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Philippa Rappoport

Lead, Education and Engagement
Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology
Smithsonian Staff

I work in education and engagement, teacher professional development, and outreach at the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology (OET), and have a particular interest in developing and producing trainings, programs, teaching techniques, and platforms that foster deep learning and contribute knowledge to improve practices in museum and preK-16 education and engagement. At OET over the last decade+, I created digital assets for schools, families, and new immigrant English Language learners to complement teacher professional development and pan-Smithsonian programming, including Learning Lab teaching collections, YouTube videos with tradition bearers, a handmade family stories book-making website, and online heritage tours.

Philippa Rappoport's collections

 

Art and Technology Projects for Museums and Classrooms: From "Today I Am Here" to "Discovering US/Descubriéndose"

<p>This collection contains assets and resources designed to help teachers (art, English, ESOL, social studies, and media technology), museum educators, and community-based informal learning educators recreate their own "Today I Am Here" project, based on the specific needs of their classroom or learning community. </p> <p>"Today I Am Here" is a project in which students make a handmade book from one piece of paper, that tells the story of how they got to where they are today. This project is wonderful in a classroom to show the breadth and diversity of the class, and to encourage cross-cultural understanding. </p> <p>Inside you will find instructions and images for the various components of the project, as well as samples of student work.  </p> <p>The "Today I Am Here" book design is one of many available in another collection: Fun for the Whole Family: Making "Family Memory" Storybooks: <a href="http://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll-c/1tozk88HXhnFBU6d">http://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll-c/1tozk88HXhnFBU6d</a>.</p> <p><em>#FamilyLit  #FamilyLiteracy  #FCPSFamilyLiteracy  #NPGTeach</em>  #LatinoHAC<br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
15
 

6 Jewish American objects for Jewish American Heritage Month

<p>This is a collection of six objects, from the National Museum of American History, that were selected by museum staff for what they reveal about the Jewish American experience.</p><p>I've created this collection from the blog post by Tory Alrman. <em>Tory Altman has also blogged about <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/patriotic-anthems">patriotic songs beyond the national anthem</a> and <a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/new-project-explores-what-it-means-be-american">what it means to be American</a>.</em></p>
Philippa Rappoport
6
 

Making "Family Memory" Storybooks: Fun for the Whole Family

<p>This collection includes a series of easy-to-do book projects designed to get families talking and creating together. Any of them can be used in the classroom (English, art, social studies), as a home project, or in an informal learning setting. All books are made from a single sheet of paper.</p> <p>Titles are ordered generally from most complex to least complex for topic, and include:<br>"Our Home" Nature Walk Album<br>Today I Am Here<br>Connections<br>My Hero<br>Music Memories<br>Kitchen Memories<br>Special Person<br>Family Treasure<br>Things That Make Me <em>Me!</em><br>I Am A Star<br>My Clubhouse<br>Family Flag<br>My Name</p> <p>At the bottom, you'll also find an interview with the creator of these design templates, book artist Sushmita Mazumdar, and a video of her reading one of her own books.<br></p> <p>Click on any of these demos and accompanying downloadable instructions to make your own "family memory" storybook!<br></p> <p><em>#FamilyLit #FamilyLiteracy </em></p> <p>tags: art, crafts, crafting, how-to<br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
47
 

Engaging Families through Art and Technology Programs: "Discovering US/Descubriéndose"

<p>This collection contains assets and resources designed to help teachers (art, English, social studies, and media technology), museum educators, and community-based informal learning educators recreate our very successful Discovering Us/<em>Descubriéndose</em> program as is, or design their own, based on the specific needs of their classroom or learning community.  </p> <p>Discovering Us/<em>Descubriéndose</em> was a Spanish-language workshop for students and families in the Fairfax County Public School's Family and School Partnerships <em>Luther Jackson Middle School Parent Leadership Program</em>. Pairs of immigrant mothers and their middle school-aged children worked together to create portraits and multimedia production pieces that communicate their family history and their future hopes and dreams.</p> <p>Included here are examples of student work (videos and portraits), and classroom images of the creative process. The videos were created in iMovie, but there are a variety of other free movie-making apps available. <br></p> <p>This program was produced by the National Portrait Gallery, the Fairfax County Public Schools Family Literacy Program, and the Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology.</p> <p>#FamilyLit #FamilyLiteracy #FCPSFamilyLiteracy #NPGTeach #LatinoHAC<br></p>
Philippa Rappoport
24
 

Origami Cranes: Activity and Background Information

<p>People from all over the world have enjoyed doing traditional paper crafts for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. In this set, you'll explore the tradition of the origami Japanese paper crane, a symbol of hope. A demonstration video is included for those who want to make their own crane. Appropriate for classroom, home, or informal education settings.</p> <p>The Japanese word "origami" comes from two smaller words: "ori" which means "to fold," and "kami" meaning "paper." Although this is the most common word in the United States for the craft of paper folding, the tradition is known to have existed in China and Japan for more than a millennium, and from there it spread to other countries around the world. Japanese patterns tend to focus on animals and flowers, while Chinese designs are usually for things like boats and hats. Paper folding's earlier use was ceremonial, but with time the tradition became popular as a children's activity. <br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
8
 

Origami Animals: Demonstration Videos and Background Information

<p>People from all over the world have enjoyed doing traditional paper crafts for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years. In this set, you'll find interviews with origami artists and a variety of demonstration videos to make paper animals (bull, butterfly, crane) and a paper wallet. Appropriate for classroom, home, or informal education settings.</p> <p>The Japanese word "origami" comes from two smaller words: "ori" which means "to fold," and "kami" meaning "paper." Although this is the most common word in the United States for the craft of paper folding, the tradition is known to have existed in China and Japan for more than a millennium, and from there it spread to other countries around the world. Japanese patterns tend to focus on animals and flowers, while Chinese designs are usually for things like boats and hats. Paper folding's earlier use was ceremonial, but with time the tradition became popular as a children's activity.<br /></p> <p>Grab some paper and have fun!<br /></p> <p><br /></p>
Philippa Rappoport
5
 

Central American Traditions Festival: Demonstrations, Interviews, and How-To Videos

<p>This collection comes from a Hispanic Heritage Month family festival celebrating Central American traditions, and in support of an exhibition at the National Museum of the American Indian, "Ceramica de los ancestros: Central America's Past Revealed." Held at the National Museum of American History, the festival featured a sampling of music and dance performances, food demonstrations, and hands-on activities. The museum's terrace featured fair tables that included demonstrations of foods such as papusas and tamales, traditional weaving from Guatemala using a back strap loom, and musical and dance performances, including El Salvadoran chanchona by Los Hermanos Lovo, garifuna by the New York-based group Bodoma, and Latin punk rock by DC-based Machetes. Inside, activities included designing a family "bandera" (flag), making a clay cacao pot, making "alfombras" or carpets, which are temporary artworks made with sawdust based on a 400-year-old Guatemalan tradition, a lecture on Central American ceramics with Alex Benitez, archeologist and George Mason University professor, and engaging in conversations about immigration based on objects in the museum's teaching collections.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
14
 

Passport to Argentina: Performances, Interviews, Demonstrations, How-To Videos

<p>This collections comes from a Hispanic Heritage Month Family Day, held in the Kogod Courtyard of the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as part of a larger "Argentina at the Smithsonian" series. Included here are music and dance interviews and performances about tango, and a how-to demonstration to make a clay llama.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
5
 

The Art of Gaman: Storytelling, Musical and Dance Performance, and Hands-On Activities Demonstrations

<p>This collection comes from an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month family day in the Grand Salon of the Renwick Gallery of Art. The festival was created to complement the Renwick exhibition, "The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps, 1942-1946." Included here are an interview with the curator of the exhibition, as well as musical and dance performances by Nen Daiko and the Kikuyuki Dancers of America, storytelling and an interview with Anne Shimojima, and hands-on origami and doll-making demonstrations.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
10
 

Capturing Visitor Voices in Teen-Made videos

<p>In 2011 the Smithsonian joined with the Pearson Foundation to train ARTLAB+ teens to document personal stories at Smithsonian Heritage Month family festivals. ARTLAB+ is a design studio based out of ArtLab space in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The teens captured visitor voices through several years, covering a variety of topics including views on race, culture, nature, belonging, music and food.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
12
 

African American History Month Family Festival: Interviews, Performances, Highlights

<p>This collections comes from a African American History Month family festival created to complement the exhibition, "The Black List." Included here are a gallery tour with curator Ann Shumard, and interviews with puppeteer Schroeder Cherry, guitarist Warner Williams, the Taratibu Youth Association Step Dance Group, silhouette artist Lauren Muney and collage artist Michael Albert.</p>
Philippa Rappoport
7
 

Women's History Month Family Festival

<p>Here is a collection of videos from a Women's History Month family festival, that includes interviews and performance footage with Kathak dancer Prachi Dalal, Native American singing group Ulali, mother-daughter storyteller and artist Yona Zeldis McDonough and Malcah Zeldis, and the Georgia Tech Glee Club paying tribute to the women in the audience for Women's History Month. </p>
Philippa Rappoport
5