Royal BC Museum celebrates World Teachers’ Day through Learning Portal tools
For a generation that’s growing up swiping screens, texting and puzzling over parental commands to “dial” phone numbers, the Royal BC Museum’s Learning Portal (learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca) is a custom-made digital tool, designed for tech-savvy learners who like choice, connecting online and assembling info as they see fit.
Just in time for UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day, the Learning Portal now offers new tools for teachers and students, including “playlists”– a feature similar to a mixtape (which parents can surely relate to). Anyone can create a playlist by choosing materials offered on the Learning Portal, mixing and organizing to fit whatever theme or topic they’re most interested in – and then sharing.
“The Learning Portal is a dynamic resource that supports the BC Ministry of Education’s new curriculum focus through content and approach,” said Royal BC Museum CEO Professor Jack Lohman. “The Learning Portal fosters creative thinking and critical thinking – elements of learning that the Royal BC Museum continues to encourage.”
Some of the most interesting and useful playlists have been created by teachers and education students; these are all public and ready to share as resources. Check out the playlists at learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/our-playlists/.
Since launching in February 2015, the Learning Portal has also added lots of terrific new material, including episodes from the televised series “This Week in History,” featuring the Royal BC Museum’s collections, and “pathways,” which are entry points into Learning Portal subjects as varied as Emily Carr, BC’s species at risk and BC’s gold rush. Soon to come are pathways about spiders, mammoths and mastodons, the Royal BC Museum’s insect and fish collections, and much more.
The Learning Portal is a window into the Royal BC Museum’s collections and BC’s history that kids and adult learners can crack open no matter where they live in the province.
Even its development was province-wide; the Learning Portal was designed with input from a diverse network of educators across BC, including teachers, librarians and staff from Open School BC and the Ministry of Education. Their input helped the Royal BC Museum select and highlight key points for educators from its collections, with an emphasis on 21st century learning methods and approaches.
The Royal BC Museum will tweet the launch of new playlists, pathways or other new features on Twitter, using the hashtag #RBCMlearningportal.
Media contact:
Royal BC Museum Media Inquiries
250-387-5051
