Communication

The Context

The following artifact is a documented proposal for an informal learning exhibit at an art museum (written under the assumption that budget was not limited). Collaborating with Renee Cohen, our proposal focuses on my invention of Virtual Art Glasses (V.A.G.), a technology designed to bridge the academic knowledge between museum visitors and art.

Wearing the V.A.G., the learner will be able to customize their pedagogical learning experience and to hopefully enhance their understanding and appreciation of the creative art process. These virtual glasses will provide both visual and auditory media for each piece of art on exhibit. Additionally, the V.A.G. will accommodate visitors with disabilities, including deafness and blindness.

Demonstrating the Competency

This artifact is organized into multiple documents or treatments, aimed at persuading a theoretical audience on the need to fund this informal learning invention. Documents include:

1.Outcomes Logistic Model

• Outlines the purposes of the V.A.G. project, including outcomes, and evaluative assessment.
• Provides an audience analysis, detailing how the V.A.G. meet the learners’ needs.

2. Design Specification Document

• Illustrates learner incentive and motivation to wear the V.A.G..
• Explains how the V.A.G. will present information in two forms: audio and visual.
• Identifies opportunities for the learner to apply their new understanding and stimulate further exploration.

3. Technology Research

• A proposal describing the objects (actual piece of fine art) and interpretive technologies (the physical V.A.G.) as tool used in this informal learning process.

4. V.A.G. Treatment Presentation

• A face-to-face PowerPoint presentation, featuring: V.A.G. prototype, a simulated visitor experience wearing the V.A.G., and a demonstration of accessibility features.

The Unexpected

Following The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) taxonomy of learning outcomes, Cohen and I formulated an outcomes logic model for the V.A.G.. Understanding this process of assessing informal learning outcomes challenges me to think more creatively about evaluation, “an effective project, make[s] the logic (or a problem in the logic) of their relationship to one another clear” (IMLS, 2004, p.3).

Personal Outcomes

My successful completion developing this informal learning project demonstrates my capabilities to:

• Identify an informal learning need that can be served by educational technology.
• Specify appropriate learning activities to help informal learners accomplish specified outcomes.
• Consider the pros and cons of a variety of technologies for delivering interpretive material and representing objects
• Identify appropriate technology for a lesson plan.