The Art of Collaboration and Virtual Learning

The Art of Collaboration and Virtual Learning A Look at the Creation & Implementation of Online High School Art Courses by the North Carolina Museum of Art & the North Carolina Virtual Public School

Š Katherine Ericson 2014

Contents:

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Partners in Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Quick Facts: North Carolina Virtual Public School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Quick Facts: North Carolina Museum of Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Collaboration & Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 The Think Tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Looking at the Power Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Funding and Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Reflections and Looking Ahead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Photography and Art Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 References and Resources . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Author Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Introduction

I have a long-held interest in art education environments outside of the traditional K-12 system, particularly in art museums.

North Carolina, is lucky enough to have a plethora of visual and performing arts organizations throughout the state, as well as a state Department of Cultural Resources. The North Carolina Museum of Art is a public, state owned art museum, with an extensive collection and a mission to connect and cater to a state-wide audience.

I am intrigued at the thought of an online studio art course. It seems to be a strange venue for artists who rely so heavily on the physicality of art-making and can raise a lot of questions on how the courses are actually executed. While the five courses designed by North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) and North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) utilize digital media and digital production, students also submit handcrafted work and the courses function not unlike a traditional studio art course.

My research into the five online courses examines the initiation and goals of the courses. I wanted to know why the North Carolina Museum of Art was designing

studio courses specifically for high school students at a time when most large art museums were designing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) or other mass educational courses in subjects like art history, art appreciation and art theory. As an online graduate student myself through the University of Florida, I realize and acknowledge the high level of commitment and autonomy needed to be successful in an online course. There isn’t a specific classroom to attend at a certain time, and there is rarely a face-to-face relationship with your instructor.

These online courses are not a one day workshop, or an event where one can passively observe. Students need to actively and regularly participate and complete real assignments that will be graded for an entire semester. For the courses to be successful it requires a lot of work for everyone involved; the students, the museum, and the teachers.

Online education for high school credit is an interesting method for a museum to utilize as a form of educational outreach and is worth investigating further.

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The case study provided information about the online courses developed by the North Carolina Museum of Art and North Carolina Virtual Public Schools. This information highlighted the causes and processes that resulted in specially designed online courses for high school students in North Carolina. NCMA and NCVPS have resourcefully combined their skills and knowledge to create courses that did not previously exist. I think that an understanding of how these courses were developed and how they currently function is integral to inspiring educators from all institutions to be open to new challenges and collaborations. Goals of the research were to consider how the relationship between museums and classrooms can be extended into a symbiotic digital learning environment.

These courses are not Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs. MOOCs generally cater to large audiences and are open for anyone to enroll and participate in as long as they have access to a computer and an internet connection. The primary purpose of MOOCs is to provide the student with personal or professional enrichment. Most are now free, and some provide a completion certificate. When so many high school students are stretched for time between academics, jobs, extracurricular activities, friends and family, the museum needed to provide an incentive and easy access for the teen audience they wished to engage in their programs.

These courses are a way for the museum to reach out to teenagers, a notoriously difficult age group, and provide an active demonstration of advocacy of the role of art in education. This study will hopefully provide inspiration for art museums around the country to take a more active role in widespread arts education through collaboration and partnerships in their state.

In the past, their brick and mortar locations confined museum outreach programs, but with the growth and utilization of online distance education, museum educators are able to share the museum with those who may not be able to visit regularly. Teenagers have been a challenging group to draw into a museum, but when you can make a museum part of their everyday experience, it becomes a just another classroom, a place they can identify with, and a place that becomes a newly encompassed realm of their personal reality – no matter where they live.

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Partners in Education A Brief Introduction to the Partnership Between the North Carolina Museum of Art and the North Carolina Virtual Public School

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The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) and North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) are both owned and operated by the state of North Carolina. The two organizations have become partners so that they may create and deliver five online art courses to high school students in North Carolina.

The collaboration allowed for both institutions to have a mutually beneficial relationship and create a unique educational experience for virtual learners. The NCMA has an exceptional reputation for educational programming and outreach in the state for North Carolina, and offers educational programs for toddlers, K-12 students, college students, adults, and teachers. NCVPS first began operating in 2007 and has since become the 2nd largest virtual public school in the country. Serving over 30,000 high school students annually, they are now piloting middle school courses and aim to provide students in North Carolina with a quality education and experience in virtual learning.

By building off one another’s strengths, the two institutions have collaborated through every step of the course design. Museums and schools have sustained working relationships with each other throughout the years. NCVPS is no stranger to educational partnerships, working to share the resources of the NC Museum of Life and Science, and the North Carolina State University Science House, however the NCMA is the only museum partner to actually design courses thus far.

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Quick Facts: North Carolina Virtual Public School North Carolina Virtual Public School was originally established under the

North Carolina e-Learning Commission in 2005, with the order to begin operations by June 30, 2007

North Carolina Virtual Public School (NCVPS) is part of the North Carolina Public School System. All NCVPS teachers must hold a Standard Professional II NC Teaching License, and 9-12 certification in their area of instruction. Teachers with 4+ years of experience are considered first during the hiring process.

33,217 The number of individual students who were enrolled in the 2012-2013 school year.

Students enrolled in North Carolina Virtual Public Schools, Department of Defense Schools, and schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs can all take NCVPS courses for

FREE

Private and homeschooled students in North Carolina may take classes offered by NCVPS, but are charged the following fees: $420 for a semester long course, $510 for a year-long course $310 for summer courses, and $640 for World Languages

In 2013 NCVPS courses had a pass rate of 82.07% and a 96.77% completion rate.

NCVPS offered 13 online art courses in 2013.

Of those courses, 5 were created in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Quick Facts: North Carolina Museum of Art

1947 The year the NCMA began.

The North Carolina Assembly appropriated $1 million for the purchase of works of art, making N.C. the first state in the Union to use public funds to buy art.

The NCMA is sited on a 164-acre park in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The museum has two buildings that total 308,300 square feet.

This includes the Education Wing in the East Building, which contains a 272-seat auditorium, a photography studio, and a 28,000 volume art reference library.

The annual operating budget from 2010-2011 was

$15.9 million The pilot course designed by the NCMA & NCVPS offered in Fall 2010 had only 60 students. The same course in the Spring 2013 semester had over 300 students enrolled.

Of that amount $5.7 million was appropriated by the state of North Carolina.

After 3 years of offering the courses, over 50% of N.C.'s counties have at least 1 student enrolled in the courses.

The NCMA’s collection spans over 5,000 years, from Ancient Egypt to the present. Some notable artists in the collection include: Clause Monet, Louise Nevelson, Raphael, Botticelli, Georgia O’Keeffe, Winslow Homer, Gerhard Richter and Kehinde Wiley.

In 2005 the North Carolina Museum of Art received a gift of 29 Auguste Rodin sculptures from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.

This gift gave the NCMA the largest collection of Rodin sculptures in the American South.

Communication When the museum and virtual school decided to collaborate to create these courses in only five years, it was asking for a great deal from both institutions. Collaborations are not easy or quick, and if it is a long-term collaboration, it takes a lot of work to maintain a healthy and mutually beneficial relationship between two institutions.

It was a priority to create a designated liaison that had the responsibility of creating an atmosphere of transparency and trust between the two organizations. The current Teen and College Programs Coordinator recalls the importance of each institution having a designated liasion by noting some of the early struggles, “Passing it off and sometimes not being responsive, you loose a sense of trust and collaboration very early on.�

Being able to address any problems quickly and effectively proved to be instrumental in maintaining a long-running and successful partnerhsip.

Communication and transparency in the design process are what have made the collaboration successful and ultimately produce a unique product. Currently the NCMA Teen and College Programs Coordinator, and the NCVPS Art Department Chair are the two individuals spearheading the project and serve as the representatives from each institution that remain in constant contact with one another.

& Collaboration

North Carolina Virtual Public School and North Carolina Museum of Art have strived to create a harmonious working relationship with one another in order to benefit the high school students of North Carolina. Current museum educators note that the open communication and the collaboration has helped the online courses remain challenging, yet realistic in their goals.

Inspired in part by the North Carolina Virtual Public School’s electronic Learning Communities, that utilize NCVPS’s own teachers as editors on course curriculum, the museum and virtual school established think tanks and a professional learning community. The think tanks, and professional learning communities were a way for the museum to bring in NCVPS educators, who had practical first-hand knowledge of what projects or methods worked well in a virtual classroom, and what aspects of the course students may struggle with. Teachers are now an integral part of the revision process. The museum and NCVPS host the course curriculum using GoogleDocs, and all revisions can be seen and altered by all members of the group, maintaining a sense of transparent communication amongst the collaborative team.

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The Think Tank What skills are required to be a game designer? Where do fashion designers get their inspiration? Which artworks really connect with an Advertising curriculum?

NCMA museum educators felt the best way to answer these questions was to bring in the experts.

The Art of Game Design Think Tank at the North Carolina Museum of Art

“Think tank members were also selected as subject matter experts – those working professionally in the particular field or teaching the subject at the higher ed level.” -NCVPS Art Department Chair

The Art of Game Design Think Tank at the North Carolina Museum of Art

The museum organized think tanks to brainstorm material to cover in the courses. These think tanks usually consisted of museum representatives, working professionals in the field, professors, and classroom teachers.

The Teen and College Programs Coordinator invited these individuals to the museum; and selected participants who expressed interest and who she felt would be invested in the project. Recruitment and scouting for participants began six to nine months prior to a meeting date. Think tanks would usually last for more than one day, and included presentations from participants, curators, educators, and interns. Sorting through large amounts of information and materials, participants were given the challenge of deciding what information was considered the most important and most relevant. They were asked to strip down all of the information they had into concise and basic terms, attempting to answer the question: “What are the most important things someone should learn about _______.”

Another aspect of the Think Tank included selecting which works of art in the museum’s collection would be used for reference in the courses. A museum intern would select sixty to eighty works of art from the museum’s collection that would relate to the topic for the think tank to examine, and eventually match a work of art with the key concepts for the course. Using the Power Standards (see page 16) and the advice of experts, the course content would began to take shape.

POWER STANDAR

Taking a Look at the Power Standards The Power Standards are a method for the prioritization of material and aid in the determinization of the most important information for the purpose of curriculum design.

North Carolina Museum of Art Teen and College Programs Coordinator and North Carolina Virtual Public School Art Department Chair used the Power Standards and North Carolina Essential Standards as guidelines for designing content for the online art courses.

The concept of Power Standards were pioneered by Douglas B. Reeves Ph.D. and Larry Ainsworth M.S., as a easily aplicable process that any school district in the country could adapt and forumalte their own criteria. This aspect is what made the Power Standards an attractive option for the NCMA and NCVPS and their statewide courses.

3 Guidelines of Curriculum Planning Using the Power Standards

Endurance: focuses on knowledge and skills that will be relevant throughout a student’s lifetime.

Leverage: standards that focus on knowledge and skills used in multiple academic disciplines.

Readiness for the Next Level of Learning: building the knowledge and skills necessary for students to succeed in the next grade level or the next sequential course in an academic subject (Ainsworth, L. 2003, p.15)

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Funding & Costs

For the North Carolina Museum of Art and North Carolina Virtual Public School, taking on a project this large required substantial financial resources.

The online art courses were funded through a five-year, $5 million grant.

The grant was originally provided by Wachovia, a North Carolina based banking corporation, which has since been acquired and absorbed by Wells Fargo, another financial corporation.

The original goals of the grant were to increase the teen audience for the museum, aid the museum in its goals of serving a statewide audience, and allowing NCMA to build on the success of NCVPS. These courses, as well as supplemental programming was funded primarily through the Wells Fargo grant.

NCMA does not charge students to take an online course, and the museum’s galleries that house the permanent collection are free of charge to the public. The museum relies on grant funding to sustain and grow the online courses. Any money paid to NCVPS from homeschooled, privately educated, or out-of-state students does not go toward the museum’s costs.

The grant has provided the museum with funds for:

Actual Costs & Operations

The grant provides approximately $200,000 per year, but NCMA educators also receive an additional $50,000 a year from endowments, small gifts, and occasional funding from exhibitions.

3 Full-Time Museum Staff An Advisory Panel and Think Tank The Learning Management System (LMS) “In-House” Revisions by NCVPS Teachers and NCMA Staff Heuristic Evaluations Performed by an External Provider Contract Employees responsible for: Designing Graphics Video Production Additional Course Writing Supplemental Programs

The Courses

Over the course of five years, five online art courses were developed, revised, evaluated by the North Carolina Museum of Art, and made available to high school students through the North Carolina Virtual Public School, serving as a method to reach out to teens across North Carolina.

The online courses contain a blend of theory and practice. The goals were to create an integrative approach to learning, where students learned history, theory, made connections to existing works of art through the curriculum, and applied this knowledge to their artistic projects. The courses exist as studio classes, with art making being the main focus. However the online courses also aim to effectively provide students with skills that they can take into the work force or a higher education program. Theory, history, critical thinking and practical application are all emphasized and the students must demonstrate their understanding of these connections and theories through their artwork.

Each course is broken up into modules, which focus on different aspects of the subject matter, and continuously build upon the information learned in the prior module. For example, in the Art of Game Design course each module contains six sections that contain artistic assignments, conversational assignments and readings.

An Example of the Six Sections Are: 1. Preview - a summary of the module 2. Explore - handouts, readings & key concepts 3. Connect - artwork from the NCMA collection 4. Create - art making assignment 5. Imagine - optional extra credit 6. Review- accumulation of module

“It isn’t just art for art’s sake.

We didn’t set out to just make studio courses. Making, creating and producing are powerful paths to deeper learning and understanding.”

Students are required to participate in several forums or blogs throughout the week by posting a response to a prompt, and then commenting on a minimum of two classmates’ posts. Student produced critiques and comments are required to use legitimate and useful language, and contain multiple sentences that can spark a discussion if the student is to receive credit for their work. The courses each have a collaborative project where students from across the state work with one another collaboratively to create group projects.

In general, the coursework can be completed any time of day, but the students do have Live Virtual Class sessions weekly. Live Virtual Class sessions are meetings lasting an average of thirty to forty-five minutes between the instructor and the class. The live weekly class sessions are used a tool to further engage the students in the subject matter, inspire conversation amongst students, and provide the class with an opportunity to ask the instructor any questions they may have.

The courses are user friendly and aim to engage the students in the coursework and with their fellow classmates. Through interaction, the students are able to build relationships with one another and engage in meaningful conversation about the module’s topic.

Course Descriptions The Courses designed by the North Carolina Museum of Art and North Carolina Virtual Public School are all art studio based courses, where the students learn fine art skills, art history and art theory, and their real world application. Listed below is overview of each course as it described in the North Carolina Virtual Public School catalogue.

Art of Photography Explore digital photography techniques and learn to enhance images with photo editing software in this studio-based class. Through weekly photography projects combined with critiques and class discussions, students will examine the technical aspects of their work and discuss the work in personal and meaningful ways.

Course topics will include composition, the elements and principles of design, and art history.

Art of Fashion In this course, students will explore the artistic process of fashion design and learn how design concepts evolve over time. Drawing on inspiration from prehistoric to contemporary fashion and art, they will learn to plan and create their own fashion designs. Students will be introduced to various types of patterns, fabrics, materials, and drawing techniques that will help develop the student’s vision as an emerging fashion designer.

Art of Game Design This multimedia course teaches the basic elements of designing digital (video) games and non-digital (board/card) games. Using works of art from the North Carolina Museum of Art as catalysts for learning, students will explore game purpose and structure as well as character and story development. Other topics will include the history of games, games from around the world, and troubleshooting common obstacles in game design.

Art of Fashion Student designs on display at NCMA

Art of Advertising Art of Videography In this class students get hands-on experience developing, producing, and editing videos. Working collaboratively and individually to hone their skills as a videographer, scriptwriter, director and storyteller. Drawing on inspiration from the collection at the North Carolina Museum of Art, students will also develop creative and critical thinking skills as they engage with influential works of art.

How does advertising influence our behavior? In this course, students will learn about creative concepts, visual design, psychology, and other advertising basics—all of which are important aspects in communicating a message and selling a product. Class projects include designing magazine and billboard ads, photography, product packaging, and a final project in which students create an ad campaign.

Use this class to build a portfolio and learn persuasive skills that every ad designer should know.

Technology Requirements The North Carolina Virtual Public School recommends students have up-to-date browsers and operating systems, Media players, Adobe, Java, a word processing Office suite, an internet connection with a speed of at least 1.5 MB, and a minimum of 512 MB RAM, and 10 MB free hard drive space. Printers, cameras, and scanners are also recommended, Although the North Carolina Museum of Art does have a camera loan program for students enrolled in the photography course.

The materials listed below are any additional materials aside from studio supplies that the students must have in order to take the online course.

Art of Photography + Storage medium (16G or larger) + Digital Camera or Scanner + Access to Microsoft Office Word & PowerPoint, or open-source Open Office + Firefox + Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements + Free, open source software such as GIMP + Graphic Design software: Adobe InDesign, MS Publisher, or SCRIBUS

Art of Advertising + Digital Camera or Scanner + Storage medium (16G or larger) + Microsoft Office Word and PowerPoint or Open Office + Firefox or Safari web browser + Graphic Design software: Adobe InDesign, MS Publisher, or SCRIBUS

Art of Game Design +A reasonably recent computer or laptop with Internet access +A storage medium such as 16G or larger memory cards, external hard drive and/or sufficient space on computer hard drive to save video files.

Art of Fashion +A reasonably recent computer or laptop with Internet access +A storage medium such as 16G or larger memory cards external hard drive

Art of Videography + A DV camcorder or flip cam & firewire cable (IEEE 1394)/ USB cable + FireWire/USB port. + An external or internal hard drive + Space in a file on your school's server +Access to an editing program (Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere Elements 8, Pinnacle Studio etc.) + Optional: Web Cam +Video Editing Software

Reflections & Looking Ahead What has the project between the North Carolina Museum of Art and the North Carolina Virtual Public School accomplished - and what are the plans for the future?

The Courses had Enrollees from over 78 of the 100 Counties in North Carolina One of the initial goals of the museum in the online course development was to be able to provide educational programming to teens in rural and distant counties who would not normally have access to the NCMA. Since the courses were first offered in the 2010-2011 school year, 1,737 total students have participated in the online courses offered through NCVPS. Over 2,500 students have participated in both the courses and related programs like workshops and residencies at the museum.

Expanding into Middle School Online Art Courses

Collaboration with Experts was a Constant Tool Used for the Design and Implementation of the Online Art Courses The North Carolina Museum of Art relied on North Carolina Virtual public School and their established pool of North Carolinian teenagers, and without the museum’s extensive work by their staff and contracted educators there would be no way the courses could exist in the same manner in which they do today. The collaborative practices included Think Tanks, transparent and constant communication, multiple evaluations and the invitation of outside experts. Working collaboratively and crossinstitutionally is not an easy task; measures must be put into place to ensure success and mutual respect. Clear, concise, and transparent communication allowed the team working on the online art courses to be comfortable with sharing ideas and voicing their opinions on how the courses should be constructed and what should and should not be included.

The state of North Carolina has recently announced that beginning with the 6th grade class of 2014-15 students will be required to complete an online learning class as a high school graduation requirement. NCVPS piloted a middle course in Spring 2014, and the NCMA plans to create an online course for 8th graders following the results from NCVPS’s pilot.

How Sustainable are the Online Art Courses?

The five online art courses were funded through a five-year grant. The challenge many museums face is funding and how they can procure it to maintain a high level of programming and operations. The unfortunate reality with grants is that they exist as a limited amount of money for a limited amount of time. When the funds and designated time span run out, a museum is left looking for a way to compensate for the sudden gaping void in their budget. The courses as they exist today could operate for a while, but would ultimately need to be refunded, revised and updated to keep pace with the growth of the fields and technology.

The unanswered questions as of now are if the museum will be willing to reallocate their funds to create permanent positions or funding for the project, or if they will still need to rely on outside funding opportunities such as grants, gifts, and endowments. Dedicated and consistent staffing has proved integral, and without those passionate educators, the course quality would likely suffer in the future.

Photography and Art Credits After the Mona Lisa 2, 2005, Devorah Sperber. Gift of the North Carolina Museum of Art Contemporaries.

Permanent Collection of NCMA

Congregation, 2003-2008, Ledelle Moe. Purchased with funds from the North Carolina Museum of Art Docents.

Permanent Collection of NCMA

Photograph by K. Ericson, 2011

Photograph by K. Ericson, 2013

Sound Suit (Detail), 2011, Nick Cave.

Currently on display at the NCMA. Photograph by K. Ericson, 2014

Judith and Holofernes, 2012, Kehinde Wiley, Purchased with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon in honor of Dr. Emily Farnham and with funds from Peggy Guggenheim.

Permanent Collection of NCMA Photograph by K. Ericson 2014

NCMA Teen Photography Residency, 2013. Retrieved from NCMA Flickr with permission from M. Harrell.

Photograph by Karen Malinofski

The Three Shades, 1901, Auguste Rodin. Gift of the Iris and Gerald Cantor Foundation, 2009.

Permanent Collection of NCMA Photograph by K. Ericson, 2011

Askew, 2009, Roxy Paine. Gift in honor of Julia Jones Daniels.

Permanent Collection of NCMA. Photography by K. Ericson, 2014

Photo of Game Design Think Tank, provided by M. Harrell, retrieved 2014

Lines that Link Humanity, 2008, El Anatsui. Gift of Barbara and Sam Wells.

Permanent Collection of NCMA Photograph by K. Ericson, 2014

Photo of Game Design Think Tank, provided by M. Harrell, retrieved 2014

Doors of Jerusalem I, II, & III, 2006, Jaume Plensa. Gift of James Goodmon and Captial Broadcasting Company. Permanent Collection at NCMA. Photograph by K. Ericson, 2013

Ogromna, 2009, Ursula von Rydingsvard. Commissioned with funds from the North Carolina State Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest).

Permanent Collection of NCMA Photography by K. Ericson,

Raqqa II, 1970, Frank Phillip Stella.

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Hanes.

Permanent Collection at NCMA.

Black Zag, 1977, Louise Nevelson.

Purchased with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina State Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest) Photograph by K. Ericson, 2013

Photograph of the NCMA interior, West Wing. Spring 2014.

Photograph by K. Ericson, 2014

NCMA Teen Photography Residency, 2013.

Retrieved from NCMA Flickr with permission from M. Harrell.

Photography by Karen Malinofski

Photograph of Art of Fashion Student work Exhibition. Education Wing, NCMA, Spring 2014.

Photograph by K. Ericson 2014

Sound Suit, 2011, Nick Cave.

Currently on display at the NCMA. Photograph by K. Ericson, 2014

Forest for the Chairs, 2013, Tom Shields. Installation piece Currently on display at NCMA. Photograph by K. Ericson 2014

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Resources & References Matthewson-Mitchell, D. (2008) Exploring alternative pedagogical terrain: Teaching and learning in art museums. International Journal of Pedagogies & Learning, 4(5), 74-89. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/docview/215871601 Pylypiw, D. (2014, February 12). Email interview Rothbauer, P. M. (2008). Triangulation. In L. M. Given (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods (pp. 893-895). Retrieved December 1, 2013, from http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n468 Shank, P., (2007), The online learning idea book: 95 Proven ways to enhance technology-based and blended learning. San Fransisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc./Pfeiffer.

Sumner, J. (2000). Serving the system: A critical history of distance education.

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Tewell, C. (2014, March 6). Personal Interview Werner, P. D. (2011). Effects of synchronous lessons on students in an asynchronous online art course. (Order No. 3514911, University of Florida). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 143. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1018710515?accountid=10920.

(1018710515).

About the Author Katherine (Katie) Ericson created this documentation of her research while she was a student at the University of Florida pursing her M.A. in Art Education. She completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Art Management from Appalachian State University in North Carolina, in a traditional classroom environment. Her interest in online distance education stems from her personal experience earning a graduate degree in the arts online.

Katie previously worked as an Arts Counselor in an after school program in Durham, North Carolina, at a school that focuses on child-directed, projectbased learning, with a special emphasis on arts integration. In the past she has worked in museum exhibitions at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, North Carolina, and interned with the Family Programs Coordinator at the Mint Museum.

Working in alternative educational sites has given her an appreciation of place and collaboration, and how the arts can be utilized to strengthen these assets within the community. She is currently working as the 2014-2015 GlaxoSmithKline Youth and Family Programs Education Fellow at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Piloting new educational programs, evaluating visitor feedback and assisting with the implementation of existing programs, Katie is excited to expand on educational programming and materials for early learners and their caregivers at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

Š Katherine Ericson