Beta testing the AHTR site
Introducing Art History Teaching Resources
Ever wondered how to teach a survey chapter on the artistic output of a whole country or continent in one lecture and begun to silently cry? Us too. So we created AHTR. We’re so excited to finally share it with others through a beta testing process!
The blog section on the AHTR site is a discussion forum for general questions, requests for material, or feedback. This first post is dedicated to the beta-testing of the site. The site is no longer “ours” (we’ve been building it slowly for a long while – read about its genesis here) but “all of ours.”
On a frequent basis, guest bloggers will be invited to post on a range of teaching and pedagogy-related topics, from which discussions will spark. You can be one of these guest bloggers if you’d like to suggest a topic, or you can suggest people you’d like to hear from.
Beta testers, please leave your feedback below in the comments section, or on the individual pages devoted to content areas. Be as honest, detailed, and solution-oriented as possible! A non-exhaustive list of possible feedback areas:
What needs work?
What is missing?
What is there too much of?
How should the lesson plans be organized? You’ll see some are based on a template and some have no template at all (we decided not to impose one until it had been beta tested). What works?
What other resources exist out there like this? We need to link to existing content rather than repeat it.
We’re developing this site on Omeka, so it will eventually be less linear (ie. Stokstad/Gardner in orientation) and can be searched thematically like a museum catalog or database. Should we bother?
What is just plain wrong? (If you spot errors in lesson plans, let us know).
Do you have materials to share? If so, can you figure out the mechanism for sending them in, or is it too difficult/not transparent enough?
Is this model of sharing inherently flawed – should we be fighting against the art history survey/collaborating on undergrad teaching in art history in a different way?
Looking forward to a productive discussion…..
Why is some of your content password protected?
This is up for debate Nancy. Do you think it should be password protected? We assumed that teachers will feel more comfortable sharing with their peers if they know that the community really is only them, and their materials aren’t being shared with, for example, students. It also means that the PPTs etc have a password on them which makes them safer (I think) under fair use guidelines. However, this is our assumption. Are we totally wrong? Should there be no password? Which students will want to rake through teaching notes anyway, right? Your feedback on this would be much appreciated.