Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group Newsletter 2017 No. 7 | Page 9

Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2017 Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Embedding virtual field trip to a museum into an eTwinning project by Angeliki Kougiourouki
The purpose of this teaching proposal is to identify the educational role that museums can play in society ' s cultural memory based on the visual power of objects and heritage in the context of collaborative educational eTwinning projects .
According to the ICOM ( International council of Museums ) definition , adopted on 2007 by the 22nd General Assembly in Vienna , “ A museum is a non-profit , permanent institution in the service of society and its development , open to the public , which acquires , conserves , researches , communicates and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education , study and enjoyment .”
It is widely acknowledged that the value and role that museums can play in learning is of great importance . ( Johnson , Adams & Witchey , 2011 ) These environments are explicitly designed with the intention of facilitating engagement and learning with their content encouraging visitors to imagine , explore and experience our rich human heritage and natural world first hand .
Museums can be a fun and creative way to engage our “ empathy muscles ” inspiring at the same time more empathy in our children as they create experiential learning opportunities , promote awe and wonder , provide a safe space for contemplation as they are a form of storytelling . ( Gokcigdem E . M ., 2017 ) They have the capability to bring together arts , technology , sciences , and literature to show how all living things are interconnected . Since 2005 researchers have underlined the growing interest in exploring the ways in which new technologies can enhance participation in museums and galleries ( Lehn v . D . & Heath C ., 2005 ).
Nowadays a lot of museums take this issue under serious consideration and try to find solutions which will enable them to claim a “ place ” in cyberspace , aiming to make their exhibits more accessible ( digitalisation and e-learning ) and to attract wider audiences , especially those more difficult to reach , such as young people .
The use of New Technologies offers interesting perspectives for museums and the opportunity to add a new , digital dimension to the traditional ones , thereby creating a “ virtual museum ”. A “ virtual museum ” can be defined as “ a logically related collection of digital objects composed in a variety of media , and , because of its capacity to provide connectedness and various points of access , it lends itself to transcending traditional methods of communicating and interacting with the visitors being flexible toward their needs and interests ; it has no real place or space , its objects and the related information can be disseminated all over the world ( Schweibenz W ., 1998 ).
Although a virtual culture-based educational museum could not replace the physical one , it can offer learning opportunities , improve perceptions and skills , exchange experiences and encourage student learning , providing a learning motivation through a simple visit or tour or use in educational practice ( Anderson D ., et all , 2002 ).
Limitations imposed by the traditional method of organizing and presenting information can be overcome in the context of museum visits by making a virtual tour . Such kind of museum provides multiple levels , perspectives , and dimensions of information about a particular topic : not only multimedia , ( print , visual images through photographs , illustrations or video and audio ), but , more importantly , information that has not been filtered out through these traditional methods ( Andrew J ., Schweibenz W ., 1998 ).
At the same time , eΤwinning , the community of schools in Europe , enables pupils to “ escape ” from the narrow boundaries of the classroom , thus making learning more interactive providing online
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