Abstract:

Over the last few years, there has been an increasing interest on the part of cultural institutions to develop a series of educational activities and initiatives. Informal arts education of this kind serves as dissemination and has great potential for attracting a wider audience to museums and cultural institutions, and for enhancing the user experience. It is also an educational practice that increases participation and innovation in learning on a wider societal level. Apart from in-house events and activities, cultural institutions have also moved into the digital realm, using the affordances of new technologies to expand the variety and potential of learning experiences. In addition to online collections and interactive real-time and virtual tours, there are a growing number of certified online courses on the world’s major MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) platforms, offered by leading Museums like the MoMa, Centre Pompidou and Museo Reina Sofia. These courses enable a growing audience of Lifelong Learners to discover specific aspects, or periods, of art and explore how best to engage with it.

This paper examines how the world’s leading cultural institutions are currently using digital technologies for the development and support of educational activities and offer, more specifically, an analysis of their online courses. It will then compare the national scenario in Italy with this global scenario. Italy is one of the richest countries in Europe in terms of its cultural heritage. The paper explores to what extent, and with what result, Italian museums have embraced digital transformation and integrated online and interactive experiences within their educational programmes.

Keywords:

Arts education, museums, e-learning, digitalization, MOOCs.