Integrating Authentic Digital Resources in Support of Deep, Meaningful Learning

"Integrating Authentic Digital Resources in Support of Deep, Meaningful Learning," a white paper prepared for the Smithsonian by Interactive Educational Systems Design Inc., describes instructional approaches that apply to successful teaching with the Smithsonian Learning Lab.After defining its use of terms such as deeper learning and authentic resources the authors review the research basis of three broad approaches that support integrating digital resources into the classroom:Project-based learningGuided exploration of concepts and principlesGuided development of academic skillsThese approaches find practical application in the last section of the paper, which includes seven case studies. Examples range from first-grade science, to middle-school English (including ELL strategy) to a high-school American government class. In each example, students study and analyze digital resources, going on to apply their knowledge and deepen their understanding of a range of topics and problems

Appraisal and the Future of Archives in the Digital Era

Discussion of the implications of new technologies, changing public policies, and transformation of culture for how archivists practice and think about appraisal

Digitized Archival Primary Sources in STEM: A Selected Webliography

Popular connotations of archives and special collections are most closely aligned with the arts and humanities fields, with history being the most seamless affiliation. However, archival documentation extends far beyond common disciplinary assumptions, with strong holdings relevant to the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, as well as medicine and other allied disciplines. These archival collections provide largely untapped educational, enrichment, and research opportunities for STEM students and researchers. Given the profound influx of digitization during the last two decades, many archival primary source materials have been digitized and are now freely available online, with more assuredly in progress. This digital content is in large part unique, oftentimes representing digital surrogates of the only tangible copy of a document, image, object, or unique assemblage of materials ever created. An intrinsic value in archives is their uniqueness in addition to their authenticity, diversity, breadth, and depth of documentation. Digitized archival collections can serve to supplement an institution\u27s physical archival holdings, if available, as well as make particularly unique or historically significant physical collections (i.e., the papers of Charles Darwin), once limited by geography, easily accessible to librarians, archivists, researchers, educators, and students around the world. Accessibility and findability of digitized archival resources can be a challenge, particularly for students or researchers not familiar with archival formats and digital interfaces, which adhere to different descriptive standards than more widely familiar library resources. Numerous aggregate archival collection databases exist, which provide a means by which to search across collections from many institutions. However, no single database is comprehensive, and many also lack robust capabilities for subject-based browsing to target STEM collections. The selected resources in this webliography are intended as a starting point by which librarians, archivists, educators, and students may discover digitized archival primary sources related to STEM and allied disciplines, which may be creatively used as tools to inform instruction, teaching, research, library collection development, marketing, and reference services. The resources embody a wide-ranging selection of noteworthy, historically significant STEM-focused archival primary source collections currently digitized and publicly accessible

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter Fall 2016

From the Dean (Robin Wagner) Library Exhibits GettDigital: Sports Reels Research Reflections: The Gettysburg Superstar (Devin McKinney) Remembering 9/12 Will Power: 400 Years After the Bard Treasure Island (Robin Wagner) Margin of Error A Call to Activism in the Summer of \u2765 (Richard Hutch \u2767) Digital Scholarship: The New Frontier (Julia Wall \u2719, Lauren White \u2718, Keira Koch \u2719) Scrapbooks and Photo Albums: Snapshots of History (Clara A. Baker \u2730) Soldiers\u27 Scrapbooks (Laura Bergin \u2717) A Book of Dreams (Alexa Schreier) Who Do You Think You Are? (Timothy Shannon) From Professor-Student to Collaborators (Jesse Siegel \u2716) The Mysterious Easel Monument (William Tuceling \u2770) Gifts to Special Collections and College Archive

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter Spring 2019

From the Dean (Robin Wagner) Library News Don\u27t Judge a book by its Cover: The Human Library You Can Come Home Again! Exhibits Recalling WWII at Home (Devin McKinney and Micheal Birkner) Library Works to Alleviate Textbook Misery (Janelle Wertzberger) Books Sent to African Library (Piper O\u27Keefe \u2717) Musselman Makeover Paying it Forward (Sierra Green \u2711 and Olivia Simmet \u2718) Student Paper Tops 1800 Downloads (Dayna Seeger \u2715) Buy the Book What\u27s so Funny (Sunni DeNicola) Book Displays Offer Outreach Opportunities (Sunni DeNicola) Honor With Books Data Drives Collecting Decisions Rare Discovery: Signed 1st Edition by Adam Smith Pressed Within - Discovering Unusual Bookmarks Unusual Book Formats Alumna Funds Novels with Diversity Themes (Sarah Blumig \u2710) I Couldn\u27t Let Them Go (Robin Wagner) Aldus Printing Device (Mary Wootton) $25,000 Book Conservation Gift (Rev. Vic Myers) Focus on Philanthropy: Elizabeth Headley Paul Special Additions (John Kuhs, Jr.) The Artistry of Endpapers (Michael Hobor \u2769

Friends of Musselman Library Newsletter Spring 2019

From the Dean (Robin Wagner) Library News Don\u27t Judge a book by its Cover: The Human Library You Can Come Home Again! Exhibits Recalling WWII at Home (Devin McKinney and Micheal Birkner) Library Works to Alleviate Textbook Misery (Janelle Wertzberger) Books Sent to African Library (Piper O\u27Keefe \u2717) Musselman Makeover Paying it Forward (Sierra Green \u2711 and Olivia Simmet \u2718) Student Paper Tops 1800 Downloads (Dayna Seeger \u2715) Buy the Book What\u27s so Funny (Sunni DeNicola) Book Displays Offer Outreach Opportunities (Sunni DeNicola) Honor With Books Data Drives Collecting Decisions Rare Discovery: Signed 1st Edition by Adam Smith Pressed Within - Discovering Unusual Bookmarks Unusual Book Formats Alumna Funds Novels with Diversity Themes (Sarah Blumig \u2710) I Couldn\u27t Let Them Go (Robin Wagner) Aldus Printing Device (Mary Wootton) $25,000 Book Conservation Gift (Rev. Vic Myers) Focus on Philanthropy: Elizabeth Headley Paul Special Additions (John Kuhs, Jr.) The Artistry of Endpapers (Michael Hobor \u2769

Reinvigorating the “In Their Shirtsleeves” Industrial Exhibit at the Worcester Historical Museum

The goal of this project was to reinvigorate the “In their Shirtsleeves” exhibit to update the historical timeline, and make the experience more engaging and memorable. To meet this goal, we conducted a site assessment, investigated recent economic developments in Worcester, interviewed industrial professionals, researched “best practices” through case studies, and visited other museums to observe interactive technologies and visitor trends. Our analysis suggests that the application of interactive technology provides options for a small museum including increased visitor engagement, understanding, and interest. Based on these findings and results, we recommended strategies that the museum can use to develop an interactive and engaging exhibit that encompasses recent industrial trends

Understanding the Impact of the New Aesthetics and New Media Works on Future Curatorial Resource Responsibilities for Research Collections

The author examines the emerging impact of the works of the “New Aesthetic,” along with other works that have their genesis in the rapid technological changes of the last fifty-plus years. Consideration is given to the history of digital audio/visual works that will eventually be held by repositories of cultural heritage and how this history has, or has not, been documented. These creations have developed out of an environment of networked, shared, re-usable and re-purposed data. The article briefly examines how these works are utilized while looking at the future impact of the growing creation and use of complex, compound multimedia digital re- search and cultural collections as evidenced by augmented and virtual reality environments such as smartphone apps and Second Life.Ye

Repatriation: The convergence of cultural heritage and technology

This thesis aims to explore how the use of developing technologies in the field of cultural heritage preservation can be applied to the debates of the repatriation of antiquities. By acknowledging the complex and often multifaceted factors that underscore arguments for or against the repatriation of antiquities housed in Europe’s most prestigious museums, we can uncover how technology can be applied to help resolve the underlying concerns. Exact modeling, laser scanning, and virtual reality projects are being developed in the museum and cultural heritage fields to be used for specific projects. These growing technologies can be adapted and applied to repatriation cases to help address concerns about the condition of artifacts, public education and access, and the role of national identities in these discussions