Open Forum

I just recently completed a course through Northern States Conservation. They have a variety of museum specific focused courses. A simple search of the name should give you their home page. I found this site through the AAM. As for the course, I learned way more about museum housekeeping than I was expecting. This was an online course with detailed information, multiple resources listed, and literature cited. I will definitely take more courses through this site if the opportunity arises. 

I have taken some really helpful courses through the Northern States Conservation Center (http://www.collectioncare.org/).  They're taught by  knowledgeable instructors and are setup similar to a college course in some ways, with assignments, online discussions, and readings.  Some of the courses were more involved than I was expecting, but that isn't a bad thing because you learn quite a lot. I was very impressed with the three courses I've taken, and would highly recommend them.

Thanks,

Geoff

The Creative Learning Factory has an ongoing webinar series for Museum Professionals that is excellent.  We're in our fourth season, always try to put on a good show and try to get presenters that range from smaller organizations to big names like Nina Simon and Nancy Proctor.

We happen to have one going this afternoon on interpreting difficult topics:

Professional Development for Museum Professionals | Creative Learning Factory

Very cost effective, and you can buy a season pass, too.  Enjoy!

on line learning might be nice but as a museum employer these are meaningless for me in an applicant's resume.   I rely on candidate's real life experiences in real museums and face to face learning in real Terra Firma schools.

Sorry for this delayed response Despi.  I just returned from 10 days seeing museums, galleries, and exhibitions in Rome and Milan...a terrible burden but someone has to to it....and the experience is better in person than on-line.  

I have nothing against museum staff learning on-line but assuming a great increase in viable knowledge because of time spent in front of a computer screen does not always translate well in our field.  There's a lot of inconsequential talk out there in museum-internet land.  (A reason things like the AAM and regional museum organization meetings and workshops  can be so valuable.)  As this site proves, museums are very practical places but they are based on theory.  Discussions of why they exist can be endless and no one has a singular answer.  In fact, if museums ceased to exist tomorow would it matter?  After all, musems as we know them are fairly recent inventions.  Listing participation in a bunch of on-line courses, or symposia, or chats, or programs on a resume tells me little about a person's real on-the-job abiities, inclinations and devotion.  I won't mention fears about proving actual participation and what was learned.  More than a few of us are devoted to computer screens at the expense of what we should be doing with collections, exhibitions, education, security, facilities, visitor services, and so many other aspects of our field that demand direct involvements with objects, people and places.  I will use myself as an example.  

A few years ago I completed about an hour-long "test" regarding sexual harassment and racial and ethnic sensitivieis to contiue teaching at a school where I was on the faculy.  I passed with flying colors and printed out the "certificate" for my personal files, and my HR file at the museum where I worked at the time.  Obviously the school received the results independently of me.  There is no way to know that someone other than I took that test yet I can list in in a resume.  I recognize that people taking classes with real people in real places might not do well but few can have someone sit in for them.  Also, as someone who has taught museum studies for many years, there is nothing like the personal interaction between students (plural) and faculty.  Finally, and this reflects generational changes in our field, when I was a young professional I could not get enough of courses in things that would help me learn more about curatorial aspects of our field.  Being in New York City enhanced those opportunities.  Today, of course, long distance learning is a boon, especially for people in the boonies, but as the old song says "The ain't nothin' like the real thing baby."  

Thanks!

Steve  

Hi Dana, 

Have you tried Futurelearn.com? There is an excellent online course..and free.. ''Behind the Scenes of the 21st Cetury museums''..run by the University of Leicester. 

Cheers

 Rosie

Dear Dana,

Another option is Museum Study run by Brad Bredehoft, who worked in the industry for decades. He also partners with other organizations to share their online training courses. (museumstudy.com) 

Regards,

Charity

I noticed a mention of the Futurelearn MOOC program run in the UK.  I've taken numerous courses through that platform and have enjoyed them very much.  The one specific to museum professionals was interesting and thoughtful.

I think distance learning is a great way for museum professionals to broaden their knowledge base, either free or at low cost.

Regards,

I noticed a mention of the Futurelearn MOOC program run in the UK.  I've taken numerous courses through that platform and have enjoyed them very much.  The one specific to museum professionals was interesting and thoughtful.

I think distance learning is a great way for museum professionals to broaden their knowledge base, either free or at low cost.

Regards,

I just wanted to say a collective thank you very much to everyone that replied to my post or sent me information directly.  Some of these resources I already knew about but many were new to me, so thank you for sharing the information.

Best wishes, 

Dana

I second recommendations of the FutureLearn project in the UK. The scope of topics and of participating universities is tremendous.

Nonetheless, the Internet was designed for the transfer of packet data; its use for digital media other than text is the result of a series of 'bolt on' projects that still have to negotiate network latencies, etc. With the exception of 'chat' (or, currently, twitter), the capacity for near-real time (textual) interaction is much more limited than one might find in proximate exchanges (classrooms, field sites, etc.).

The modalities of 'on line learning', having been explored for 25+ years, remain limited to powerpoint-type lectures perhaps supplemented with streaming a/v. Those same modalities also characterize many sessions one might encounter at an AAM conference (or its equivalent).

So the major distinction remains that 'on line' requires little travel time and no one cares how you're dressed, not its capacity for experiential engagement.

Have you thought about collections emergency response and preparedness? My assistant and I are attending a workshop to write a plan for some of our collections in case of major or minor emergencies. This particular one is through the Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service (WESTPAS). Its a webinar series coupled with a hands on workshop to write a plan of our own. Maybe a little searching online in that topic area will help you locate something to suite your needs? 

Good luck!

J