English professor Mary Theresa Seig helped produce an interactive DVD that won the 2007 Silver Muse Award, given by the American Association of Museums media and technology committee.
The DVD, "Opening Doors to Great Guest Experiences," features the educational philosophy, theory and practice of museums.
Muse Awards are given to media programs produced for museums. To be considered for the award, projects must show outstanding achievement in content, visual design, production quality, functionality, appropriate use of technology and overall appeal, according to the Muse awards Web site. Muse Awards have been given for 18 years, Jack Ludden, committee treasurer for the American Association of Museums media and technology committee, said.
"I am glad that the DVD received the award," Seig said. "It has gained national attention."
Funding for the production of the DVD was provided through an approximately $140,000 grant from the Institute of Library of Museums and Library Services in 2003.
Over the span of three years, production material for the DVD was gathered and the development and design was implemented.
"We worked in three phases, which each took about a year to complete," Seig said.
The first year was spent gathering data by recording museum visitors' conversations with the workers to see how they learn. The second phase, development, included analyzing the data and coming up with what worked best.
"We tried to use material that would be most helpful during training," Seig said, adding that the development phase also involved compiling ideas into one.
The final phase was the production phase, which was overseen by Creative Media Group, a crew of professionals who broadcast TV programming and interactive products.
"We gave the DVD consultant group our ideas, and they helped us to put them together so that we could present them on the DVD," Seig said.
"If something was wrong with the format, we would work with Creative Media so that it could be fixed," Seig said. "The final product proved to be award-winning,"
The DVD serves as a training tool for museums and other free-choice learning venues designed to help staff and volunteers actively involved in teaching guests through conversation.
The DVD is available for purchase on the Conner Prairie Museum Web site.
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