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Entries are projects that are developed as outreach to teachers, classrooms, or the community or are developed as pedagogical training tools. The educational component is key.
Jury Chair: Denise Gray
Museum of Contemporary Art
 GOLD: Great Chicago Stories
Chicago History Museum
Judges said:
An exemplary use of new technology, Great Chicago Stories for Chicago History Museum is an excellent site to explore the city’s history through stories and various interactive materials. Accessible and decipherable for teachers and students, judges believe that this site inspires more learning through its easy navigation and its compelling historic feel. Users can connect to their own history within the geography of Chicago through an engaging interactive map of the city. A particularly appreciated feature is an option for technology help, which could be extremely useful for users who need more guidance. The website allows for and encourages multiple entry points, deftly integrating artifacts from the museum with powerful historical narratives.
Producers said:
Great Chicago Stories (www.greatchicagostories.org), funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings Chicago history to life by integrating artifacts from the collection of the Chicago History Museum into historical fiction narratives for elementary and high school students. The narratives become points of entry for exploring key humanities themes and fundamental concepts. The project has three main objectives: to fashion Chicago history into powerful stories, to increase access to, and understanding of, our collections through the internet, and to create a learning community between Museum staff, and local educators, through a collaborative development process. Students can locate story settings on an Interactive History Map of Chicago, explore continuity and change through then-and-now photographs, and use click-to-enlarge and zooming tools to experience artifact details up close. Full audio recordings of the narratives, available in both streaming multimedia format and MP3 format, meet multiple learning styles. A two year evaluation study found that students made significant gains in four kinds of learning: skill-building, understanding, historical habits of mind, and content knowledge. Students made gains in self-guided learning—asking questions, investigating artifacts, and making observations. Great Chicago Stories promotes reading, discussing, and weighing evidence so students become informed interpreters of the past.
http://www.greatchicagostories.com/
 SILVER: Never Lose Sight of Freedom,
Educational Resource Kit
National Park Service
Judges said:
Designed to increase student knowledge and understanding of the Modern Civil Rights Movement and encourage social change, Never Lose Sight of Freedom documents a critical episode in US history through engaging interactives and powerful stories. Judges cite that the medium was stellar in its use of graphics, sound, and video, all easy to navigate; addressing multiple modes of learning with oral histories that showed narrators, as well as their words transcribed. The "EduKit and Resources" section features a thorough concept-based curriculum that offers thoughtful and flexible ideas for teachers to adapt the website content to their own needs.
Producers said:
The Never Lose Sight of Freedom online education resource and oral history archive takes an interactive, student-friendly approach that encourages and engenders active participation in citizenship as learners examine the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March. The lesson plans, maps, interviews and activities teach the lessons of justice, hope, authority, perseverance, democracy, citizenship, law, courage, and economic empowerment that are intricately woven into the tapestry of the history of the United States of America. Realized as an online learning tool, Never Lose Sight of Freedom becomes more than a collection of interviews from history makers—it serves as a valuable and active intergenerational resource. The Never Lose Sight of Freedom online education resource and oral history archive can be accessed at this website, http://www.nps.gov/archive/semo/freedom/
 BRONZE: Excelling the Work of Heaven:
Personal Adornment from China
University of Hawaii Art Gallery
Judges said:
Informative and beautifully designed, Excelling the Work of Heaven: Personal Adornment is an example of a website that is extremely functional, given its relatively limited production resources (compared to some projects by larger or more endowed organizations). Through visually rich graphics and animation, the site invites exploration of history, symbols, and myths about objects, and includes an engaging linguistics game and other activities. Judges felt that this website truly addressed an educational purpose without being over-produced or complicated, allowing a pleasant experience much like that of a peaceful museum visit.
Producers said:
The Excelling the Work of Heaven: Personal Adornment from China website produced by the University of Hawaii Art Gallery introduces students and teachers to the rich history, language, and traditions of late Imperial China. Online interactive activities and downloadable visual art hands-on projects engage students in the classroom and home to learn about the various materials and techniques and cultural significance of the personal adornment made and worn during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Detailed photographs and original illustrations give visual appeal to the website. The symbols section is layered with images and audio pronunciations to focus on the Chinese language and highlight the prevalent use of rebus and homonyms. Viewers learn about the complex hidden symbols and motifs prevalent in Chinese decorative arts. Written content throughout the educational resource site helps to exercise and encourage literary skills. Short stories of myths or explanations of symbols can be easily read by children. Teachers were able to use the website to introduce information about China and Chinese culture prior to or after gallery visits. Although the site targeted elementary and secondary school students, all age groups, including adults, have responded favorably to the colorful and active site.
http://hawaii.edu/artgallery/programs/heaven/
 HONORABLE MENTION: Emissaries of Peace
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Judges said:
A comprehensive electronic field trip, Emissaries of Peace, is a well-produced web resource. Through methods of storytelling and teaching with living history, elementary and middle school students can engage in Cherokee history through multiple perspectives, all presented through dramatic recreations, music and illustrations. Judges appreciated the broad range of tips for teachers (including how to address standards of learning), interactive activities that could be used in the classroom, and the technology support option. Judges felt that it was important to acknowledge the exceptional and wide educational resources that the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation offers for users at a distance and visitors onsite.
Producers said:
Originally broadcast on November 8, 2007, the "Emissaries of Peace" Electronic Field Trip tells the story of how Cherokee people struggled to preserve their independence during the turbulent era of the French and Indian War. The program was produced in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. Through dramatic video segments, students follow Cherokee leader Ostenaco and Virginian Henry Timberlake on their 1762 journey from Chota (the capital of the Cherokee nation) to Williamsburg and London in search of a lasting peace. During the hour-long broadcast, students in grades 4 through 8 had a chance to ask questions of Ostenaco, Henry Timberlake, and a group of historians via phone and email. The "Emissaries of Peace" website also features student web activities, message boards, an online vote, teacher lesson plans, primary source components, and links for additional resources on Native peoples.
http://www.history.org/peace/trailer.cfm
More 2008 Muse Award Winners
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