As museums increase access to collections through Web-based digitization projects and create accompanying educational activities, it is important to consider the success of these as teaching tools in classrooms. This paper examines the pedagogical integration of museum Web resources through teacher surveys, focus groups, classroom observations and a case study from the Museum of London. This variety of qualitative sources, coupled with Web site statistics, helps build a picture of classroom practice. Understanding how teachers use digital assets and interactives in planning and instruction provides useful insight when developing resources for school audiences. An example of how these considerations were put into practice is explored through the Museum of London's development of the Great Fire of London Web site (www.fireoflondon.org.uk) .

1. Pedagogy and Design Mariruth Leftwich e-Learning officer, Museum of London Martin Bazley ICT4Learning

5. Use of online resources Teacher use with whole class Very popular, predominantly using IWB Actual use varies with resource type

6. Use of online resources Student use without teacher Semi-independently – structured tasks, on computer in corner of classroom or in IT suite Independently – in IT suite making their own choices about which Web sites to use, for example project research.

10. Pedagogy and Design: Great Fire of London website Activities page included with brief suggestions based on themes in the game. Breaks included in narrative that allow for teacher interjections. Links from game to image bank with higher resolution images. Images available for download. Divided chronologically and can be navigated by day or narrative and game elements within each day. Narration and games had to function regardless of the number of users. Teachers can access a particular section of the site or the students can move continuously through storyline. Easy to use on the whiteboard, with drag and drop elements and large graphics that project well for whole class use Design Impact Suggestions not lessons Teacher control Large scale images Flexibility Whole class use Whiteboard Use Teacher Practice

11. Pedagogy and Design: Great Fire of London website

12. Pedagogy and Design: Great Fire of London website

13. Pedagogy and Design: Ford Madox Brown microsite

18. Lighting levels not ideal Lots of distractions, people moving around etc Not easy to see the screen from here…

20. Skilled teacher knows what her class will respond to – and what they won’t

21. Developing activities for independent use by children is much harder

22. Resources teachers want Images just image can be useful + caption and brief description / context = even better Also key question(s). Video Erica starter

23. Resources teachers want On-line collections Fantastic, provided they are easily browsable and searchable by teachers

26. Resources teachers want Brief overviews of topics / themes If key idea put concisely with a few images + 20-60 words, teachers may use the material as presented. Otherwise they would need to copy, paste and edit to suit the needs of their class, so may look elsewhere

27. Resources teachers want Detailed interpretation, stories etc Not usually suitable for whole class use (small writing and unlikely to be engaged by lengthy texts). May be useful for lesson preparation, subject knowledge development, or assignments for students to read, précis,etc

28. Resources teachers want Lesson plans / schemes of work May appeal to newly qualified teachers or those working outside their specialism, but most teachers just want access to the ‘stuff’ and will fit it into their existing planning. video

29. To think about… What value do highly authored pieces like Fire of London and Ford Madox Brown’s Work add? Is it worth investing in such resources? Get basics right first – put engaging, concise well written, object-based material online first. Interactives etc can help market educational services, and can stimulate learning, but the benefits do not always outweigh the costs in the long term.

30. Is it worth developing… Flash interactive interface Teachers with interactive whiteboards can do their own ‘animation’, zooming in and out, hiding parts of the image, etc – so why use Flash? + added value is convenience of having it done for you, with engaging graphics etc – downsides include technical issues, and constraints imposed on the way they use it On the other hand having a ‘worked example’ like this can help even experienced teachers find ways to make the most of objects like this

32. Is it worth developing… Quiz – not expensive, but very constrained Quizzes and interactives appeal to teachers: they can occupy children with less intensive teacher mediation – but the questions are locked, and unless they match the ability and interests of all their children, it may not be the best use of class time, in educational terms. => Should museums just give teachers what they want?