Abstract:
Museum learning extends cognitive gains but also develops attitudinal, affective and social outcomes. The VISITOR project, inspired by the museum and school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, has developed tools and resources that will enable teachers to create their own themed museums for their students. These include a digital library for sharing virtual museum and citizen science exhibits and resources, a gaming application that will host the virtual museum tours, and an online training course to support teachers in developing their own virtual museums. In this presentation, members of the VISITOR team will give you an overview of museum visits and learning and teachers’ needs when using virtual museums with their students. The VISITOR team will also present the online course and pre-cooked lesson plans that were developed to support teachers in their virtual museum tours.
Speaker Bios:
Maria Aristeidou is a Lecturer of Technology Enhanced Learning at The Open University. Her research focuses on the design and evaluation of engaging learning technologies, and the improvement of the learning experience and outcomes of diverse student bodies in higher education. Maria is the UK principal investigator for the Erasmus+ VISITOR project, which is developing virtual visits to museums for schools. Previously, she researched young people’s participation and learning in online citizen science, and teachers’ experiences with classroom-based citizen science.
Chris Gilbert has a background in Primary education, and has taught in several schools in England, ranging in ages from 5 to 11 years old. Chris is currently working as part of the VISITOR project, leading the development of lesson plans. He is also an Associate Lecturer with the Open University, teaching adult students who mostly have an ambition to be Primary Teachers, and does some work with the English Department at Staffordshire University. Recently, he has lived and taught in Abu Dhabi where he taught children whose first language was Arabic. He has also lived and taught in Dublin, Ireland.
Theodora Kouvara is working as an instructional designer at the “Educational Content, Methodology and Technology Laboratory (e-CoMeT)” of Hellenic Open University. Theodora is leading the development of the VISITOR online training course for the teachers. She holds a degree in Greek Literature from the University of Patra and an MSc degree in Pedagogies from the University of Nicosia. She has participated in several EU and national research program projects in the areas of instructional design and inclusive education. She has published about 10 articles in scientific journals, conferences and books.
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