Ā - Introduction (Getting Started with Creative Learning & PLIX)
  • Week 2Ā - Encourage & Inspire
  • Week 3Ā - Celebrate the Process
  • Week 4Ā - Grow as a Facilitator

In addition to asynchronous conversations on our discussion forum, we will also have two weekly drop-in times for live interactions over Zoom:

  • Community ChatsĀ on Tuesdays @ 12pm ET šŸ‘‹
  • Tinkering TimeĀ on Thursdays @ 3pm ET šŸ’”

FAQs

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What is PLIX?

The Public Library Innovation Exchange (PLIX) develops STEAM learning experiences based on MIT Media Lab research and designed for the public library setting. Read more on ourĀ About page.

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Iā€™ve never worked with any PLIX activities or materials before. Can I still attend?

Weā€™re open to participation from librarians or library staff who are interested inĀ creative learning, STEAM education, and building theirĀ personal facilitation practice. If this sounds like you, then weā€™d love to have you join us!

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Can I get continuing education or other class credit for attending?

The PLIX team is looking into this option state-by-state. If you have advice about securing such an arrangement, we welcome your insight!

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How much does it cost to attend?

This course is supported as part of an IMLS grant and is available to all at no charge.

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Whatā€™s the relationship between this and MITā€™s Learning Creative Learning (LCL) course?

Members of the PLIX team were part of the group that launched the first iterations ofĀ Learning Creative LearningĀ (LCL) in 2013 & 2014. This course focuses more squarely on facilitation, has been tailored specifically to the needs of public libraries, and is based on what we have learned from running LCL in the past!

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I am not a librarian. May I sign up?

While this four-week online course has been designed specifically for public library professionals to learn about creative learning facilitation, we welcome participation from other educators who do not work in public libraries. We just ask that you hold space for the library professionals to have conversations about their shared experiences.

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Iā€™ve been to a PLIX workshop before. Should I enroll?

While this course will contain some elements from earlier in-person workshops, every iteration of our professional development offerings has a new set of peers to learn alongside and many new insights to offer. We welcome your participation! As you know, we believe facilitation is a practice šŸ˜Š, so you may find new ways to stretch your learning. If you have questions or concerns, pleaseĀ email us.

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Can I spread the word to other library staff?

Yes! Please do. We will happily accommodate as many library professionals as can make it and are designing the course experience to accommodate at least 150 learnersā€”and up to thousands!

(By the way, you are just the kind of enthusiast we will be looking for later this year as we launch the first-ever PLIX Creative Learning Ambassadors cohort. Participants will advocate for creative learning in their local communities and receive an honorarium for their participation. Be sure you are signed up for ourĀ newsletterĀ so that you will hear about that program when it launches.)

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What if I cannot take the course right now? Will you offer it again?

This is currently the only time we are planning to offer this online course (for now!). For ongoing interactions with the PLIX community of practice, we have monthly activity trainings and community calls, and ourĀ discussion forumĀ is a great place to share ideas with and meet other library professionals.

Join Us!

We welcome participation from PLIX community members, friends of PLIX, or any librarians or library staff who are excited about creative learning and STEAM education in libraries. We canā€™t wait to meet you!

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Registration has now closed. Make sure to sign up for our newsletter to hear about upcoming workshops.

Contact Us

Questions? Please donā€™t hesitate to reach out to us atĀ plix@media.mit.edu.

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This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. (RE-246380-OLS-20).