Introduction. The Website I Chose To Analyze Is The Smithsonian’S

Technology provides students with easy access to information which otherwise would be difficult to obtain. Before technology, students had to read a book in order to look up what they needed. This would take hours, sometimes days. According to Edmund J. Gleazer School of Education, “Students can look up specific information or questions from a teacher, find answers, and do more research without even leaving their desk” (Edmund J. Gleazer School of Education). Technology provides students with a wide range of libraries and sources to enrich their learning.

In Steven Lubar’s book, Inside the Lost Museum: Curating, Past and Present, the recurring idea that museums are “more than the sum of their parts” plays a critical role in the overall argument (329). Lubar notes many aspects that make up a museum, the collection, for example is an essential part of any museum, but the community, as well as the experiences of the patrons create a lasting museum experience. Additionally, Lubar aptly utilizes real-world examples, contemporary and historical, highlighting the work of individuals in museums and establishing a connection between past and current events. Central to this narrative is the example of the lost Jenks Museum. Lubar uses this museum to argue that museums of the past can educate museum goers

I spent time at three different museums for my service hours, the Bangor Discovery Museum, the College of the Atlantic Dorr Museum and the Woodlawn Gardens Museum. At each I went to a different event and each had their the similarities and differences to each other. I facilitated an event at both the College of the Atlantic Dorr Museum and the Bangor Discovery Museum, which is why I believe there are the most similarities between these two, they were completely different activities, but with the same goal: kids have fun and learn.

Cooper states that “museums came to understand that their unique educational ability was that of object-based learning...the possession of objects made museums different” (65). I tend to agree with that statement with some caveats. Firstly, object-based learning can happen without collections. Secondly, is the additional unique opportunity potential for lifelong learning. The museum is a place that can assist, contrast, or provide learning at every stage of a person’s life. For instance, the Mission museums in California are a resource for public elementary school curriculum (Dartt-Newton 97). As people of all ages from the public look to museums as an educational authority, the material presented needs to be as scrutinized as any other

Another aspect that I found to be very interesting was the way in which each of the museums offered different multimedia formats to facilitate the visitor’s experience with the artwork in display. I noticed that both museums offered applications for smartphones and tablets, free of charge, to assist the visitors with getting the most possible out of the museum. Visiting a museum can be a very distracting task because there is so much to see and without a plan or a navigating system that helps you make your way towards the museum, it can be hard to gain something from your visit. Both apps are accessible to most people and very easy to navigate through. These apps included audio guides, exhibition information, calendars, events and so on. However, I noticed

Scheidet, R.A. (2003). Improving Student Achievement by Infusing a Web-Based Curriculum into Global History. Journal Of Research on Technology in Education. International Society for Technology in Education, 36(1), 77-94. Retrieved from: Ashford University Library

My two favorite parts of the websites was the virtual exhibits and that the whole site is viewable. As a visual learner it was important to have virtual exhibits. They had videos and speeches from the 1960s and also videos that are more recent to show the progression of the issue the speeches and videos were about: such as the Civil Rights Movement. There was also a part of the website where you could see a room full of artifacts, where you can click on the item and there will be a brief paragraph on what the item is, and where it is

Being seen as a community leader in the offering of knowledge and learning opportunities, it adds value to the museum and forms a positive attitude among community members towards an organization.

In the article “Wikipedia as a Site of Knowledge Production,” author Danah Boyd writes about how educators are against using Wikipedia as a quality source. She goes into detail about how most students are told to stay clear of the site at all cost because their teachers think it is misleading and inaccurate. On the contrary, Boyd mentions that analysis have shown Wikipedia’s content as creditable as, if not more reliable than, traditional resources. She also writes about some of the sites features that people don’t know about like there discussion boards. Wikipedia has had time to mature over the years and should be seen as a reliable and should be used in schools.

Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.

The whole museum is accessible online. It is deeply engaging experience that gives me a three-dimensional view of the museum. There is a map in the upper right area that helps me move to anywhere in the virtual museum. There is also a camera button I can click on, which gives me very close view of the exponents. Therefore, I am able to clearly see the details of the exhibits. The zoom role is essential to getting the maximum of this virtual museum as I can zoom in on anything I find interesting in order to see it closer. The folding map and camera icon are making it easier for me to search the museum than if I was physically present at the museum. The benefit of the virtual museum is that I can explore exhibitions anytime and from anywhere since there is usually not enough time to explore all exhibits in-person. Even though it is impossible to touch or taste, the same would be true of the physical museum.

I toured the virtual Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Though it was not face-to-face, I still really enjoyed my experience through the virtual word. I was more fascinated about the liveliness in the virtual world than anything else. I think the virtual museum itself was more of a work of art than the art it displayed because it covered almost every inch from many different points of view in the museum. I also liked how it was pretty easy to operate and move around, and no matter how much I zoomed in or out I could read almost everything perfectly fine. While being able to explore this museum from the comfort of my own home was a plus, I truly missed out on being able to read the display labels to learn more about the artifacts. Reading about the history or story behind a work of art is, in my opinion, the best part. This virtual tour was captivating, and I hope to someday visit the museum in person.”

According to the American Alliance of Museums, community engagement in museums includes the use of this facility as “a center where people gather to meet and converse and an active, visible player in civic life, a safe haven, and a trusted incubator of change” (Long 141). Different museums

A greater number of educators are looking to museums to help them attain their educational objectives. Howard Gardner has identified Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood as the perfect environment for stimulating the natural curiosity of a child. Furthermore, in response to demands for new educational approaches, older children are using museums to develop their critical facilities in art and design (Campbell, 1992).

The online era is beginning to change the way we deliver the message to the students. As brokers of information, we have to seek new mediums to reach our students or consumers. Online learning is becoming more popular to reach students to help increase their reading and comprehension of what they read. As a history teacher, it becomes frustrating to assign homework that the students do not do, because they can't.