PRESENTING DIGITISED MATERIALS FOR LEARNING

by Sophia Robertson, Arts & Culture Director & Carolyn Royston, Education Director

How do you interpret your digitised materials for the user?

How do you bring the site alive for your audience in an educational and stimulating way?

How can you build learning into your materials?

There are a number of ways of incorporating learning into collections-based websites in order to provide the user with a variety of fun, educational and interactive materials. Each of these can be created in a variety of ways and complexities.

1. Digitised Materials Features

These complement your digitised source materials, and offer simple ways of incorporating additional contextual and explanatory material, whilst also adding learning value to your resource.

Examples include:

• Animations
• how an object actually works/worked (e.g. steam engine)
• demonstrations of techniques (e.g. a craft)
• explanation of a key concept related to the materials (e.g. a theory, conservation)
• simple animations (e.g. showing routes on a map)
• object rebuilt/interpreted (e.g. pieces of pot created into original pot)
• Audio
• sound recordings of eyewitness accounts, journals, letters etc
• sounds of particular objects (e.g. musical instruments)
• modern interpretations (e.g. comparing past and present)
• Various types of digitisation
• Multiple views of objects, etc
• 360 degree animations of objects
• Morphing of objects/maps etc
• Panoramas
• contemporary comparisons and views
• Interpretations
• images (paintings, prints or objects) with information hotspots
• referenced illustrations – showing key points or terminology etc.
• Object Handling/Material Discovery
• What is it? How old is it? How big is it? How heavy is it etc?

2. Different Routes into Materials

Different items can be used as devices to explore your materials. Learning can be stimulated and encouraged through this exploring format (and its similarity to games software).

Examples include:

• Maps – all types
• Pictures – scenes, landscapes etc
• Environments – a house, a street, a port etc
• Virtual Reality – advanced environments
• GIS – advanced options

3. Interactive features

A variety of features can be created to add fun, encourage interaction and/or reinforce learning within the site. Informal and self-directed learning should incorporate critical thinking, problem solving, memory and visuals.

Examples include:

• Games
• Quizzes
• Activities (interactive questions and answers, animated activities)
• Puzzles
• Discussion Forum
• Ask an Expert / Questions and Answers
• Noticeboards/Feedback/Comments – Stories, memories, etc

4. Learning packages surrounding a particular topic or theme

More advanced packages of materials can also be produced in a more structured manner, so they can be used in a formal and informal learning content.

These would offer:

• Appropriate text and digitised material
• Online activities including quizzes, tests and games
• Downloadable printable resources (in Word and PDF format) to encourage learning offline (e.g. Activity Sheets, Make and Do Activities, Find Out More by…, Factsheets, etc)
• Learning Notes (additional notes on learning objectives should be provided for adults, parents, and teachers).

Finally, a few simple tips: