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Ashley Naranjo

Education and Outreach Strategist
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Staff

Ashley Naranjo, M.Ed. is a museum educator, specializing in the use of digital resources for teaching and learning. She currently manages distance learning initiatives and education partnerships for the Smithsonian. Portfolio highlights have included: the Smithsonian Quests digital badging program, Smithsonian Online Education Conferences, Smithsonian Learning Lab nationwide teacher professional development, Teachers of the Year programming at the Smithsonian, “Explore with Smithsonian Experts” video series, and Smithsonian print publication guides.

Before coming to the Smithsonian, she has had experiences in education in both formal and informal learning spaces: as an ESOL instructor for adults, a middle school teacher in the humanities and a summer programs administrator. She holds a B.A. in Human Development (Developmental Psychology) from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, where she was a research assistant and independent study student in the Laboratory of Thinking, Learning & Cognition in the Arts. She completed a M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, with a thesis entitled, “Using Digital Museum Resources in the Classroom”. She is a 2019 graduate of the Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen of Museum Leaders program.

Ashley Naranjo's collections

 

Uncovering the Secrets of Queen Kapi’olani’s Canoe

<p>This collection explores the cultural and historical significance of two diplomatic missions by Hawaiian King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi'olani to the United States. These 19th-century diplomatic missions established the first state dinner hosted by U.S. President Grant and included the gifting of a canoe from Queen Kapi'olani to the Smithsonian. Students can watch a video interview about this history and answer guided questions, then look closely  and analyze portraits of the monarchs, read more about the history of U.S. state dinners, and learn about the contemporary collaborations curators have with community members to reveal the history of objects, as described in the film. </p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center.</em><br /></p><p>#APA2018<br /></p> <p>Tags: Hawaii, Kapiolani, Kalakaua, outrigger canoe, wa'a, diplomacy</p>
Ashley Naranjo
16
 

Conducting an Oral History: Tips from Across the Smithsonian

<p><strong>Oral history</strong> is a technique for generating and preserving original, historically interesting information – primary source material – from personal recollections through planned recorded interviews. This collection includes tips for conducting your own oral history from a student journalist and a historian, guides with suggestions for setting up your own interview, and recorded oral histories from key moments documenting a range of events in 20th century history. </p> <p>Recommended questions to consider with this collection of resources: <em>What is the purpose and value of oral histories in relation to understanding historic events?  </em><em>How do oral histories compare to other sources of information? </em><em>How can what we learn in school help us understand and process the experience of today, in the context of history? </em><em>What is our responsibility to document, reflect, and advocate? </em></p>
Ashley Naranjo
19
 

"Crossing the Delaware": Who is portrayed in American history?

<p>This collection highlights variations on a theme through works of art: George Washington Crossing the Delaware, George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware and Shimomura Crossing the Delaware. Comparisons of these works could serve as springboards for discussions about identity, immigration, "master" or dominant narratives in history, and hero myths.</p> <p>#EthnicStudies</p>
Ashley Naranjo
8
 

Teaching Resources: Creating a Classroom Exhibition

In a museum, it is the job of curators to select objects for display. Curators also study the objects in the museum’s collection. They learn as much as they can about each object so that they can share the story with the museum’s visitors. This collection of teaching resources includes lesson plan ideas for creating a classroom exhibition, a video detailing the Cooper Hewitt's "Digital Curator Project" with teens, as well as a small sample of videos of curators from around the Smithsonian discussing their jobs and research interests. Also included are suggested guidelines for a peer review of student exhibitions.
Ashley Naranjo
15
 

Amelia Earhart

<p>Explore a variety of resources.</p>
Ashley Naranjo
35
 

Getting to Know You: Icebreaker Ideas with the Smithsonian Learning Lab

<p>This collection includes ideas for using digital museum resources as a springboard for getting to know your students this school year. Three practical, teacher-tested activity ideas are shared within the archived webinar and an additional teacher-submitted idea is included. </p> <p><em>Tags</em>: ISTE standards, digital curation, icebreakers, ice breakers, object portraits, Burton Morris, Robert Weingarten, first day of school, CURIO, artifacts, introductions, knowledge constructor, creative communicator, My Smithsonian Closet, Nightstand Portraits, What makes you who you are?</p>
Ashley Naranjo
18
 

What Makes You Say That?: Interpretation with Justification Routine with a Poster

This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routine, highlighting interpretation with justification. The strategy is paired with a poster from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Once you have examined the poster and answered the questions, view the original resource and the related blog post to check and see how your interpretation compares with the expert. How does viewing the poster with the museum label change your interpretation? Suggestions for teachers regarding visual clues for this image are in the "Notes to Other Users" section.
Ashley Naranjo
3
 

U.S. Presidential Inauguration Resources

This teaching collection includes resources, such as video interviews with expert historians, artworks, memorabilia and photographs of the American tradition of presidential inaugurations, including the Oath of Office, the Inaugural Address, the Inauguration Parade and the Inaugural Ball. Discussion Questions: -How does a U.S. presidential inauguration compare to a royal coronation? -How are these events populist (for ordinary citizens)? How are they elitist (for the high class elite)? -Where can inauguration traditions be traced? -What is required by the Constitution to occur at a presidential inauguration? -What events have become a tradition over time? -What objects help tell the story of inaugurations over time?
Ashley Naranjo
36
 

Street Art: Local Washington, D.C. and Global Examples

<p>This thematic collection includes articles, interviews, images and online tours to support opportunities for exploring the relationship between visual art, attention seeking and attention getting. These resources could be integrated into lessons and activities, supporting a deeper understanding of street art both locally in Washington, D.C. and globally.  Featuring artists' response to COVID-19.</p> <p></p> <p>Keywords: DCPS "Somethin' Like a Phenomenon" visual arts unit, street art, stencil making, spray paint, graffiti, public art, mural</p>
Ashley Naranjo
6
 

"Words can lie or clarify" by Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga

<p>In 1981, Aiko Herzig-Yoshinaga submitted a memorandum on the subject “Use of term ‘concentration camps’” to the executive director of the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC). Included in this collection is background information on the Japanese American Incarceration era and Executive Order 9066, alongside Herzig-Yoshinaga's own words. In response to reading through this memorandum, students can apply Project Zero Thinking Routines to what they already know about the Japanese American Incarceration era and what interests them for further research. Additionally, students can begin to connect ideas from Herzig-Yoshinaga's memorandum to artifacts, documents and photographs of the era, noting especially the nuances in the meaning of words used and interpret some of these <em>euphemisms </em>in context.</p> <p>#APA2018<br /></p> <p>Related collection of interest around language found within the Civilian Exclusion Order: <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/document-analysis-civilian-exclusion-order-and-japanese-american-incarceration-during-wwii/XmKK2mgFoDRUju7N#r" target="_blank">Document Analysis: Civilian Exclusion Order and Japanese American Incarceration During WWII</a></p>
Ashley Naranjo
50
 

Teaching Resources: Drama

This teaching collection includes a variety of resources including video performances, lesson plans and blogs with teaching ideas for bringing role playing to the classroom, as a means of making connections of the past to the present. Includes program ideas from the History Alive theater program at the National Museum of American History and the Portraits Alive program at the National Portrait Gallery. <br /><br /> This collection was created for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Arts Professional Development Day.
Ashley Naranjo
23
 

Zora Neale Hurston: Author, Anthropologist and Folklore Researcher

<p>This teaching collection includes introductory resources to begin a study of Zora Neale Hurston, as an author, anthropologist and folklore researcher during the Harlem Renaissance.</p><p>#BecauseOfHerStory<br /></p>
Ashley Naranjo
11