WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach Course has returned to the course catalog after an extensive makeover. This self-paced course contains a wealth of information, techniques and tools you can use to jump start your library’s outreach efforts to your local Spanish-speaking community. In celebration of the relaunch, we are offering the course for half price through the end of May. Once registered, you will have access to the course for a full year. And if you are a member of one of our State Library Partner communities, remember to enroll via your community’s catalog as the course may be free or reduced. (And be sure to thank them!)
As part of the team that refreshed and relaunched the course (kudos especially to Dale and Sharon), I spent some time reflecting on the story behind the course. All of the courses in WebJunction’s catalog have a story behind them, but this one especially illustrates the effort and collaboration that goes into the creation of a course.
Course Creation
The course was initially developed with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of WebJunction’s Spanish Language Outreach Program, a nationwide program that partnered with state libraries to provide on-the-ground outreach workshops in 40 states and has cultivated WebJunction’s online community of library staff committed to serving the needs of Spanish speakers. Yolanda Cuesta, author and expert on outreach to multicultural communities, developed a stellar curriculum for the workshops and, along with Laura Staley, SLO’s project manager, adapted the curriculum for the online version. The technical side of course development is not to be overlooked but let’s just say that somewhere in there the magic happened and in March of 2006 the initial course was launched. And since I’m reminiscing, I’d like to be sure to recognize too, the 158 trainers and coordinators who’s fine work enhanced the content throughout all 3 rounds of the program (440 workshops!) as well as the online course. The recent refresh and revamp was completed to update links and handouts and in order to migrate the course to an elearning standard format so the system tracks your progress as you work through the course (doesn’t have to be in one sitting!) and so you can receive a certificate.
Course Outline
The course description provides a complete set of learning goals, but here’s a quick outline of what’s covered in the course:
- Overview of the current landscape of Hispanic/Latino populations, their access to technology and existing library services.
- Understanding cultural differences and the dimensions of diversity.
- Developing an outreach action plan including needs assessment, building community partnerships, planning, programming and marketing.
- Implementing computer classes for Spanish speakers.
- Evaluating the impacts of outreach efforts.
Taking the course with others
But today the most exciting part about the story is that we’ve created a new course group for folks enrolled or interested in the course. The WebJunction groups feature is being used by members to gather, often as co-learners, and as a member of this group, you can augment your self-paced learning by connecting with others taking the course, asking questions of one another, and sharing your experiences with outreach at your library. I’ve posted a handful of resources to the group, including one of the course’s most valued tools, Serving Spanish Speaking Communities Success Checklist, which helps you to assess how well your library understands and serves your Spanish-speaking patrons. There are a few other resources posted related to learning with a cohort, but I hope to see others join in and share their own templates, tools and examples related to their learning. All are welcome to join and take part in the group, including those who have already taken the course or those who would simply like to share ideas about enhancing services with other library staff. I know that there are at least 15 people out there who have enrolled since the course relaunched, so I’ll be looking to you to join the group and model cohort learning. The story of this course continues with you and with what you do to improve or enhance services to Spanish speakers in your community. Thank you to all WebJunction learners for all you do for libraries!
There’s a second WebJunction course discounted this month on Updating and Upgrading Library Computer Software and I’m sure there’s a story behind that one too, but as Joe Janes always says, “that’s another story.”