Museums' Digital Learning Tools Fall Short on Teacher Expectations
Swedish teachers want museum digital resources that teach historical thinking and adapt to individual students—but say time constraints and limited customization options prevent wider adoption. The finding suggests museums may be designing for the wrong audience, missing a growth opportunity in the school market.
Originaltitel: Digitala brikolörer: Lärares val, värdering och användande av museers digitala lärresurser
<p>Given that the production of digital offerings for schools by museums is currently an area of development, this article examines how teachers select, eva-luate and use digital learning resources. The study is based on fourteen futures workshops with history and social studies teachers in secondary and upper se-condary schools. The results show that teachers' practical appreciation of digital learning resources is closely linked to curriculum requirements and the ability to adapt the material to pupils' prior knowledge and special needs. Teachers value digital learning resources that address those aspects of historical thinking that are associated with primary source criticism and the understanding of continuity and change. While teachers' expectations of digital learning resources are based on available teaching materials, short formats and multimodality, they still expect multi-sensory experiences from museums and value museum visits. Moreover, teachers' agencies are limited by their perceived lack of time. </p>