Do you want to learn more about the National Park Service in an online format? The Common Learning Portal acts as part virtual classroom, part social network for NPS employees and curious members of the public. Setting up your account is simple, but like other learning platforms, CLP comes with pros and cons.
Pros
- Tons of resources are available in one place, no internet search needed.
- You can connect with NPS employees from different parts of the country
- It's fun to learn more about the parks by completing virtual lessons, which often include links to other sites for added learning.
- You can earn badges for completing a virtual lesson and display up to four badges on your profile.
Cons
- The site is extremely difficult to navigate if you are browsing or looking for a specific page because the search function doesn't work well using keywords, the filters are frequently unhelpful, and the dropdown sorting menus seem illogical or do not work. Additionally, the website is slow loading, especially when streaming video.
- Few employees are regularly active on the site, so the person who you most want to follow might not be available.
- Virtual lessons are often difficult to find due to the poor search function. Some virtual lessons are incomplete or contain deadlinks.
- Not all lessons allow for badge earning, so the system lacks consistency. Some lessons will not award a badge even when all activities are completed. Other lessons award the same badge multiple times, even if you have not redone activities.
Best of the Common Learning Portal
Here are some of my favorite lessons so far:
- The Audience Centered Interpretation lesson series has four lessons: "Choosing Essential Theme Questions", "Exploring Dialogic Questions", "Crafting Good Story Arcs", and "Making Safe Space for Visitor Expression". I appreciated how my interests in creative writing and inclusivity were combine with pedagogy and programming skills.
- In Effigy Series / Learning Activity. An engrossing documentary series about park leadership gone horribly wrong, with workplace behavior ranging from bullying to hiding government documents to improper use of human remains.
While the Common Learning Portal needs technical work to be done before it's an effective learning platform, the existing information is a good way to learn more about the National Park Service from the comfort of your own home.