About the Project

• Vision
• Partners
• Learning Outcomes
• Credits

Vision

Part of the Illinois State Museum's vision is to remain at the forefront of technological advances in the delivery of cultural information to the public. At Home in the Heartland Online is an example of how the Museum is using its unique resources to advance public education through distance-learning technology.

Partners

This project is funded in part by Ameritech , telephone service provider to 11.1 million homes, 1 million businesses, and 4,000 communications/ information companies throughout Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. A strong proponent of distance-learning technology, Ameritech has been a leader in organizing, providing, and funding the development of online resources. Visit Ameritech's Schoolhouse (https://www.Ameritech.com/products/education/schoolhouse/) .

Through collaboration with the Illinois State Board of Education and classroom teachers, At Home in the Heartland Online integrates the objectives of school curricula at grade levels 3 - 12 for social studies and language arts within its overall framework and design.

Learning Outcomes

At Home in the Heartland Online provides a unique educational experience based on objects, stories, and activities relating to the people who have settled in the nation's heartland over the last 300 years. Highlights include:

• Integration of school-based curricula with original, interactive, virtual field trips to the Illinois State Museum
• Age-appropriate activities that enable students to understand why people make the choices they do and how these choices affect their own lives and the lives of others in their community
• Opportunities for students to access and study collections and archives to use as primary resources for their own reports.

Children utilizing At Home in the Heartland Online will benefit from:

• Enhanced conceptual and problem-solving skills
• Increased verbal- and nonverbal-communication skills
• Increased understanding of different cultures
• Increased knowledge of the historical and cultural development of Illinois

Project Director: Janice Tauer Wass (jwass@museum.state.il.us) Education Coordinator and Curriculum Writer: Laura C. Lewis (llewis@museum.state.il.us) Webmaster and Computer Specialist: John N. Lewis (john_lewis@woodberry.org) Graphic Design: Adam Strong, Second Street Creative Editor: Kimberly K. Britton (britton@museum.state.il.us) Teacher Advisory Committee: Sandy Bauer of Iles School, Springfield; Karen Coney of Stone Academy, Chicago; Jody Cooper of Quincy Lower School, Quincy; Mike Hatfill of Feishans Middle School, Springfield; and Jack Stanislaw of Wheeling High School, Wheeling. Schools involved in evaluation: East Prairie School, Tuscola; Central High School Academy of Technology, Champaign; Iles and Feishans schools, Springfield. Sponsor: Ameritech

This site was developed on a PowerMac 7500 32/1G and a PowerMac 6100 16/500 using BBEdit 4.02, Photoshop 3.05, Debabelizer 1.65, Illustrator 6.01.

Learn more about this exhibit as an Online educational resource

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© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96