Friday saw me with my chair of The Digital Learning Network hat on for the first time at the Digital Learning Adventures in Museums event.  What a day! Apparently I looked incredibly calm throughout, but inside I was a massive bundle of nerves.  Which is a shame, because I didn’t really get to enjoy the day or see everything, I’m only now really beginning to be able to think about all the questions and discussions which occurred throughout the day.

We had splendid array of digital learning practitioners and researchers in the underbelly of the British Museum. The whole day focuses on the ways in which museums are using digital technology to create new learning experiences and enhance learners visits both onsite and online. What was overwhelming was the fact that the best way to work with digital technology, is to jump in, have a go and experiment, because that is when the most inspiration things can happen.

Alex Flowers, from the Museum of London, kicked us off with a really snazzy prezi showcasing the work that is going on at the Museum of London.  Alex talked about 5 C’s of digital learning:  Consume, Create, Capture, Collaborate and Communicate.

Lorna O’Brien, who is soon to be leaving the V&A, spoke about being refreshingly creative,  DIWO (do it with others) rather than DIY (do it yourself), and the OMM – the open mouth moment.  All things we should aspire to with digital tech.

Frank Angermann from Metaio and Shelley Mannion from the British Museum, told us about diving into augmented reality and producing an AR tour which was one giant experiment.

Rhiannon Looseley, from the Museum of London, told us about her experience of creating resources using SMART Notebook software. I don’t know very much about interactive whiteboard resources, so it was interesting to hear about the software, the filesizes and the implications. It’s not as easy as you think.

Beth Harris, from MOMA, spoke about MOMA’s online courses which are heavily video based.  Beth also spoke about Smarthistory and creating conversations about art, as an alternative to museum audio guides.

Chris Darby, from the National Space Centre, talked about Video conferencing, fully engaging students and space toilets.

The morning session was a whirlwind of inspirational speakers and amazing projects. This is really just a quick and dirty post. I will do a full post when I have had a chance to digest all the excellent ideas, experiments, discussions, and questions about future directions of digital learning.  There is a lot to think about!