Chicago WebDocent: Bringing Museums to the Digital Classroom - On-line Content Management and Presentation System (CMAP)

This paper describes Chicago WebDocent Project's newly developed on-line Content Management and Presentation System (CMAP), a database-driven, Web-based curriculum production tool that facilitates the development of high-quality on-line materials through partnerships between Chicago Public School teachers and several Chicago museum collections. Using CMAP, teacher content-creators can outline and organize lessons via a Web-based interface by inserting lesson text and digitized museum media. Students who use the resultant Chicago WebDocent lessons engage museum content guided by a story-telling character (or docent). They read text, explore high-resolution images, watch video, listen to sounds, and learn through interactives. Students also have ready access to glossary terms and definitions with standard pronunciation symbols, audio pronunciation clips, and illustrative media all within a unified lesson interface.