WEBWISE CONFERENCE EXPLORES TECHNOLOGY’S IMPACT
The WebWise conference, co-hosted by The Wolfsonian and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, explored the impact of Web 2.0 technology on museums and libraries. More than three hundred museum and library professionals attended.
The conference was the result of The Wolfsonian’s two-year, $500,000 contract through IMLS to serve as WebWise's co-sponsor. The Wolfsonian and IMLS are now working on the 2009 conference, to take place in Washington D.C.
Further information about WebWise can be found on several websites including http://webwise2008.fcla.edu. For full streaming videos and presentation slides go to the IMLS website at http://www.imls.gov/webwise.
The 2008 WebWise conference is sponsored by IMLS and this year will be co-hosted by The Wolfsonian–FIU, with support from the Florida Center for Library Automation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority. The WebWise welcome reception is sponsored by The Steven and Dorothea Green Library , Florida International University; The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University; Miami Art Museum; The Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami; Vizcaya Museum & Gardens; The Wolfsonian-Florida International University.
NOW ON VIEW at the WPBT Channel 2 Website: "Creator, Collector, Catalyst: The University Art Museum in the Twenty-first Century"
Educational Offerings
The Wolfsonian-FIU is committed to serving South Florida's student and teacher populations through an exciting array of educational offerings. Since 1994, the museum has been an active partner with the Museum Education Program of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Approximately 1,800 students from both public and private schools visit the museum's galleries each year.
The Wolfsonian's permanent exhibition, Art and Design in the Modern Age, provides an overview of the museum's holdings of American and European artifacts from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. In visiting this exhibition, students are made aware of the ways in which art and design have both influenced and reflected the modern world.
Teacher Workshops
Day-long workshops for educators provide teaching tools to bring exhibitions into the classroom, focusing on cross-curricular connections. Teaching strategies and methodologies are discussed and experimented with. Includes an exhibition tour, hands-on activities, free curriculum packet, in-service credit, lunch, and more. For registration and information on upcoming workshops, call 305.535.2625 or e-mail education@thewolf.fiu.edu
The Miami Beach Art Deco District: Using Buildings to Tell Stories Teacher Workshop
Tours
Guided tours promote student understanding of how people living in this time of great change viewed the world and their place in it, as industrialization, urbanization, mass production, and new transportation and communication systems revolutionized modern life. Examples of this transformation are demonstrated in a wide variety of artifacts, from books, posters, and postcards to decorative arts, architectural models, paintings, and sculptures. The permanent installation is complemented by a lively series of changing exhibitions and guided tours. Teacher Resource Packets, which include images, background information, discussions, and activities that help teachers introduce students to an exhibition, are offered for all exhibitions.
The Miami-Dade County Public Schools supports the multidisciplinary collaborative project called "Page at a Time," involving The Wolfsonian, teachers from Miami-Dade County Public Schools and its Museum Education Program, and five fifth-grade classes from five different local schools. "Page at a Time," utilizing the museum's collections, invites students to examine the relationship between historical events, how they were interpreted by artists and designers in the past, and to connect this new understanding to contemporary issues such as the prevalence of intolerance and the power of design to influence and persuade. Under this program, children work collaboratively to produce books of illustrations and writings that address examples of conflict and resolution in their everyday lives.
Artful Connection
The Wolfsonian also offers teachers the opportunity to collaborate directly with museum educators to design a visit. Tours can be related to specific themes according to curriculum needs. Visits may also incorporate art projects or other forms of activities for student engagement at a teacher's request.
Community Outreach
In addition to its service to the schools, The Wolfsonian makes a concerted effort to extend its offerings to the community. The Family Funday and Family Workshop series invites children and their parents to visit and participate in a wide variety of arts, crafts, and performance activities based on themes from current exhibitions.
For more information or to book a tour at The Wolfsonian, please contact 305.535.2684 or e-mail education@thewolf.fiu.edu.
