The Reticulum Project was set up as a partnership between The Museum of Antiquities at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and the First Schools in Blyth Valley, Northumberland. It started as a one-year project in May 2000, using funding made available by the then Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) as part of the Museums and Galleries Education Programme (MGEP). Our aim was to encourage children to develop a greater understanding of life in the North of England during the Roman period.
This particular emphasis was chosen not only to allow us to exploit the Museum's collection fully, but also because there is an imbalance in favour of Southern Britain in the information available to children and teachers about the Roman period. We hoped that through the use of information technology, the resources of the Museum and 'hands-on' experience children would develop a broader appreciation of their local heritage.
The anticipated outcome of the Project was a CD-ROM with accompanying book, and a complementary Website which, with a Teacher's Pack, would help to disseminate the Project to a wider audience. Although the Project has been embedded in the English education system there is a commonality in the needs of the educator and his audience, irrespective of the local circumstances. The process, formal or informal, presumes that the educator has an element of knowledge to communicate. The framework and location within which this transaction takes place creates its own agenda whether ideological, geographical or political. This article aims to give an overview of the processes involved in the creation of this Project as well as to highlight some of the principles we have learnt from it and to draw attention to some of the pitfalls we have encountered.
Last updated: Tue Aug 20 2002
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