What is the Virtual Help Service?

• The Virtual Help Service brings virtual support to all Ontario college library students through the Learning Portal.

• The Learning Portal is a collaboration of the Ontario college libraries and learning centres and OCLS and is an online space that provides shared access to resources and online learning support for students.

Who does askON serve from the Learning Portal?

• Students, staff, and faculty from 12 colleges

• Visitors may include OntarioLearn students, who have access to library resources through their registering college

What do I need to know about login procedures?

• Please make sure you are connected to both queues: all_colleges and all_backup

• Verify you are staffing both queues in the staffing tab

How do I identify Learning Portal visitors?

• Look at queue name at the top of each chat, e.g., “Centennial-learning-portal”

• Look at the college icon. Learning Portal questions will have a small “LP”

• Consider how to best help a visitor based on where they are in the Learning Portal

What tools can we use to help Learning Portal visitors?

• You may be asked questions about The Learning Portal’s hubs and resources, so take some time to familiarize yourself with the site, including the Faculty toolkit

• As always: canned messages and library profiles

• Database access for askON staff page

• Remote Authentication troubleshooting document

• Library websites

Which canned messages should I use?

• Click on the canned message icon in a chat and select the Virtual Help message pool

• Otherwise use the same canned messages as askON

What kind of resources are in the Learning Portal?

• Resources for students and faculty and topics including essay writing, time management skills, digital skills, and research.

• Links to videos, tutorials, and learning objects created by the Ontario colleges

Where can I learn more?

• The Learning Portal

• Virtual Help Pilot Webinar for askON Staff (20 min length)

• Learning Portal presentation slides (basic facts about The Learning Portal and TLP resources)

• Learning Portal project website

• VHP Talking Points