NGHS Learning Commons Goals

Vision

To ensure that all users are effective and efficient users of information.

Mission

The program of the North Gaston Learning Commons is to help patrons to acquire the skills needed for 21st century citizenship in all facets of life.

This mission is accomplished:

• by providing intellectual and physical access to materials in all formats
• by providing instruction to foster competence and stimulate interest in reading, viewing, and using information and other ideas
• by working with other educators to design learning strategies to meet the needs of individual users.
• Developing abilities that promote the construction of meaningful knowledge,
• Promoting and reinforcing student abilities and interests, and
• Encouraging habits that produce life-long learners.

Activities created in collaboration with classroom teachers and others are used to lead students to mastery of 21st century skills and literacies that create college/career ready individuals.

To this end, North Gaston High School Students can:

• Evaluate resources for:
  • reliability
  • currency
  • credibility
  • authority
  • point of view
  • bias
  • values
  • authors intent
  • relevancy of content
• Use appropriate technology to:
  • access information (multi-database search engines, online primary resources, virtual interviews with content experts)
  • organize information
  • design products for presentation to share information with others (Web 2.0 tools, multimedia, podcasts, vodcasts, etc.
  • Design products that address global problems
  • Analyze issues and practices of responsible behavior when using resources
  • ethical issues, practices related to copyright, plagiarism, and netiquette
  • Analyze safety issues and practices when using online resources (legal and criminal consequences, long-term career consequences of behavior)