Collaborative learning - Using digital technologies for cultural education

During the past several years, the use of computers and of the Internet for educational purposes have increased globally. Much of the content of online courses and distance education focuses on math and science. Numerous projects and grant awards in the United States attest to the creative use of Internet-based science and math education. However, there are far fewer projects that use the Internet and digital technologies for humanities education. Although digital libraries of artworks and literature exist for public and academic use, they are of the traditional ilk. The user goes to the Internet entrance of the digital library and looks at or reads the digitized materials, preselected and described by experts. This chapter looks at how the University of Michigan School of Information has developed collaborative culturally-based Internet resources for culture education. It includes a summary of the Cultural Heritage Initiative for Community Outreach (CHICO). It demonstrates how the concept of a digital library or virtual museum can include information professionals, educators, librarians, and museum curators. They work together to create rich cultural online resources for collections. The Cultural Heritage Preservation Institute (CHPI) and its unique method of combining technology and culture education is the central focus. The paper concludes with background information, evaluation of CHPI, lessons learned, and recommendations for similar projects, showing how to create cultural educational resources applicable in a broad range of educational settings.