Remove barriers so students will come to class prepared
With Leganto, instructors can create one list that contains all kinds of materials, from multiple sources. Students can easily access course resources from the college learning management system, so the materials that students need are always located in the same place. Moreover, single sign-on removes authentication barriers so students can easily access materials. Resource lists can be structured to guide students through the materials in the way that best supports and mirrors the students’ classroom experience. To feel confident that they’re prepared for class, students can keep track of what they’ve already read, watched, and listened to.
Let students make choices that take into account the materials they’ll need
Leganto uses various tools for helping students plan ahead. Lists created in Leganto can be made visible to all students in the school, to enable them to identify the materials that they will need for both current and future classes. In addition, citations in the resource lists indicate all the courses that each item is assigned to. To help students budget their course-related purchases, Leganto shows which materials can be obtained for free (supported by the library or available from open-access sources) and which ones students need to purchase. Leganto displays the purchase prices so students can make cost-based decisions about what items to purchase and when to buy them.
Keep the cost of course materials low while providing the best materials for learning
Leganto enables instructors to easily identify relevant library-owned resources, thus lowering students’ spending on course materials and supporting institutional affordable learning initiatives. In many cases, institutions find that they can dramatically reduce coursepack costs by using library holdings and open-access materials. Leganto provides a collaborative platform enabling librarians to easily engage with faculty members and inform them of newly available materials and alternative items that might be better and less expensive, including open educational resources (OER). Furthermore, by working with the faculty, librarians can develop the library’s collections to synchronize more fully with teaching and learning needs.
Ensure that students are engaging with the assigned materials
Instructors can leverage Leganto to better understand how students engage with course materials and to create a collaborative learning environment. Students can “like” materials, add comments, ask questions, and suggest additional resources for the course. Leganto provides instructors and the library with real-time metrics on what resources students have used, thus enabling instructors to adjust course content accordingly, even while the course is in progress.
Leganto for Community Colleges: A summary
- Guides students through course resource requirements
- Removes barriers to accessing course resources
- Helps the library develop the most relevant collections
- Lowers student spending on course resources
- Enables instructors, the library, and the college to identify students’ challenges with resource lists, improve those lists, and increase the availability of materials
