Dear Nick (I do apologise to everyone, I don't know how to email you offlist)

A tiny charity of which I'm a trustee has just started a programme to encourage use of visitors' own mobiles etc to access collections - especially for those suffering from communications disabilities. I'm not sure whether that is the sort of thing you are interested in as we will be working with museums rather than being a collections-manager ourselves.

Here's our boiled-down announcement in case of interest.

Annette

i-muse
a programme to enhance the enjoyment and educational value of museums
for people with communications disabilities

Museums are wonderful resources for both formal and informal learning. They provide rich possibilities for group projects and family visits. Even more excitingly, with the right aids, everyone can explore the collections at their own pace, in ways chosen by them and suitable for their individual interests and abilities.

Mobile phones, e-book readers and tablet computers have opened up some brilliant possibilities for people with communication disabilities. They can read text, convert it to symbols, recognize objects and guide you around. Museums can tell stories, create trails and present their collections in many different ways.

Children can take photos, record their thoughts and create pictures combining museum objects and their own drawings. They can communicate their excitement to teachers and their families. All this using familiar things which are the same as their non-disabled friends’, but in ways that suit them - it’s a truly inclusive approach.

The communications-disability charity, Access-Ability Communications Technology, is creating a new programme, i-muse. Its aim is to enable museums, particularly those of modest size, to encourage participation by people with communication disabilities using their own mobile devices.

Reading, UK, May 2011
Contact: Annette Haworth
[log in to unmask]
www.i-muse.aact.org.uk


________________________________________
From: Museums Computer Group [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Nick Poole [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 06 May 2011 13:55
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Call for information about current projects

Dear MCGers,

As part of our ongoing development of the Collections Trust Partners Scheme, we are going to be issuing a mailing next week to several thousand technology-sector companies in the UK.

We'd like to use this as an opportunity to highlight current work in the sector. If you have anything you are currently working on - new projects, tenders or developments - which you would like to highlight please could you email me offlist with up to 200 words and ideally a link or contact for further info. Deadline is end of the day on Monday.

With thanks and best regards,

Nick


Nick Poole
CEO
Collections Trust

www.collectionstrust.org.uk

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