Our work on a new grant project, Connect: Teachers, Technology, and Art, has officially begun! Through the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and their Museums for America grant program, the DMA was awarded $150,000 in October 2009 to begin redesigning online teaching materials. Over the course of the next two years, we will work to create five new dynamic, web-based resource units that present the wealth of our collections in African and South Asian art. How will we do it? Thoughtfully, by connecting these three things:
Teachers: Results from a 2007 evaluation with 450 teachers, which focused on how teachers learn and teach with art, will inform the initial selection and organization of artwork images and information. Staff will also collaborate closely with twenty teachers, who will help design and test the new teaching resources in their classrooms. How do you currently use the Museum’s online teaching materials? We welcome your comments!
Technology: Digital images, video, and audio, similar to those on DMAtv, will enliven the resources by providing extended information about works of art and cultures. Imagine all of this packaged into custom units that are easy for teachers to access, search, and share with students.
Art: Works of art from Africa and South Asia will be the focus for the five new resource units. The units will reflect recent curatorial scholarship and upcoming catalogue publications for both collections. They will also highlight artworks recently added to the collection, such as the olumeye from Nigeria and the Buddha Sakyamuni from Thailand.
Kneeling female figure with bowl (olumeye)
Buddha Sakyamuni
Grant work to tackle over the next two months includes taking inventory of great images, information, video, and audio content related to the African and South Asian artworks, as well as selecting ten teachers to begin collaborating with staff. If you would like to hear more about the grant, please feel free to email us. Also look for future progress reports on the Connect project here on the blog or delivered via the Educator Newsletter.
Nicole Stutzman
Director of Learning Partnerships with Schools and the Community
nstutzman@DallasMuseumofArt.org
Jenny Marvel
Manager of Learning Partnerships with Schools
jmarvel@DallasMuseumofArt.org
