Digital Human Library
The Digital Human Library (DHL) is the brainchild of Leigh Cassell, an Ontario-based educator committed to creating connections between schools, classrooms, teachers, students, and various people and organizations interested in sharing their expertise, using technology. It is a phenomenal database of VFTs, best practices, and ideas for starting with VFTs. The site is organized like books on a shelf. Except the books are people and are called meBooks. A meBook is a person or organization who volunteers to connect with classrooms in order to lend their expertise on a particular subject. Teachers can search the meBook profiles to find content that matches their instructional objectives.
Benefits
This site is a collection of many, many resources in one convenient location. Many of the resources we have listed elsewhere within this tutorial can also be found on DHL. It includes a variety of useful checklists and prep materials to help teachers efficiently organize their VFT. Teacher are guided in the planning and preparation of a VFT. Everything from making the initial connections to the guest speaker, to creating a virtual lesson, to ensuring the safety of students engaged in online conversation, and to successfully engaging students using technology is covered. Further, the DHL describes the expected roles of both the educator and the expert. This provides an excellent starting for communicating with and for relating to someone new online.
Drawbacks
The sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming! It is difficult to choose one VFT and ensure it meets your needs and curricular outcomes when the options are so numerous. Additionally, it is difficult to judge which content is most current, to know it's quality, or to know if all the sources are reliable. Finally, the site is extensive and it can be difficult to know if you are navigating it in the best way possible.
Benefits
This site is a collection of many, many resources in one convenient location. Many of the resources we have listed elsewhere within this tutorial can also be found on DHL. It includes a variety of useful checklists and prep materials to help teachers efficiently organize their VFT. Teacher are guided in the planning and preparation of a VFT. Everything from making the initial connections to the guest speaker, to creating a virtual lesson, to ensuring the safety of students engaged in online conversation, and to successfully engaging students using technology is covered. Further, the DHL describes the expected roles of both the educator and the expert. This provides an excellent starting for communicating with and for relating to someone new online.
Drawbacks
The sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming! It is difficult to choose one VFT and ensure it meets your needs and curricular outcomes when the options are so numerous. Additionally, it is difficult to judge which content is most current, to know it's quality, or to know if all the sources are reliable. Finally, the site is extensive and it can be difficult to know if you are navigating it in the best way possible.