Online Learning and Webinars

New! AAM Professional Education Live Webinar Series
...in collaboration with the AAM Media and Technology Committee and LearningTimes.

Description Register FAQs Presenters Podcast Intro

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The Digital Museum: Transforming the Future Now

A four-part series of monthly, 90-minute webinars based on AAM?€™s new publication,
The Digital Museum: A Think Guide presented by leading practitioners in the field, in collaboration with LearningTimes.

Who Should Participate?
Anyone interested in the changing role of technology in museums (Note: a limited number of fellowships are available to emerging museum professionals. See fellowship information below).

Description
Join an interactive, informative and inspiring community in one or all four 90-minute sessions. PLUS: Opportunities for ongoing participation in the Digital Museum Discussion Forum now available.

Podcast Introduction

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A podcast interview featuring Selma Thomas, President, Watertown Productions, Inc. (introduction to The Digital Museum: A Think Guide); and Phyllis Hecht, Associate Program Chair, Museum Studies, Advanced Academic Programs, Johns Hopkins University (co-editor, The Digital Museum: A Think Guide).

Learning Outcomes
The Digital Museum webinar series will help you explore how recent innovations in technology are transforming museum operations of every kind, from exhibitions and content delivery to education, audience evaluation, and institutional planning.

Uncover the secrets of successfully planning for technology, today and tomorrow
Share technology experiences & ideas with colleagues online
Pose questions and discuss challenges with presenters, book authors, and other participants
Examine new ways to better reach your visitors

February 12 2-3:30p.m. EST
Session 1: Planning for Technology
This session generously sponsored by ArtGuild, Inc

WEB FACILITATOR: Jonathan Finkelstein, Executive Producer, LearningTimes
MODERATOR: Nik Honeysett, Head of Administration, J. Paul Getty Museum
PRESENTERS:

Leonard Steinbach, Principal, Cultural Technology Strategies (Analyzing Return on Investment: Process of Champions*)
Angela T. Spinazze, Principal, ATSPIN Consulting (Technology's No Tea Party for Small Museums*)
Holly Witchey, Director, New Media Initiatives, The Cleveland Museum of Art (New Technologies, Old Dilemmas: Ethics and the Museum Professional*)

(*references chapter in The Digital Museum: A Think Guide)

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
More than ever, a broad range of museum professionals needs to understand how the use of technology impacts our professional practice, our institutional operations and the pursuit of our missions. Whether your institution is small, large, or somewhere in-between, many challenges confront you as you plan for, adopt and adapt to technology. With these challenges, many questions arise: What are the consequences? How can we support and advance our use of technology in a rapidly-changing environment? How do we prepare to meet these challenges? What do we need to know? Help is at hand. Based on the book The Digital Museum: A Think Guide, this webinar, the first of four, starts the journey.

Evaluating and choosing among various desirable technology opportunities
Knowing the right questions to ask when embarking on a technology-based project
Understanding how moral, ethical and legal standards of behavior influence your decisions and processes, including return on investment (ROI) that determines success from the financial, institutional, and mission aspects.

March 11 2-3:30p.m. EDT
Session 2:Technology and Museum Visitor Experiences
This session generously sponsored by Johns Hopkins University

WEB FACILITATOR: Jonathan Finkelstein, Executive Producer, LearningTimes
MODERATOR: Peter Samis, Associate Curator, Interpretation, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
PRESENTERS:

Robin Dowden, Director, New Media Initiatives, Walker Art Center; and Scott Sayre, Principal, Museum411/Sandbox Studios (The Whole World in Their Hands: The Promise and Peril of Visitor-Provided Mobile Devices*)
Michael Mouw, Multimedia Director, Minnesota Historical Society; and Daniel Spock, Director, History Center Museum, Minnesota Historical Society (Immersive Media: Creating Theatrical Storytelling Experiences*)

(*references chapter in The Digital Museum: A Think Guide)

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Museums have traditionally described for whom, how, and why they interpret their collections or concepts. How does technology impact the museum visitor experience and our interpretive planning process? This webinar session will introduce you to the Context Continuum, a practical tool for better understanding the experience our institutions offer and the elements that may be lacking for many visitors. Presenters will discuss a variety of options suited to different types of environments, each using technology and new media to "meet the visitors where they are.?€ From portable/personal solutions to situated/embedded ones, from mobile tours to object theater, speakers will address the range of technologically appropriate supports for interpretation, and ways of designing content suited to each.

April 1 2-3:30p.m. EDT
Session 3:Online Learning and Education
WEB FACILITATOR: Jonathan Finkelstein, Executive Producer, LearningTimes
MODERATOR: Herminia Din, Assistant Director of Art Education, University of Alaska, Anchorage; co-editor, The Digital Museum: A Think Guide
PRESENTERS:

Deborah Seid Howes, Museum Educator in Charge of Educational Media, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Why the Internet Matters: A Museum Educator's Perspective*)
Allegra Burnette, Creative Director, Digital Media, The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA); and Victoria Lichtendorf, Museum Education Consultant (Museums Connecting with Teens Online*)
Susan E. Edwards, Writer/Editor, Web Group, J. Paul Getty Trust; and David T. Schaller, Pricipal, EduWeb (The Name of the Game: Museums and Digital Learning Games*)

(*references chapter in The Digital Museum: A Think Guide)

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Which online learning environments work for which audiences? What are good strategies for beginning and sustaining online learning programs in museums? The process of creating and implementing online learning and educational experiences has become a new adventure for many museum professionals. New directions toward a learner-centric approach in museum education and the user-centric development of the Internet/Web have greatly enhanced the outreach potential of both large and small museums. As museums have embraced interactive conversations with visitors, so has technology changed from Web ?€œbrowsing?€ to the participatory culture of Web 2.0. This webinar session will explore how online learning currently is being implemented by museums, with presenters providing examples and sharing experiences regarding the use of online interactions for multiple generations and entrance narratives.

May 13 2-3:30p.m. EDT
Session 4: Emerging Trends in Technology
WEB FACILITATOR: Jonathan Finkelstein, Executive Producer, LearningTimes
MODERATOR: Phyllis Hecht, Associate Program Chair, Museum Studies, Advanced Academic Programs, Johns Hopkins University; co-editor, The Digital Museum: A Think Guide
PRESENTERS:

Susan Chun, Cultural Heritage Consultant; Michael Jenkins, General Manager, Collections Information Planning, Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Robert Stein, Chief Information Officer, Director of MIS, IMA It's My Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art (Open Source, Open Access: New Models for Museums*)
Matthew MacArthur, Director, New Media Programs, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution (Can Museums Allow Online Users to Become Participants?*)
Larry Swiader, Chief Information Officer, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (Promoting Social Change Through Technology*)

(*references chapter in The Digital Museum: A Think Guide)

SESSION DESCRIPTION:
Open source tools, open access models, user-generated content, co-authorship, social networking, mobile technologies, new standards. Increasingly, museums are examining and embracing the use of technology in all aspects of their practice--including the exploration and adoption of new tools and concepts such as these. This affects the ways in which they interpret their mission statements, articulate their strategies, encourage audience interaction and participation, reach an expanded global community, and share digital collections. Join us for the fourth webinar session as we address the questions and challenges surrounding emerging trends in technology--trends that are changing traditional ways of thinking, creating new collaborations, and renewing the museum's vision for the future.

PLUS: Opportunities for on-going participation in the Digital Museum Discussion Forum on the AAM website

Registration & Fees - Register Now Online!
Or download the pdf and fax or mail to AAM.Register for all four sessions, for a single session, or a combination of single sessions. Registration for each session closes at 5pm EDT the day before each session.

4-session series: $129 member/$159 non-member. Full registration includes:

Participation in all 4 webinars
Access to the Digital Museum discussion forums
Access to the recorded archives for all 4 sessions
A copy of The Digital Museum: A Think Guide (a $45 value). If you already bought a copy of the book please share your webinar copy with a colleague.

Single Session: $39 member/$59 non-member (you can register for more then one single session)

Participation in the registered webinar
Access to the corresponding Digital Museum discussion forum
Access to the corresponding recorded session archive (Single session registration does not include a copy of the book) To purchase a copy of The Digital Museum: A Think Guide

Cancellation Policy
All cancellation requests must be in writing.

4-Session Series Cancellations

Cancellation requests for the 4-session series received on or before February 1, 2008 will receive a refund of the registration price, less a $25 cancellation fee. No cancellations will be accepted for the 4-session series after February 1, 2008.

Single Session Cancellations

Cancellation requests for the February 12 session received on or before February 1, 2008 will receive a refund of the registration price, less a $10 cancellation fee.

Cancellation requests for the March 11 session received on or before February 29, 2008 will receive a refund of the registration price, less a $10 cancellation fee.

Cancellation requests for the April 1 session received on or before March 21, 2008 will receive a refund of the registration price, less a $10 cancellation fee.

Cancellation requests for the May 13 session received on or before May 2, 2008 will receive a refund of the registration price, less a $10 cancellation fee.

Cancellation requests should be sent to seminars@aam-us.org.

Discussion Forum Registration Details
The link to the webinar will be accessible from the Digital Museum Discussion Forum. The Forum will require a unique login and password that will only allow the login to be used in a single instance. You will not be able to share the username and password with multiple people for simultaneous use. You might, however, decide to build staff collaboration and communication by registering a single person and having a group participate in the webinar (e.g., around a computer monitor in an office or in a conference room setting).

FAQs
Click here to find out how this webinar works.

For More Information
Please contact Greg Stevens, Assistant Director for Professional Education, at gstevens@aam-us.org.