Learning Resources
Viola, artefact from the learning object Shaping Canada: Our Voices and Stories, created by the Royal Ontario Museum.
In order to meet an increasing demand for online teaching material, museums must have access to effective creation and dissemination tools. CHIN programs encourage them to develop learning instruments such as Shaping Canada: Our Voices and Stories, created by the Royal Ontario Museum. Those resources may then be accessed through the VMC Teachers' Centre.
"I am a History teacher and librarian with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board and I am currently working on the Ontario Museum Association's certificate in museum studies. Thank you for the excellent materials you are making available to students, teachers and all interested visitors to your site." Peter Monahan, Teacher, St. Thomas Aquinas CSS
Challenges Faced by Members
Shaping Canada: Our Voices and Stories
It is one thing to encourage museums to create and disseminate more teaching materials for online education, but another to implement the technological tools and resources needed to make Canadian collections accessible in classrooms. That is exactly where CHIN can help.
Renewed Solutions
Online Resource: CHIN Roundtable: E-learning in museums
To find solutions, heritage and education professionals were invited to share their ideas and concerns about e-learning. The CHIN Roundtable enabled them to collaborate in defining the role of technology in museum-based education and to identify underlying issues. Since the lack of resources was a major concern, CHIN has since modified its investment programs to encourage the creation of educational content.
The Agora Research Initiative, which would have not been possible without the input of Canadian museums, was then launched to facilitate access to such content in classrooms. The initiative was evaluated by heritage professionals, teachers and students and its use was subsequently improved, particularly through the creation of Guidelines for Developing Learning Objects and an input tool available online. These two solutions guarantee a uniform presentation of content and the possibility of grouping such content by user objectives. Initially a pilot project, the Agora initiative evolved to become the VMC Teachers' Centre as a result of its success, due in part to innovative features. In the first year of operation, more than 300 teachers joined the teaching community, which has continued to grow ever since.
Meaningful Results
As evidenced by CHIN articles in association newsletters, institutions are using online teaching aids and are discovering their myriad benefits. New teaching content is regularly added to the Shaping Canada: Our Voices and Stories assist students who wish to learn while becoming familiar with the world of museums. Teachers also greatly appreciate this resource, judging from the testimonials received during the initial consultations concerning the project:
"[The VMC Teachers' Centre] provides extremely rich content. Its features, projects, lessons and teaching materials are of interest and beneficial to teachers and students alike.]"
Eric LANGLOIS, Undergraduate Arts Director, Researcher of Cybermuseology, Université du Québec en Outaouais
The network of members, supported by the entire CHIN team, continues to promote the VMC Teachers' Centre among Canadian teachers at conferences such as APTICA, AQUOPS, ECOO and Virtual School Society. On its Professional Exchange site, it also informs the heritage community of the means at their disposal for Liberating Heritage Content to Classrooms Via the Web and carries out research to remain a reference in the area. The Teachers' Centre is constantly reinventing itself by incorporating interactive components where teachers and students can each energize lesson plans and create work online while supporting the introduction of Canadian museums into the country's classrooms!
Tools and Resources
Professional Exchange- Online resource: CHIN Roundtable: E-learning in museums
- Online resource: Liberating Heritage Content to Classrooms Via the Web
- Learning resource: Shaping Canada: Our Voices and Stories
- Online resource: Massive Change In Action
- Online resource: VMC Teachers' Centre
- Learning resource: Games and Other Interactive Activities
