Pedagogy and Practice in Museum Online Learning

Distance Learning in Museums: A Review of the Literature

“…The programs described in these studies predominately focused on K-12 school programs, K-12 students in out-of-school settings, teacher professional development, and adult learners (Table 3). The remaining articles did not discuss specific programs but rather, they evaluated the current state of the field (Hardee & Duffin, 2015) or were broader in scope (Bowen, 2017;Crow & Din, 2009, 2010, 2011Din, 2015;Gaylord-Opalewski & O'Leary, 2019;O'Leary, 2011). Six studies included either qualitative and/or quantitative data in their results (Table 3).…”

“…Video conferencing was described in 10 articles (Barshinger & Ray, 1998;Bell et al, 2016;Bradford & Rice, 1996;Coquillon & Staples, 2015, Crow & Din, 2010Engelke, 2015;Hilton et al, 2019;Mitchell et al, 2019;O'Leary, 2011;Sanger et al, 2015). Online courses were described in six articles (Din, 2015;Engelke, 2015;Harrell & Kotecki, 2015;Kraybill & Din, 2015;Mazzola, 2015;Sanger et al, 2015). Two articles discussed the importance of using online chat technology (Coquillon & Staples, 2015;Mitchell et al, 2019).…”

“…The most common benefit was that distance learning programs allowed the museums to increase their reach to new audiences as well as increase visitors' access to their collections (Barshinger & Ray, 1998;Bell et al, 2016;Bowen, 2017;Bradford & Rice, 1996;Coquillon & Staples, 2015;Crow & Din, 2009, 2010, 2011Din, 2015;Engelke, 2015;Gaylord-Opalewski & O'Leary, 2019;Hardee & Duffin, 2015;Hilton et al, 2019;Mazzola, 2015;Mitchell et al, 2019;O'Leary, 2011;Schmidt, 1997). Distance learning programs increased a museum's outreach potential by breaking down geographic boundaries and allowing museums to reach visitors who might not otherwise have access (Gaylord-Opalewski & O'Leary, 2019).…”

“…Leveraging distance learning, museums also offered their visitors access to previously underutilized resources (Crow & Din, 2009, 2010Din, 2015;Engelke, 2015;Hardee & Duffin, 2015;O'Leary, 2011).…”

“…Through distance learning programs, museums enabled students to examine artifacts up close in ways that would otherwise not be possible (O'Leary, 2011). Additionally, distance learning programs allowed museums to use media and other technological resources that may not be appropriate in the physical museum (Din, 2015).…”