Well what a fantastic conference this proved to be. The wealth of innovative and creative projects going on around the country is truly inspiring. And the research that points out some of the future directions that our ‘industry’ is going in is equally revealing. I think the short sharp nature of the program gave us all great exposure to the plethora of activity around the country. I’d like to reiterate my thanks to the National Museum Australia for the bursary that allowed me to attend from Tassie.
Some thoughts on some aspect of the conference: The challenge that the conveners must have had in allocating the presentation to the four themes was apparent especially in the ‘offsite’ session. I really enjoyed the sessions from the presenters on the day but got to wondering if what we have termed ‘offsite’ is really being sidelined by the ‘on-line’ environment? What has happened to the real offsite programs? What’s the latest on the ‘museum in the box’, the old ‘Musbus’, those outreach programs that museums used to take into the regions? Where are the programs that reach into the community but aren’t on-line? Are they happening, are they successful, what’s new in that world?
Whilst it was really encouraging to see programs such as that run by the Art Gallery of NSW that brought regional students into Sydney after first going to the regions, I wonder how much of this type of activity has gone by the wayside due to costs, and whether museum professionals see anything worrying in such programs’ demise? I think many of us would agree that we can’t replace on-line the benefits of direct experiences with the objects that comes from either visits to the exhibitions or with objects out on loan (usually part of teaching collections). But I truly wonder if we are all taking the easy option in a tight budgetary world when we resort to imagining the on-line environment will meet those same needs as real ‘offsite’ programs do (or did!). Not sure what all this means for a library however –couldn’t get much more off-site than some of the places I’ve taken library books!
Of course I’m not being down on the on-line story, after all my presentation was all about collaborative polar e-books as a tool of engagement (see http: //iem.tmag.tas.gov.au), and I recognize the on-line environment is another avenue for extending the learning spaces of students and all visitors for that matter. On this front the presentation from the ACMI folks, Brett and Vincent got me thinking. As someone who hasn’t play ‘a game’ since triggering all those free credits on the space invaders consoles (remember how you used to be able to use a gas sparker to shock the machine into giving free credit?) I was intrigued by the learning potential of the internet game environment. Watch this space it seems, since only one person in the audience appeared to use such games in their educational programs. See Lynda Kelly’s blog summary of Brett’s presentation on the ‘twitch’ response for some future program design issues.
On another note I enjoyed Lyn Beasley’s comments in her “School students are people too!” presentation and heard the collective groan from the audience as so many of us in the educational field felt the issue’s resonance in our respective organizations. This will only get more significant with the ‘Education revolution’ as museums play a bigger role in formal education, have more school visitors and clash with those in our organisations who would wish to keep the museum/art gallery a hallowed sanctuary of quiet contemplation (and yes we need to maintain this aspect somewhere in our broad charter, but…!). As Lyn said the research shows that what students remember most of their visits are social circumstances rather than content, and getting growled at by staff or other adult visitors isn’t such a great memory to leave with! How about Lyn bundle up her presentation and workshop she runs at the NMA and send out the “Convert your workplace’ training package!
I could ramble on forever, I encourage anyone who didn’t get to Melbourne (and those that did) to down load the papers/ presentations when they come on–line and rekindle your enthusiasm for a profession going places.
Andy Baird, Manager: Centre for Learning and Discovery, Tasmanian Museum and Art gallery
