Journal 2: "Museums in the Classroom

Reissman, Rose (2009). Museums in the Classroom. Learning and Leading in Technology, 38, Retrieved March 11, 2009, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/200902/

In this article, Rose Reissman includes four different weblinks having to do with online museums. The first link, Resource Central- Museum Links, is a search engine that is linked to hundreds of museums. On this website, students and educators can search any keyword to find corresponding museums with exhibits and information. I think this is an absolutely great tool because it allows the class to take 'virtual field-trips'. If you ask any students what their favorite part of school is, chances are they will answer either with recess or field-trips. What can be greater then, than to be able to take daily field-trips? Incorporating this into class activities and lessons will allow the students to really engage themselves with the content.

There are also links to websites where educators can learn how to incorporate these virtual museums into their curriculum, learn more about museum vocabulary, and one where students can create their own museums. I think that Ms. Reissman has the right idea here. We must use this technology to our benefit. Creating safe places where children can learn should be the goal of every teacher, and with the websites that are in this article, I believe this can be done in ANY classroom.

Question #1: Will students benefit more from a virtual museum versus a real museum?
I think that both options will give the student a vast amount of information. However, I feel like the virtual museum will make it more accessible and easier to locate desired artifacts.

Question#2: How can virtual museums be used to improve a students technology skills?
The use of virtual museums incorporates many different aspects in digital citizenry. First a student must learn how to locate items. They then must determine the different types of files that are associated with the museums such as images, doc's, pdf's, etc. They also can use artifacts from the museums to create projects of their own which will lead into learning to create creative and innovative learning presentations.