Tara Fagan and Mel Thompson present at NDF23. Tara is Principal Advisor Learning, and Mel is Content & Facilitation Lead, both at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Abstract:

With the recent rise in remote, personalised, and adaptive learning, online courses are proving a successful way of engaging audiences; both those that do not visit museums or as a complement to those that do. Mel and Tara have been developing online courses for Te Pū Tiaki Mana Taonga | The Association of Educators Beyond the Classroom for the past two years.

More recently we are exploring how online courses can allow us to share Te Papa content, taonga, and stories to a new audience. This format allows us to tell stories that go deeper than the limits of gallery labels, making them an ideal accompaniment to a physical exhibition, or as accessible standalone offerings to those who can’t visit the museum in person. Online courses leverage the huge potential of the Museums collections to tell more stories, to more people, more often.

This presentation will outline some of our key findings including online platforms, the importance of active facilitation, and what we've learned from our learners!