Many museums not only serve their visitors in the physical space, but they are now striving to create opportunities for audiences outside of the museum to connect with their artifacts, research and experts. In this session, we will explore a variety of different models in museum education, connecting with audiences digitally. Ashley Naranjo of the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access will share three examples of ways that museum educators have connected students to researchers and content experts, offered feedback in digital project-based learning activities and allowed students and their teachers to create their own learning sequences through the Smithsonian’s digital learning platform, the Learning Lab. Participants will use this input, as well as their own experiences, to exchange ideas with questions like: What benefits and limitations do we encounter when creating digital experiences? How can we learn from each other to ensure quality learning experiences in the digital world?
Facilitator: Ashley Naranjo (Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access, Washington, DC, United States)
Ashley Naranjo develops online experiences for students that encourage them to connect with the world around them through Smithsonian-wide resources, collections and experts. In addition to her role in organizing Smithsonian Online Education Conferences, Ashley coordinates the Smithsonian Quests digital badge program (http://smithsonianquests.org). This program gives students prompts for learning through discovery, opportunities to make personal connections to content, and links with various subject areas. Most recently, she has been a member of the site development team for the Smithsonian Learning Lab (http://learninglab.si.edu/news/). Her experience in the education field includes research, academic program design in formal and informal settings, school management, and teaching in both the United States and Ecuador. She is a graduate from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.