Survey of Web–based educational resources in selected U.S. art museums

Abstract

Art museums in the United States share a common mission to educate many people — from families to teachers to researchers. But how do these museums use the World Wide Web to extend their educational mission? More specifically, what kinds of educational materials do U.S. art museums offer to online visitors, and how broadly available are such resources across the Web? This study set out to answer these questions and to tie the findings to the contextual model of museum learning. Conclusions are drawn about how museums from the sample fit within a technology adoption curve.

Recursos educativos en museos online de arte contemporáneo. Tipología e implantación

“…Sin embargo, cuando las experiencias online se plantean como «museografía estática» (Santacana y Hernández 2006: 262-263), es decir, como contenidos mostrados de forma pasiva a un público concebido solamente como receptor, su impronta en el visitante queda mermada. Esta preocupación queda patente en un segundo sondeo sobre materiales educativos online realizado por Varisco y Cates (2005). Aunque los autores reconocían el valor de los materiales estáticos como recursos que facilitan la interpretación de colecciones y exposiciones, criticaban la pobreza, e incluso la ausencia, de herramientas de colaboración social, de más recursos de audio y vídeo y de instrucción online.…”

Flipping the Field Trip: Bringing the Art Museum to the Classroom

“…Internal and external use of digital art images in a variety of learning situations continue to grow, from museum collections online to Web sites designed to be used in the classroom. A 2004 study found 87% of U.S. art museums had Web sites offering educational resources (Varisco & Cates, 2005).…”

The School Teacher and the Art Museum: A Multi- Case Study of Online Canadian Art Museum Teacher Resources | L’enseignant scolaire et le musée des beaux-arts : une étude de cas multiples des ressources en ligne des musées des beaux-arts pour les enseignants

“…Additionally, certain resources are simply repurposed educational materials from past exhibitions and are not classroom-specific resources. Varisco & Cates (2005)' observations may suggest that museums' online resources are a form of marketing. The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) has developed numerous online teacher resources (Mazzola, 2015).…”

“…However, after further exploration, I noticed that the resources were mostly digitized lessons from past or present exhibitions. As Varisco & Cates (2005) observe, online art museum resources are notably repurposed activities. Museums may settle for this practice because they have limited financial resources to develop classroom supports.…”

“…However, what types of online resource materials do art museums make available to teachers? Varisco & Cates (2005) address this question in their research, when they survey online learning materials developed by art museums for teachers. They conclude that the online teacher resources mostly illuminate collections and exhibitions.…”