Network News: Spring 2009 Edition
From the Editor
Cynthia Robinson
Director, Tufts Museum Studies Program
It’s a busy time for museum educators—many are preparing for the spring onslaught of students, and at the same time coping with reduced staffs and budgets. So who has time to write for Network? Luckily, a few stalwart souls found time, and their thoughtful pieces here will inspire you and aid you with your work. Thus, this issue of Network is a mini-issue. Our next, which will report on AAM conference sessions, will be full-sized (maybe oversized!). So stay tuned, and as always, consider writing something yourself. Share your successes, challenges, questions, and issues with colleagues: it helps move the field forward.
Cheers,
Cynthia
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Economy’s Impact on Museum Education and Educators
Network News: Spring 2009 Edition
By Cynthia Robinson, Network Editor
I am finding it hard to get a grip on the sour economy’s impact on museums. Newspapers occasionally contain articles about closings and layoffs. But newspaper coverage of the full range of museums has never been good, and with newspapers themselves downsizing, coverage is even more spotty.
I recently sent an email out to the MER board and a few members asking how the economy has affected programs, audience, staff, and budget. As you might suspect—even from this small survey—the responses are all over the place.
Probably the best news comes from Scott Winterrowd, Assistant Curator of Education at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Scott wrote, “My programs operate off of a Meadows Foundation Initiative that is not in endowment and therefore not losing money. We were given $36 million for new acquisitions and for education programs alone, so we are not really impacted (yet). I will say that the downturn has affected our local school districts. We are trying to find ways of getting groups here to us, and also to get some supplies to art teachers.” Scott goes on to point out that the money is restricted and does not cover staff salaries. However, “the university's endowment is also not as bad off as most, as of yet,” allowing the museum staff to “look forward with cautious optimism.”
Tania Said, the Curator of Education at the Ball State University Museum of Art in Muncie, Indiana, also reports that things are OK at the moment. She wrote, “The current economy has not yet had an impact on Ball State University Museum of Art educational programs, either in terms of funding or participation. Demand for services remains high with student enrollment stable and programs well attended, including school visits.” Her colleague, Carl Schafer, added, “Being part of a state university, the Ball State University Museum of Art is funded largely through the university’s general fund which is stable through our fiscal year ending June 2009. We have not faced significant cuts in our staff or public programs. Earnings from the museum’s endowments which supply acquisition funds are down significantly.”
Scott’s and Tania’s museums’ situations exemplify the benefit of having a buffering umbrella organization, in stark contrast to Brandeis University’s plans to plunder the Rose Museum (see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/arts/design/02rose.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=rose%20art%20museum&st=cse for more information about this debacle).
Museums within state, country, and local governments may be more apt to be feeling the pinch as officials scramble to reallocate dwindling resources over many services and departments. Jill Dixon, Visitor Services Chief of the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Heritage Services in Norristown, Pennsylvania, wrote, “Our Commissioners announced a hiring freeze on September 18, and we had several open positions… our historic sites operate on a shoestring in terms of personnel already.” To cover those gaping holes they reallocated and retrained some part-time workers and management filled in on weekends. Hiring freezes in maintenance and ranger departments “means less help at special events, less regular patrolling, etc.”
Jill goes on to say, “We had about $3 million in capital projects planned for this year which have been put on hold indefinitely… The bottom line for us is that we're trying for more grants, event sponsorships, etc. Grant applications have been successful, sponsorships less so at least so far— and since we are a government agency, it's hard to convince people we're worthy of that! We were also asked to reduce our operating by 5% in 2009 and as of yet, our raises for 2009 have been frozen until April 1.”
Fewer staff, fewer resources, but more visitors: “We don't charge admission at our historic sites so I actually expect MORE rather than less, especially at our special events. Our Civil War school event was booked (it's in late May) the DAY it was announced in January. We have some 700 kids coming and 700 on a waiting list! …We instituted a suggested $2/person donation at our historic sites late last summer and at least 2 of the sites have indicated an uptick in donations. But in comparison to what we do and how many we serve, it's a drop in the bucket.”
Although not a state organization, the Minnesota Historical Society’s finances also have been affected by the state budget. Erik Holland, Interpretive Program Specialist, wrote, “The Minnesota governor has ‘unalloted’ $600,000 from the MHS budget for Feb-June 2009. This money has been budgeted since the beginning of this biennium and much of the whole is already gone so is a pretty harsh pill to swallow. To be able to return this money to the state coffers, salaried staff are required to take from 2 to 8 unpaid ‘furlough’ days (depending on their salary—those making the most have to take the most) before the end of the biennium (end of June 09).” Erik notes that there are rumblings of additional reductions in budget and workforce. Folks are dreading the arrival of April 15, thought to be the “pink slip day for the 2010-2011 biennium.” Erik is coping with the uncertainty by doing “the absolute best I can, with what I have and what I can impact; not fretting over things I cannot impact; and at all turns do as much as possible to leave a positive legacy because I know that this is a pendulum swing. In times of downturn, planning is very important so when things turn the other direction those in a position to take advantage because of their planning will have a head start.”
Recently opened museums have their own rhythms of visitation and budgets, and the newly opened President Lincoln's Cottage (a site of the private, non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation) is no exception. Jill Sanderson, former Curator of Education, reports that “President Lincoln's Cottage opened to the public February 19, 2008 and during its first year of operation there were 28,803 visitors. It is hard to gauge any effect from the recession because it is such a new site and does not have comparison statistics. In addition, 2009 is the Lincoln Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, and Lincoln-related sites are popular with the increased focus on the 16th president. I think President Obama's admiration for Lincoln, revealed in his speeches and inauguration theme, may help as well. The raw numbers for the first quarter of 2009 are comparable to the first quarter of 2008 with a slight increase in student groups… Reservations for the upcoming spring season, a popular time for school and group visitors, seem to be on target, and may surpass last years’ attendance according to Administrative Assistant Katie Needham.”
So what is happening at your museum? What impact has the economy had upon your programs, audience, staff, and budget? Are you seeing more or fewer visitors? School groups? Has the recession forced you to do things in new ways... and are those proving to be effective? Share your solutions… and your woes with your colleagues.
Cynthia Robinson is the Director of the Museum Studies Program at Tufts University.
By Cynthia Robinson, Network Editor
I am finding it hard to get a grip on the sour economy’s impact on museums. Newspapers occasionally contain articles about closings and layoffs. But newspaper coverage of the full range of museums has never been good, and with newspapers themselves downsizing, coverage is even more spotty.
I recently sent an email out to the MER board and a few members asking how the economy has affected programs, audience, staff, and budget. As you might suspect—even from this small survey—the responses are all over the place.
Probably the best news comes from Scott Winterrowd, Assistant Curator of Education at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Scott wrote, “My programs operate off of a Meadows Foundation Initiative that is not in endowment and therefore not losing money. We were given $36 million for new acquisitions and for education programs alone, so we are not really impacted (yet). I will say that the downturn has affected our local school districts. We are trying to find ways of getting groups here to us, and also to get some supplies to art teachers.” Scott goes on to point out that the money is restricted and does not cover staff salaries. However, “the university's endowment is also not as bad off as most, as of yet,” allowing the museum staff to “look forward with cautious optimism.”
Tania Said, the Curator of Education at the Ball State University Museum of Art in Muncie, Indiana, also reports that things are OK at the moment. She wrote, “The current economy has not yet had an impact on Ball State University Museum of Art educational programs, either in terms of funding or participation. Demand for services remains high with student enrollment stable and programs well attended, including school visits.” Her colleague, Carl Schafer, added, “Being part of a state university, the Ball State University Museum of Art is funded largely through the university’s general fund which is stable through our fiscal year ending June 2009. We have not faced significant cuts in our staff or public programs. Earnings from the museum’s endowments which supply acquisition funds are down significantly.”
Scott’s and Tania’s museums’ situations exemplify the benefit of having a buffering umbrella organization, in stark contrast to Brandeis University’s plans to plunder the Rose Museum (see http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/arts/design/02rose.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=rose%20art%20museum&st=cse for more information about this debacle).
Museums within state, country, and local governments may be more apt to be feeling the pinch as officials scramble to reallocate dwindling resources over many services and departments. Jill Dixon, Visitor Services Chief of the Montgomery County Department of Parks and Heritage Services in Norristown, Pennsylvania, wrote, “Our Commissioners announced a hiring freeze on September 18, and we had several open positions… our historic sites operate on a shoestring in terms of personnel already.” To cover those gaping holes they reallocated and retrained some part-time workers and management filled in on weekends. Hiring freezes in maintenance and ranger departments “means less help at special events, less regular patrolling, etc.”
Jill goes on to say, “We had about $3 million in capital projects planned for this year which have been put on hold indefinitely… The bottom line for us is that we're trying for more grants, event sponsorships, etc. Grant applications have been successful, sponsorships less so at least so far— and since we are a government agency, it's hard to convince people we're worthy of that! We were also asked to reduce our operating by 5% in 2009 and as of yet, our raises for 2009 have been frozen until April 1.”
Fewer staff, fewer resources, but more visitors: “We don't charge admission at our historic sites so I actually expect MORE rather than less, especially at our special events. Our Civil War school event was booked (it's in late May) the DAY it was announced in January. We have some 700 kids coming and 700 on a waiting list! …We instituted a suggested $2/person donation at our historic sites late last summer and at least 2 of the sites have indicated an uptick in donations. But in comparison to what we do and how many we serve, it's a drop in the bucket.”
Although not a state organization, the Minnesota Historical Society’s finances also have been affected by the state budget. Erik Holland, Interpretive Program Specialist, wrote, “The Minnesota governor has ‘unalloted’ $600,000 from the MHS budget for Feb-June 2009. This money has been budgeted since the beginning of this biennium and much of the whole is already gone so is a pretty harsh pill to swallow. To be able to return this money to the state coffers, salaried staff are required to take from 2 to 8 unpaid ‘furlough’ days (depending on their salary—those making the most have to take the most) before the end of the biennium (end of June 09).” Erik notes that there are rumblings of additional reductions in budget and workforce. Folks are dreading the arrival of April 15, thought to be the “pink slip day for the 2010-2011 biennium.” Erik is coping with the uncertainty by doing “the absolute best I can, with what I have and what I can impact; not fretting over things I cannot impact; and at all turns do as much as possible to leave a positive legacy because I know that this is a pendulum swing. In times of downturn, planning is very important so when things turn the other direction those in a position to take advantage because of their planning will have a head start.”
Recently opened museums have their own rhythms of visitation and budgets, and the newly opened President Lincoln's Cottage (a site of the private, non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation) is no exception. Jill Sanderson, former Curator of Education, reports that “President Lincoln's Cottage opened to the public February 19, 2008 and during its first year of operation there were 28,803 visitors. It is hard to gauge any effect from the recession because it is such a new site and does not have comparison statistics. In addition, 2009 is the Lincoln Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, and Lincoln-related sites are popular with the increased focus on the 16th president. I think President Obama's admiration for Lincoln, revealed in his speeches and inauguration theme, may help as well. The raw numbers for the first quarter of 2009 are comparable to the first quarter of 2008 with a slight increase in student groups… Reservations for the upcoming spring season, a popular time for school and group visitors, seem to be on target, and may surpass last years’ attendance according to Administrative Assistant Katie Needham.”
So what is happening at your museum? What impact has the economy had upon your programs, audience, staff, and budget? Are you seeing more or fewer visitors? School groups? Has the recession forced you to do things in new ways... and are those proving to be effective? Share your solutions… and your woes with your colleagues.
Cynthia Robinson is the Director of the Museum Studies Program at Tufts University.
Required Reading: Four Essentials for Educators in the Museum
Network News: Spring 2009 Edition
By Rebecca Dicks, Volunteer Educator at ICA Boston
“Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time.” Written in the early 1960’s during the American Civil Rights Movement, James Baldwin’s quotation is startlingly apt for today’s educational climate, even nearly fifty years later. Though edging into a new era of hope, our institutions are limping through economic crisis and the rapid and sometimes contradictory educational reform of so many divergent regimes.
I am not planning to directly address such tumult here, but rather to suggest a few key readings that might bolster wavering resolve, trigger some much needed museum-wide change, and inspire radical new educational philosophies and strategies. I have identified four such pieces from a spattering of exceptional teachers and mentors, and I am pleased to point out the diversity of voices included in my suggested readings. These writers, James Baldwin, Walter Benjamin, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill and Judy Rand, represent the voices of Black Americans and White Americans; heterosexuals and homosexuals; those writing in America and those writing abroad; Jews, Christians, and non-believers; and women as well as men.
James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers”
Where can I find it? Baldwin: Collected Essays published by Penguin in 1998.
How long will it take me? To read this essay, it will likely take less time than an episode of Friends, but it will inhabit your mind for hours and perhaps days after.
What can I expect? In his poetic and truly inspirational manifesto, Baldwin reminds us of what good education does. “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions…”
Why should I read it? Stressing critical thinking and media literacy before those were such hot education terms, Baldwin shares the secret to education: teach how to think, not what to think.
Judy Rand’s “The Visitors’ Bill of Rights”
Where can I find it? Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift edited by Gail Anderson and published by AltaMira Press in 2004.
How long will it take me? It should take only minutes to read these two pages, and it will take only a few more to scan it and send it to every museum person you know.
What can I expect? Rand enumerates very basic yet sometimes forgotten guidelines for facilitating learning and enhancing visitor comfort in the museum.
Why should I read it? Rand not only stresses accessibility in the content of her message but also does so quite effectively in her delivery. She lays out her suggestions in straight-forward, non-florid language, and she literally gives visitors a voice by adopting their perspective in quotation marks throughout the piece. An example of her super simple yet immensely important advice is, “Friendly, helpful staff ease visitors’ anxieties. If they see themselves represented in exhibits and programs and on the staff, they’ll feel more like they belong.”
Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Where can I find it? Illuminations: Essays and Reflections published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. in 1968.
How long will it take me? Give yourself an hour or so to read this and digest. It will be well worth it though, even if you only brag about it to your colleagues.
What can I expect? A philosopher writing in the 1930’s, Benjamin has not written an easy piece.
Discussing the terms “aura” and “authenticity” in reference to Communist art and the new, more efficient and effective reproducibility of images, Benjamin speaks to a key current issue as well. Today a work can be photographed and uploaded to the web almost instantaneously, and web artwork has become a media in its own. Yet Benjamin reminds us that “the real thing” is valued, even if only perceived.
Why should I read it? Visitors have access to almost any kind of information at any time via the web. But visitors choose to visit artwork or other artifacts in a museum because they believe it will be a different kind of experience, an authentic experience. Benjamin writes, “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens be.”
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill’s The Educational Role of the Museum
Where can I find it? Published by Routledge in 1999, the second edition of this book is over 300 pages, but well-organized by topic so the reader may easily select which chapters are most relevant.
How long will it take me? You should be able to read it piecemeal in less than a month, or maybe you’ll just choose to skim it and keep it on hand for reference. Either way, it is worth getting your hands on.
What can I expect? Addressing the complex power relationships interacting between museum visitors and museum staff and the anxieties of inequity that plague many a visitor, Hooper-Greenhill writes, “Schools claim to offer an equality of educational opportunity to all, but children from different social and cultural backgrounds have manifestly different school experiences. Museums, too, claim to be for everyone, but both the visitor statistics and the research studies…insist that museums are not experienced equally by all.”
Why should I read it? Power relationships are present in all interactions and all learning experiences, and since they cannot be avoided, they must instead be openly addressed. Hooper-Greenhill reminds us that we are faced with heavy responsibility but also the opportunity for great change. She writes, “To perceive the educational role of the museum as a form of critical pedagogy entails understanding the museum within a context of cultural politics; it means acknowledging the constructivist approach to knowledge and to learning; and it means recognizing the fact that museums have the potential to negotiate cultural borderlands, and to create new contact zones where identities and collections, people and objects can discover new possibilities for personal and social life and, through this, for democracy.”
We are arbiters of taste, self-proclaimed experts, career makers and breakers, and stakeholders in our own game of collecting the authentic. But we are also facing crippling economic circumstances that may make us forget why we entered this career path in the first place. I hope that these key readings will entertain and inspire, will remind us of the simple things that we sometimes forget, will spark even more appreciation of our authentic objects, and will catalyze further critical thinking. Happy reading!
Rebecca Dicks is a recent graduate of the Tufts Museum Education Master's program and a volunteer educator at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. She is currently employed by Temple Israel, where she contributes to event planning and strategic communication efforts. Rebecca may be reached at rdicks@tisrael.org.
By Rebecca Dicks, Volunteer Educator at ICA Boston
“Let’s begin by saying that we are living through a very dangerous time.” Written in the early 1960’s during the American Civil Rights Movement, James Baldwin’s quotation is startlingly apt for today’s educational climate, even nearly fifty years later. Though edging into a new era of hope, our institutions are limping through economic crisis and the rapid and sometimes contradictory educational reform of so many divergent regimes.
I am not planning to directly address such tumult here, but rather to suggest a few key readings that might bolster wavering resolve, trigger some much needed museum-wide change, and inspire radical new educational philosophies and strategies. I have identified four such pieces from a spattering of exceptional teachers and mentors, and I am pleased to point out the diversity of voices included in my suggested readings. These writers, James Baldwin, Walter Benjamin, Eilean Hooper-Greenhill and Judy Rand, represent the voices of Black Americans and White Americans; heterosexuals and homosexuals; those writing in America and those writing abroad; Jews, Christians, and non-believers; and women as well as men.
James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers”
Where can I find it? Baldwin: Collected Essays published by Penguin in 1998.
How long will it take me? To read this essay, it will likely take less time than an episode of Friends, but it will inhabit your mind for hours and perhaps days after.
What can I expect? In his poetic and truly inspirational manifesto, Baldwin reminds us of what good education does. “The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions…”
Why should I read it? Stressing critical thinking and media literacy before those were such hot education terms, Baldwin shares the secret to education: teach how to think, not what to think.
Judy Rand’s “The Visitors’ Bill of Rights”
Where can I find it? Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift edited by Gail Anderson and published by AltaMira Press in 2004.
How long will it take me? It should take only minutes to read these two pages, and it will take only a few more to scan it and send it to every museum person you know.
What can I expect? Rand enumerates very basic yet sometimes forgotten guidelines for facilitating learning and enhancing visitor comfort in the museum.
Why should I read it? Rand not only stresses accessibility in the content of her message but also does so quite effectively in her delivery. She lays out her suggestions in straight-forward, non-florid language, and she literally gives visitors a voice by adopting their perspective in quotation marks throughout the piece. An example of her super simple yet immensely important advice is, “Friendly, helpful staff ease visitors’ anxieties. If they see themselves represented in exhibits and programs and on the staff, they’ll feel more like they belong.”
Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”
Where can I find it? Illuminations: Essays and Reflections published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. in 1968.
How long will it take me? Give yourself an hour or so to read this and digest. It will be well worth it though, even if you only brag about it to your colleagues.
What can I expect? A philosopher writing in the 1930’s, Benjamin has not written an easy piece.
Discussing the terms “aura” and “authenticity” in reference to Communist art and the new, more efficient and effective reproducibility of images, Benjamin speaks to a key current issue as well. Today a work can be photographed and uploaded to the web almost instantaneously, and web artwork has become a media in its own. Yet Benjamin reminds us that “the real thing” is valued, even if only perceived.
Why should I read it? Visitors have access to almost any kind of information at any time via the web. But visitors choose to visit artwork or other artifacts in a museum because they believe it will be a different kind of experience, an authentic experience. Benjamin writes, “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens be.”
Eilean Hooper-Greenhill’s The Educational Role of the Museum
Where can I find it? Published by Routledge in 1999, the second edition of this book is over 300 pages, but well-organized by topic so the reader may easily select which chapters are most relevant.
How long will it take me? You should be able to read it piecemeal in less than a month, or maybe you’ll just choose to skim it and keep it on hand for reference. Either way, it is worth getting your hands on.
What can I expect? Addressing the complex power relationships interacting between museum visitors and museum staff and the anxieties of inequity that plague many a visitor, Hooper-Greenhill writes, “Schools claim to offer an equality of educational opportunity to all, but children from different social and cultural backgrounds have manifestly different school experiences. Museums, too, claim to be for everyone, but both the visitor statistics and the research studies…insist that museums are not experienced equally by all.”
Why should I read it? Power relationships are present in all interactions and all learning experiences, and since they cannot be avoided, they must instead be openly addressed. Hooper-Greenhill reminds us that we are faced with heavy responsibility but also the opportunity for great change. She writes, “To perceive the educational role of the museum as a form of critical pedagogy entails understanding the museum within a context of cultural politics; it means acknowledging the constructivist approach to knowledge and to learning; and it means recognizing the fact that museums have the potential to negotiate cultural borderlands, and to create new contact zones where identities and collections, people and objects can discover new possibilities for personal and social life and, through this, for democracy.”
We are arbiters of taste, self-proclaimed experts, career makers and breakers, and stakeholders in our own game of collecting the authentic. But we are also facing crippling economic circumstances that may make us forget why we entered this career path in the first place. I hope that these key readings will entertain and inspire, will remind us of the simple things that we sometimes forget, will spark even more appreciation of our authentic objects, and will catalyze further critical thinking. Happy reading!
Rebecca Dicks is a recent graduate of the Tufts Museum Education Master's program and a volunteer educator at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston. She is currently employed by Temple Israel, where she contributes to event planning and strategic communication efforts. Rebecca may be reached at rdicks@tisrael.org.
Lights, Camera, Educate!
Network News: Spring 2009 Edition
By Stacy Fuller, Head of Education, Amon Carter Museum
From social networking applications like Facebook and Twitter to interactive Web content like blogs, podcasts, and wikis, technology plays an active role in connecting visitors to museum collections—no matter where they live or whether they ever step foot in the building. At the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, museum educators daily unite technology and education through live, interactive videoconferencing programs delivered to over 16,000 students, educators, and seniors each year, equal to the number of participants in onsite fieldtrips. These live, two-way audio and video broadcasts focus on the Carter’s collection of American art and engage participants with museum staff in discussions and activities exploring art, history, culture, language arts, and science. Broadcasts are conducted in a studio setting using reproductions and in the galleries using a mobile unit.
While school tours remain an integral component of the Carter’s education program, in some cases, videoconferencing allows the museum to expand its audience to those visitors who would not otherwise be able to visit. Student broadcasts not only reach children in rural and urban communities across the United States and Canada where distance prohibits an onsite fieldtrip, they also allow the museum to connect with local children whose districts cannot afford the cost of substitutes and transportation required for a visit. Distance learning also allows the Carter to repurpose its onsite educator programs for teachers across Texas and nationwide, as well as expand the museum’s audience to seniors in residential living facilities who are no longer able to travel.
One argument against distance learning programs is that they discourage school groups from visiting the museum and experiencing the collections first-hand. After almost seven years of videoconferencing, the Carter has found that distance learning programs actually increase the museum’s visibility and help develop a future generation of adult visitors. Because of their students’ engagement during programs, multiple districts have added onsite fieldtrips after participating in a broadcast. Carter educators also use videoconferences as pre- and post-visit programs for schools coming on museum tours. Participating in broadcasts builds students’ confidence in looking at and analyzing objects, which is rewarded when they enter a museum’s doors.
Incorporating videoconferencing as part of a museum’s education program transforms what was previously a method for business communication into an innovative teaching tool. While delivery methods have to be modified slightly, broadcasts can still be as interactive and inquiry-based as onsite visits. For example, during the secondary-school program Metaphorically Seeing—It’s All About Me, students explore portraiture in the Carter’s collection, refine their knowledge of metaphors and symbolism, and experience the use of figurative language in writing and visual media; they then create their own personal visual metaphors. As part of the educator videoconference Art and Science, participating teachers work in groups to analyze artworks depicting plants and then share their observations with colleagues across the nation. Additionally, while guest speakers typically do not have the time to conduct multiple school tours (and museums do not have the money for their honoraria!), videoconferencing allows one presentation by an exhibiting artist or related author to reach thousands of students.
Videoconferencing also lends itself to integrating additional technologies into museum education programs—technologies students are already using. Over 3,700 children from schools nationwide participated in the Carter’s videoconference Painting Pictures with Words. Best-selling children’s book author Patricia MacLachlan shared her creative process live from the Carter’s galleries while making connections to works from the collection. After the program, participating students shared their thoughts and feelings about MacLachlan’s books, her presentation, the art they experienced, and their own story ideas on the Carter’s blog. Carter educators direct broadcast participants to utilize the images and classroom activities featured in the museum’s online teaching guides as pre- and post-broadcast activities, and teachers participating in educator videoconferences earn additional continuing professional education credit hours by posting lesson ideas and completing research projects related to each broadcast’s theme on the Carter’s Moodle page.
Videoconferences serve as a bridge connecting participants to the museum’s collection and individuals across the country and beyond. While some broadcasts are point-to-point (the museum is connected to only one receiving location), many are multi-point, allowing students and teachers to share ideas with peers they would never meet otherwise. A recent educator videoconference had South Texas and Arizona teachers discussing how to teach literacy with photography. Even point-to-point broadcasts can be an opportunity for cultural exchange. While doing a broadcast from the galleries to an elementary school in North Texas, the Carter’s Distance Learning Manager noticed a group of teenage visitors from Korea who were intrigued by the program. Rather than let this teaching moment slip by, the educator explained what was happening, introduced the two groups of students, and prompted a dialogue between them. The Carter also encourages teachers and students who participate in multi-point broadcasts to continue learning from each other by connecting after the program (without the museum) to share completed projects inspired by the videoconference.
Museum educators realize that the experience of seeing an original object in a museum setting can never be replaced. That said, videoconferencing is an economically responsible program that benefits all involved during these austere economic times. The cost of a broadcast is often much cheaper than the expenses associated with the substitutes and transportation required for onsite fieldtrips, and by developing object-centered programs based on timely issues, museums can generate income. Additionally, teachers who use student videoconferences as either a pre- or post-museum visit activity will find that the value of their onsite fieldtrip is enhanced. With distance learning’s ability to connect many more visitors to a museum’s collection, use technology as a creative teaching method, and generate revenue, it is a key component of the Carter’s education program, one that inspires new avenues to learning about its collection of American art every time the cameras roll.
For more information about the Carter’s distance learning program, visit http://www.cartermuseum.org/teaching/distance-learning.
Stacy Fuller is the Head of Education at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where she oversees all aspects of programs and services and specializes in teacher and accessible programs. She holds a M.A. in art history and a B.A. in museum management. She joined the board of the Museum Education Roundtable in October 2008.
By Stacy Fuller, Head of Education, Amon Carter Museum
From social networking applications like Facebook and Twitter to interactive Web content like blogs, podcasts, and wikis, technology plays an active role in connecting visitors to museum collections—no matter where they live or whether they ever step foot in the building. At the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, museum educators daily unite technology and education through live, interactive videoconferencing programs delivered to over 16,000 students, educators, and seniors each year, equal to the number of participants in onsite fieldtrips. These live, two-way audio and video broadcasts focus on the Carter’s collection of American art and engage participants with museum staff in discussions and activities exploring art, history, culture, language arts, and science. Broadcasts are conducted in a studio setting using reproductions and in the galleries using a mobile unit.
While school tours remain an integral component of the Carter’s education program, in some cases, videoconferencing allows the museum to expand its audience to those visitors who would not otherwise be able to visit. Student broadcasts not only reach children in rural and urban communities across the United States and Canada where distance prohibits an onsite fieldtrip, they also allow the museum to connect with local children whose districts cannot afford the cost of substitutes and transportation required for a visit. Distance learning also allows the Carter to repurpose its onsite educator programs for teachers across Texas and nationwide, as well as expand the museum’s audience to seniors in residential living facilities who are no longer able to travel.
One argument against distance learning programs is that they discourage school groups from visiting the museum and experiencing the collections first-hand. After almost seven years of videoconferencing, the Carter has found that distance learning programs actually increase the museum’s visibility and help develop a future generation of adult visitors. Because of their students’ engagement during programs, multiple districts have added onsite fieldtrips after participating in a broadcast. Carter educators also use videoconferences as pre- and post-visit programs for schools coming on museum tours. Participating in broadcasts builds students’ confidence in looking at and analyzing objects, which is rewarded when they enter a museum’s doors.
Incorporating videoconferencing as part of a museum’s education program transforms what was previously a method for business communication into an innovative teaching tool. While delivery methods have to be modified slightly, broadcasts can still be as interactive and inquiry-based as onsite visits. For example, during the secondary-school program Metaphorically Seeing—It’s All About Me, students explore portraiture in the Carter’s collection, refine their knowledge of metaphors and symbolism, and experience the use of figurative language in writing and visual media; they then create their own personal visual metaphors. As part of the educator videoconference Art and Science, participating teachers work in groups to analyze artworks depicting plants and then share their observations with colleagues across the nation. Additionally, while guest speakers typically do not have the time to conduct multiple school tours (and museums do not have the money for their honoraria!), videoconferencing allows one presentation by an exhibiting artist or related author to reach thousands of students.
Videoconferencing also lends itself to integrating additional technologies into museum education programs—technologies students are already using. Over 3,700 children from schools nationwide participated in the Carter’s videoconference Painting Pictures with Words. Best-selling children’s book author Patricia MacLachlan shared her creative process live from the Carter’s galleries while making connections to works from the collection. After the program, participating students shared their thoughts and feelings about MacLachlan’s books, her presentation, the art they experienced, and their own story ideas on the Carter’s blog. Carter educators direct broadcast participants to utilize the images and classroom activities featured in the museum’s online teaching guides as pre- and post-broadcast activities, and teachers participating in educator videoconferences earn additional continuing professional education credit hours by posting lesson ideas and completing research projects related to each broadcast’s theme on the Carter’s Moodle page.
Videoconferences serve as a bridge connecting participants to the museum’s collection and individuals across the country and beyond. While some broadcasts are point-to-point (the museum is connected to only one receiving location), many are multi-point, allowing students and teachers to share ideas with peers they would never meet otherwise. A recent educator videoconference had South Texas and Arizona teachers discussing how to teach literacy with photography. Even point-to-point broadcasts can be an opportunity for cultural exchange. While doing a broadcast from the galleries to an elementary school in North Texas, the Carter’s Distance Learning Manager noticed a group of teenage visitors from Korea who were intrigued by the program. Rather than let this teaching moment slip by, the educator explained what was happening, introduced the two groups of students, and prompted a dialogue between them. The Carter also encourages teachers and students who participate in multi-point broadcasts to continue learning from each other by connecting after the program (without the museum) to share completed projects inspired by the videoconference.
Museum educators realize that the experience of seeing an original object in a museum setting can never be replaced. That said, videoconferencing is an economically responsible program that benefits all involved during these austere economic times. The cost of a broadcast is often much cheaper than the expenses associated with the substitutes and transportation required for onsite fieldtrips, and by developing object-centered programs based on timely issues, museums can generate income. Additionally, teachers who use student videoconferences as either a pre- or post-museum visit activity will find that the value of their onsite fieldtrip is enhanced. With distance learning’s ability to connect many more visitors to a museum’s collection, use technology as a creative teaching method, and generate revenue, it is a key component of the Carter’s education program, one that inspires new avenues to learning about its collection of American art every time the cameras roll.
For more information about the Carter’s distance learning program, visit http://www.cartermuseum.org/teaching/distance-learning.
Stacy Fuller is the Head of Education at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, where she oversees all aspects of programs and services and specializes in teacher and accessible programs. She holds a M.A. in art history and a B.A. in museum management. She joined the board of the Museum Education Roundtable in October 2008.
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