Museums and the Web 2001 : Abstract

Archives & Museum Informatics
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Published: March 15, 2001.

Engaging Museums, Content Specialists, Educators, and Information Specialists: a Model and Examples
C. Olivia Frost , University of Michigan, USA
http://www.si.umich.edu

Session: Collaborations

This paper describes a model for the use of the Web to engage communities in better understanding and appreciation of cultures through partnership among a knowledge organization, K-12 teachers and learners, museums, and regional and virtual communities. Museums and other content providers offer artefacts for object-based learning. Content specialists contribute specialized content expertise and evaluate resources. Education specialists develop, evaluate, and use materials for instruction. Information specialists identify, evaluate, organize, and promote the use of web-based and other information resources. They also develop tools to capture and display content, to engage the teachers and learners in dialogue, and to reach out and extend the content and resources to both local and virtual communities. Communication tools enable members of the local as well as virtual communities to provide reflections and engage in dialogue, as well as to contribute their own content. Two recent projects developed from the model are described, in addition to four previous projects developed by the project team, that exemplify earlier applications of the model. Lessons learned from the project work are identified, and the paper discusses ways in which this type of project work reflects new roles for the professionals participating in the projects, as well as changes in the mission of their organizations and professions.