ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with the perspective of a practicing technologist who has also been trained as both a collections manager and educator. It focuses on digital variations of particular museum education methods: interactive teaching, storytelling, games, and making projects. The book presents the early years of experimental integrated services digital network lines, then moves through to the museum's practice of high-end video-conferencing used to bring in-gallery teaching practices to students who might not have access to the museum otherwise. It addresses how museum visitors can use digital tools to make things. The book also presents game-making fundamentals, arguing that games that offer players choice support meaning-making that is simultaneously fun and educational. It discusses how social media can serve the educational goals of collaboration and building community.