If you love museums as well as challenging your students to think and learn “outside the box”, then Museum Box is the perfect Web 2.0 for you! In much the same way an actual museum displays objects showcasing an event, person and/or historical period of time, Museum Box provides the tools—text, images, links, audio and video—to build a description or argument about a selected topic by placing items in a “virtual box”.

Check out the Museum Box interface shown in the image below. Imagine using this format for student autobiographies. What items would they include in a box that described their lives? How about biographies? What information would be placed in a box about Abraham Lincoln? Or if a student lived during the Civil War, what evidence could they create for or against slavery? With Museum Box, the possibilities are endless!

Classroom Connection:

Museum Box is a cross curricular tool that is particularly useful in areas in which students have to assess, investigate or debate issues and/or explore and develop ideas. Teachers can even utilize Museum Box to create classroom materials (introductory information, chapter reviews, etc.) Additionally, Museum Box provides an excellent opportunity for integrating information and communication technologies into the classroom.

Need some additional suggestions to help get you acquainted with this fantastic digital tool? Museum Box provides users with a number of documents on their Teachers’ Resources page, so be sure to check them out!  There are also some really cool sample projects located in the Museum Box Gallery:

» Thomas Clarkson
» Vincent Van Gogh
» Modern Art
» Science Review (A teacher created example)

Museum Box is just a few clicks away… So, what are you waiting for?

Note: Museum Box is a free service; however, in order to use this tool, teachers need to register their school and/or district. Once a submission is verified by an administrator (a process that occurs via email within 24 hours to five days), teachers can create student
user accounts which can be accessed at school and/or at home.  Students can also present and share their ideas with others.

Thanks to Simple K-12/I ♥ Ed Tech blog for sharing this “cool tool”!