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Digital Museums

As life becomes increasingly digital, museums are seeking the best ways to make use of digital to improve and expand access to their unique offer. Our events provide practical advice on using digital in museums, as well as discussion about the creative technology space, future opportunities, and how to makeeffective use of these within the cultural environment.

To date ASPIRE has held three training workshops under the Digital Museums theme.

Living in the Digital World: Horizon Scanning for Museums

A panel of experts including Jon Pratty (Relationship Manager, Digital and Creative Economies, Arts Council South East); Kate Lindsay (Oxford University Computing Services Manager for Discovery and Engagement), Mia Ridge (leading commentator and expert on museums and digital) and Helen Bottomley (Development Officer, London, Heritage Lottery Fund) shared views and provocations to kick start a discussion on what digital means for museums and future directions.

Access top tips from our Digital event.

Museums and Social Media

This workshop provided an opportunity to develop an understanding of social media strategy, guidance on choosing the right social media platforms and techniques, and evaluating impact.

Speakers included: Kate Lindsay, Manager for Engagement in Academic IT Services, University of Oxford; Stephen Eyre, Teacher for the IT Learning Programme, University of Oxford; Liz McCarthy, Communications and Social Media Officer, Bodleian Libraries; Scott Billing, Communications Officer, Oxford University Museum of Natural History; Laura Ashby, Audience Development Officer, Museum of the History of Science.

Access top tips from our Social Media event.

Multimedia for Museums

This workshop looked creating multimedia using free tools, in particular developing audio content using Audacity and audio slide shows using Movie Maker. The workshop was delivered by Stephen Eyre, Oxford University IT Services, in partnership with Oxford ASPIRE.

Access top tips from our Multimedia for Museums event.

Copyright and Digitisation

It is the mission of most museums to provide greater public access to the collections in their care, and the advent of a digital society has opened up considerable new opportunities for achieving this goal. However, museums also have a responsibility to protect their collections against miss-use, and, in these difficult economic times, consider how these assets might be used to generate income to support the organisation. How can museums balance these duties?

Speakers: Naomi Korn, leading consultant with expertise in copyright, licensing, rights management and rights exploitation.

In Gallery Engagement: Digital vs Analogue

Computer interactives, augmented reality, video screens and touchtables, digital is increasingly occupying gallery space as a means of engaging audiences with museum content. Museums are experimenting with new technologies to capture audience interest and deliver deeper interpretation. But while the technology for delivering interactive engagement becomes more sophisticated, are the principles different to those of low-tech interactives such as handling collections, replica costumes and ‘lift-the-flap’ activities? Technology aside, how do digital interactives differ from their low-tech counterparts?

Read a round up of the event.

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