The Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach: Strategies for Defining and Teaching a New Information Profession
Back to Practical Engagement NEXT presentation PREVIOUS presentation ALISE home	C. Olivia Frost University of Michigan The School of Information at the University of Michigan is developing courses which define new roles for information professionals, as well as new instructional delivery methods which employ project-based learning and team-based problem solving. Frost described a project which addresses these new curriculum criteria by engaging student teams in projects which involve working with information professionals to define new roles. Students working as part of a project called CHICO (Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach) are looking at ways in which the use of digital and collaboration technology can provide a digital outreach and new audiences for cultural heritage materials. Pilot projects are being developed to create multimedia resources with a strong multicultural focus, and to actively support the delivery of cultural heritage content in ways that will enrich the educational experience for a variety of audiences. CHICO projects incorporate visual images, sound, and video to enrich museum visits, classroom instruction, and extend learning beyond the bounds of the classroom into other arenas of the community. CHICO students are creating electronic extensions of primary resources from local museums of art. In addition to providing electronic access to these collections, CHICO students are changing the nature of local site visits through heightened interactivity. Working with partners from the museum, library, and K-12 community, CHICO is making extensive use of technology tools and information resources to broaden the reach of cultural heritage materials and to support curriculum development in the arts and humanities in a few selected area schools. Frost discussed the following CHICO projects: Development of the Musical Heritage Network project, in which students created a digital presence for an internationally known collection of musical instruments from diverse cultures and times. This resource celebrates the diversity and relevance of music in cultures throughout the world. Students also created virtual tours celebrating the musical heritage cultures in Indonesian gamelan, Mexican mariachi, Native American pow-wow, and Latin American salsa music. Working with teachers and librarians in area K-12 schools, and assisting teachers in the use of digital resources to develop learning modules for classroom teaching. Students also work with teachers to develop learning modules to enable K-12 students to create and contribute their own art, literature and music and share it with colleagues on the Web. By using collaboration technology to allow members of the learning community to communicate with each other in an anyplace-anytime mode, students interact with others interested in and involved in similar subjects. Working with curators of local museums and collections to develop programs to encourage K-12 students to visit the collections and gain background and context to enhance their visit and enable them to continue their appreciation and learning before and after. Working with librarians at the Ann Arbor District Library to provide viewing site for after school hours so students can view the digital collections with their parents and friends. Team members and librarians help to identify materials in the library's collections, and plan library programs, such as an Internet writing contest which can supplement and enhance the digital resources. CHICO has had a great impact on the students who participate in the project. Frost emphasized the following benefits of a hands-on approach to learning that incorporates contact with collaborators outside of the classroom: In working with clients in real-life settings, students gain practical work experience and familiarity with work environments and cultures. In designing innovative programs for information service, students gain a working vision of future-oriented roles for information professionals. In creating online repositories, students gain technological skills in identification, digitization, presentation, and organization of Web materials. By working in teams, students gain communication, organizational, and team-building skills needed to work on projects in their professional venues. Frost presented her findings as a juried paper at the ALISE '97 conference. ....................................................................... C. Olivia Frost, Associate Dean and Professor School of Information University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI 48109-1092 Phone: 313-763-2285 Fax: 313-764-2475 E-mail: cfrost@umich.edu Top of page || Next presentation || Previous presentation
	This page last updated 4/29/97. Please send any questions or comments to ALISE