The HRC thanks Dawn Salerno for serving as guest author for the following entry.  Dawn is Director of Education at the Mystic Arts Center.  She served as co-chair of the New England Museum Association's (NEMA) Education Professional Affinity Group from 2003-09 and as a board member for the Connecticut Art Education Association from 2002-09.  She is currently a NEMA board member.

PBS recently published their 7th annual survey of media and technology use in school classrooms. The survey will prove useful for museums considering offering online student and teacher resources or using the Web as a marketing and communications tool to reach grade Pre-K - 12 audiences.

The PBS study analyzes the use of:

• digital media (defined as "newer multimedia content" including web interactives, podcasts, etc., created and/or accessed on digital devices);

• social networking sites (such as Facebook and YouTube);

• and traditional media (defined as conventionally delivered on television and radio).

The report is an easy read with a concise summary and lots of helpful graphics and charts.

The most important takeaway is that teachers are incorporating digital media into their classrooms more than ever before for instruction, lesson planning, communications and professional development. They also believe that technology has improved their teaching, from expanding on their content areas, to increasing student motivation and discussion. And schools are providing the hardware, software and network access teachers need to get onto the internet and use digital media content. Never before has there been such a great argument for museums to consider developing educational resources and information in digital formats.

The study identifies trends for what information teachers are seeking. High school teachers, for example, are more likely to search for primary source material, professional development information and opportunities to interact with experts.

The top three types of digital media sought by teachers overall are:

1. games and activities for student use in school
2. interactive lesson plans, and
3. research for student use.

If you are considering undertaking a media project at your institution, consider how it will be accessed by your target audience. For example, will you burn an educational video to a DVD and distribute it in hard copy, make it available as a downloadable file on your Web site, or offer it as a streaming video feed? The PBS study reveals that teachers are equally comfortable with all of these formats:

• 78% access video via DVDs

• 72% of teachers download or stream video

Marketing or education staff considering creating Facebook or Twitter accounts can be assured that teachers feel comfortable using these tools as well. A paid advertisement on Facebook, however, is unlikely to be your best use of marketing resources.  The study discovered that teachers simply didn't feel comfortable clicking on links for advertisements.

Teachers believe digital media is improving the overall classroom experience. The majority say it is most effective when integrated into their lesson plans. Based on this statistic, museums might do well running workshops on classroom integration of their digital resources.

Overall:

• 65% of teachers thought digital media increased student motivation

• 60% said it helps them be more effective teachers
  

• 57% said it helped them be more creative in the classroom.
  

The implication for museums here is, if you build your digital media project, teachers will come.

Click here to read the 2009 Report on Digital Media Use in the Classroom.

Photo courtesy of Afoshee1020.