Museums?

Hi - I work at The Museum of Modern Art as the Director of Digital Learning- and we are trying to think of new ways to help K-12 teachers more on our website (www.moma.org). What can we provide/create for teachers?

We have teacher guides - we wonder if they should be broken up more into smaller segments?
Do teachers need/want a section of the website dedicated to teachers or do they look across the website for resources? Or both? How can we help with lesson plans and ideas and support for teaching with images? What's an example of a successful museum resource that you have used in the classroom?

Tags: MoMA, art, images, museum

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Permalink Reply by Marla Fasano on October 29, 2009 at 9:15am

Hi Beth,

I adore the MoMa website and often use it in my classes. One thing I'd like to see more of is a way to connect art from the past with the social commentary of its time. The school where I work is heavily into social justice and our students are constantly looking for active ways to spread information and I believe art is such an incredible medium for that.

Thanks!
Marla

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Permalink Reply by Beth Harris on October 29, 2009 at 9:43am

Hey Maria, glad to hear the website is helpful! What grade to you teach? Your suggestion is a good one - it's always good to connect art to its historical context. Do you tend to use the website generally - or do you go to the Teacher section:

http://www.moma.org/modernteachers/

or both?

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Permalink Reply by Pamela Jackson on October 30, 2009 at 1:04am

There is basically no staff development in the Arts in our county. I don't know about other areas in the country. I've taken a workshop to integrate Art in History, but that's it. I would love a webinar on art appreciation and basic art skills. The Arts have tremendous value to education. As a librarian, I make sure that we examine the work of illustrator. Students also write and illustrate.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Harris on October 31, 2009 at 7:45pm

Hi Pamela,
We actually do webinars for teachers - for professional development, several times a year. Should I put you on the mailing list for the next time we do one?

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Permalink Reply by Beth Harris on November 5, 2009 at 5:01am

Thanks for all the responses - !
I'm still wondering if, when you prepare lessons, do you use whole lesson plans and teacher guides? Or do you prepare by looking for information in different places on the web - not specifically designed for teachers?

We're thinking about how teachers use our site, http://www.moma.org/modernteachers/

Thanks!