By: Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology

We’ve been hard at work building new features and fixes to enhance your experience using the Smithsonian Learning Lab, and we are excited to share our latest updates with you!

Today, you’ll find a new type of resource that we hope will expand the ways that you use museums for learning: 3D Resources. You can find more information about this new resource type and our other updates below.

Don’t forget – our Help Center is here to support you in using the Lab with step-by-step instructions on how to discover, create, and share!

We focus our improvements and new features on what would be most helpful to users like you, so please keep sharing your suggestions with us.

New Features

1. 3D resources launched. This update enables you to discover and use 3D models of objects and places. When viewing a resource that has a 3D model attached to it, such as this Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 Pressure Suit, click the “View 3D” button in the lower left to view the 3D model. Users can also download 3D objects by clicking the “Download” button while viewing the 3D model.
   • Want to find 3D resources? Use our new 3D media type filter in your searches!

Thumbnails

1. The thumbnail for all previously created collections has been set to the first resource in the collection. As shared in our last update, you can change the thumbnail of a collection by:
   1. Entering edit mode in one of your Learning Lab collections
   2. Clicking the “Edit Info” button, then selecting the “Thumbnail” tab and following the prompts

2. Users can now create a unique Canvas to appear as their collection thumbnail. This thumbnail can be continuously edited. You can create a Canvas thumbnail by:
   1. Entering edit mode in one of your Learning Lab collections
   2. Clicking the “Edit Info” button, then selecting the “Thumbnail” tab
   3. Clicking the “Create Thumbnail” button and following the prompts

3. Users can now select any collection resource to appear as the collection thumbnail.

Canvas

1. Newly created Canvases are now added to a user’s “My Resources” alongside previously uploaded resources.”

2. The color of the free drawing tool has been updated to appear on black Canvases.

3. Fixed error where text changes were not saved.

4. Fixed error where text would change location when saved.

General Fixes

1. Fixed thumbnails for images uploaded via URL.

2. Fixed thumbnails for video resources.

3. Fixed thumbnails for .mp3 files uploaded via URL.

4. Fixed issue affecting the frame size of resources embedded in external websites.

5. Fixed error that prevented users from adding numbered or bulleted lists to collection descriptions.

6. Fixed error associated with Google and Facebook account registration.

7. Fixed navigation issue with Group Profile Pages on small screens.

Image: Machinery (Abstract #2), by Paul Kelpe
The shadowed worker in this painting appears to be controlling the structure, suggesting man's essential role in industry and his ability to create massive, powerful machines. During the Depression, many artists celebrated human achievements in this way, to emphasize the importance of the working class and to boost morale. In 1934, Paul Kelpe worked for the Public Works of Art Project. The program did not accept abstract art, so he incorporated realistic elements such as figures, wheels, and buildings into his compositions. These images were still not "representational enough," however, and he soon gave up trying to please his bosses.
Smithsonian American Art Museum