Updates
Smithsonian's Home in Pittsburgh
By: Kate Harris, Learning Lab Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA One of the exciting aspects of our workshop series in Pittsburgh has been making use of the strengths of the "Smithsonian's Home in Pittsburgh," the Heinz History Center (HHC). The exhibits, archives, and personnel there have allowed us to highlight local connections and family histories when developing teaching activities, setting them within the broader context and digital pl...
Creative Introduction to Geography
By: Linda Muller, Learning Lab Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA What's the best way to engage sixth graders in a lesson about African geography? Lead them to the Smithsonian Learning Lab and let them explore Africa's regional cultural history first. At least, that's what Kelly Heilman's students at Pittsburgh Langley K–8 middle school did. Heilman was tasked with creating lessons for curiously-active students who need hands-on le...
Every Collection Tells a Story
By: Kate Harris, Learning Lab Coordinator, Pittsburgh, PA As we prepared for our third workshop with the Pittsburgh cohort of teachers, we realized one of the greatest challenges for teachers new to the Learning Lab was building and using collections in meaningful ways. Teachers use collections all of the time, but call them by different names: primary source sets, document-based questions, webquests, etc., but we don't always thi...
Pittsburgh: Supporting Digital Innovation in Education with the Learning Lab
The Smithsonian Learning Lab launched quietly in public beta on October 30, 2015. It will officially launch at the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference on June 26-29, 2016 (more on the events planned coming soon to this new site). Learning Lab project director, Darren Milligan, and I will be leading a workshop at the conference for teachers as well. In the eight months between the public beta launch a...
Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week!
On Monday, May 2, the Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access (the team behind the Smithsonian Learning Lab) as well as educators from across the Institution, hosted the 56 Teachers of the Year in an all-day professional development event as part of their "Washington Week." This annual event, now in its 10th year, has become a favorite of the museum educators I collaborate with here at the Smithsonian. This year, we were ...
