Liberating Heritage Content to Classrooms Via the Web
Introduction
Preface
This document is intended to provide heritage professionals with introductory information on creating meaningful experiences for students and teachers by describing the processes used and lessons learned in producing the Massive Change In Action Website. Please note that each museum and educational experience is different, and it is not necessary to follow the entire process to achieve good results.
This document is based on an iterative design1 process - meaning that it is cyclic and evolutionary in nature. The relationships between physical and virtual spaces can go on "ad infinitum" but for the purpose of brevity we will focus on one cycle of bringing the physical exhibition to the classroom via the Web.
What is Massive Change In Action?
Massive Change In Action (http://www.massivechangeinaction.virtualmuseum.ca) is a Website targeted at a high school level educational audience and is based on the physical exhibition titled: Massive Change:The Future of Global Design (http://www.massivechange.com) a project by Bruce Mau Design and the Institute without Boundaries, commissioned and organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Massive Change In Action provided a unique opportunity for the Canadian Heritage Information Network to collaborate with the Institute without Boundaries and educational audiences, to create effective learning strategies on the Web. It did so by focusing on the relationships between virtual and physical spaces and focusing on both process and outcome oriented learning to achieve tremendous results.
The relationship between physical and virtual spaces:
The classroom of today goes beyond four walls and filters out into the world. Education systems are evolving to be more active, engaging and exploratory where students are encouraged, through discovery2 and process oriented learning3 methods, to create context through personalized and meaningful experiences. The technology based information systems and tools that constructivist4 learners need are ones that are adaptable to different learning contexts (classroom, museum, home, community and society). Websites that extend heritage related content are effective tools for learning because they transcend physical locations and time and keep content and process accessible and reproducible. On-line heritage content that is currently available is complementary to physical spaces, like exhibitions and also has the possibility of enriching learning environments.
As the Web is not tied to any one place or time, it has the potential to be used as a very flexible and accessible teaching device that can be made available to teachers and students whenever they need it to enhance a physical learning experience in a classroom or in a museum.
The Web can be used as a learning device that adapts itself to different learning environments, both physical and on-line. It can also be used to help students become connected to different communities and to structure their own learning processes.