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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

 

Unveiling Stories: Marian Anderson in Concert at the Lincoln Memorial

This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Global Thinking routine to reveal multiple layers of meaning in a set of photographs and artworks. The strategy is paired with photographs and artworks from the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of American History and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as well as a Smithsonian Channel video and two essays recounting the day's events. Using the "Unveiling Stories" routine, along with some guided questions, students will look at a single story from multiple dimensions. Questions for the first two artworks by William H. Johnson are suggested to be answered in a Think, Pair, Share discussion format. Tags: William H. Johnson, Marian Anderson, Easter 1939 concert, Lincoln Memorial
Ashley Naranjo
14
 

American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges

This collection features the Smithsonian website “American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges” which includes videos, personal accounts, and discussions of strategies for maintaining water resources. It also includes an archived webinar featuring Smithsonian experts and case studies of specific nations including the Campo Kumeyaay Nation, the Leech Lake Ojibwe, and the Lummi Nation, as well as the environmental challenges they face. A Smithsonian Magazine article provides further information about a real-world challenge that the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe are experiencing today.
Ashley Naranjo
4
 

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

This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routine, highlighting interpretation with justification. The strategy is paired with a photograph from the National Portrait Gallery. Once you have examined the photograph and answered the questions, view the original resource and the short video with a curator to check and see if your interpretation was correct. How does viewing the photograph 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
 

Presidential Portraiture: Looking and Analyzing Questions

A topical collection of United States presidential portraits. This collection might be best shortened to introduce a specific historical era and the leader(s) of the time, or adapted to show how American leaders wanted to be perceived during their tenure and legacy and how artists depicted them. It includes the National Portrait Gallery's "Reading" Portraiture at a Glance sheet, which offers suggested looking and analyzing questions. It is also includes associated curator and educator talks on the portraits of the presidents, where possible.
Ashley Naranjo
55
 

Looking at "America's Presidents": Four Presidents through Portraiture

This archived online conference features four of the portraits found in the National Portrait Gallery's "America's Presidents" exhibition, along with example strategies for how to use portraiture in the classroom, led by educator Briana Zavadil White. In this collection, we investigate portraits showcasing the use of symbolism, changes over time, use of color, and mass production of imagery. Presidential portraits included in this collection: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama.
Ashley Naranjo
22
 

Introduction to Pollinators

Topical collection introducing students to bees, butterflies, birds, and bats as pollinators. Plants depend on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around. Students will learn about the parts of a flower and identify many different types of pollinators and their unique characteristics through investigating images, videos with Smithsonian experts and a Smithsonian magazine article, which highlights the relationships between plants and their pollinators.
Ashley Naranjo
15
 

Niagara Falls: Investigating Change Over Time with a Body of Water

<p>Learning resource collection, which highlights several artworks and photographs of Niagara Falls as early as 1820 to today. It introduces close-looking strategies, with a consistent set of guiding questions to analyze each image and discover changes of a place, specifically three waterfalls on the United States-Canada border, over time.</p>
Ashley Naranjo
19
 

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion through a Historical Painting

Learning resources collection, which includes two versions of an artwork that captured the idea of "Manifest Destiny" as pioneer settlers were encouraged to expand American territory westward. Compare the two versions of the artwork and examine details of the painting in the landscape and people the artist included.
Ashley Naranjo
6
 

My Fellow Soldiers: Postcards from World War I

<p>This topical collection features more than a dozen postcards that were distributed during the World War I era. These postcards will serve as inspiration and a starting point for teacher-created Smithsonian Learning Lab collections during the National Postal Museum's workshop, "<a href="https://postalmuseum.si.edu/education/professional-development/index.html" target="_blank">My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I</a>" (July 2017). </p><p>#NPMTeacherPrograms</p>
Ashley Naranjo
21
 

World War I Stamps

<p>This topical collection features forty international stamps that were issued during the World War I era. These stamps will serve as inspiration and a starting point for teacher-created Smithsonian Learning Lab collections during the National Postal Museum's workshop, "<a href="https://postalmuseum.si.edu/education/professional-development/index.html" target="_blank">My Fellow Soldiers: Letters from World War I</a>" (July 2017) </p> <p>#NPMTeacherPrograms<br /></p>
Ashley Naranjo
41
 

Second Opinion: Immigration in America – Smithsonian Resources

<p>This is a Smithsonian Learning Lab topical collection, which contains interdisciplinary education resources, including videos, images and blogs to complement the Smithsonian's national conversation on immigration and what it means to be an American, highlighted on <em><a href="https://www.smithsoniansecondopinion.org/immigration-america/immigration-america-180965144/">Second Opinion</a></em><strong>. </strong>Use this sample of the Smithsonian's many resources to introduce or augment your study of this topic and spark a conversation. If you want to personalize this collection by changing or adding content, click the Sign Up link above to create a free account.  If you are already logged in, click the copy button to initiate your own version. Learn more <a href="https://learninglab.si.edu/create" target="_blank">here</a>. </p>
Ashley Naranjo
36
 

Astrophotography: Student Activity in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics)

In this student activity, you’ll use specialized image processing software to bring out visual details from images of objects like the Moon, Sun, star clusters, nebulas, and galaxies. After you analyze your own image(s), you’ll have an opportunity to research related astronomy information and to share your scientific and artistic interpretations of your telescope data.
Ashley Naranjo
15