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Ashley Naranjo

Education and Outreach Strategist
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Staff

Ashley Naranjo, M.Ed. is a museum educator, specializing in the use of digital resources for teaching and learning. She currently manages distance learning initiatives and education partnerships for the Smithsonian. Portfolio highlights have included: the Smithsonian Quests digital badging program, Smithsonian Online Education Conferences, Smithsonian Learning Lab nationwide teacher professional development, Teachers of the Year programming at the Smithsonian, “Explore with Smithsonian Experts” video series, and Smithsonian print publication guides.

Before coming to the Smithsonian, she has had experiences in education in both formal and informal learning spaces: as an ESOL instructor for adults, a middle school teacher in the humanities and a summer programs administrator. She holds a B.A. in Human Development (Developmental Psychology) from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, where she was a research assistant and independent study student in the Laboratory of Thinking, Learning & Cognition in the Arts. She completed a M.Ed. in Learning Design and Technology from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, with a thesis entitled, “Using Digital Museum Resources in the Classroom”. She is a 2019 graduate of the Getty Leadership Institute’s NextGen of Museum Leaders program.

Ashley Naranjo's collections

 

Student Activity: Clean Water Act Conservation Campaigner

In this student activity, you'll investigate human interaction with the natural world and discover ways to address global environmental concerns. It includes an archived interview with an expert, as well as an interactive timeline from the Environmental Protection Agency and steps that every citizen can take to be more environmentally aware.
Ashley Naranjo
8
 

American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges

This collection features the Smithsonian website “American Indian Responses to Environmental Challenges” which includes videos, personal accounts, and discussions of strategies for maintaining water resources. It also includes an archived webinar featuring Smithsonian experts and case studies of specific nations including the Campo Kumeyaay Nation, the Leech Lake Ojibwe, and the Lummi Nation, as well as the environmental challenges they face. A Smithsonian Magazine article provides further information about a real-world challenge that the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe are experiencing today.
Ashley Naranjo
4
 

What Makes You Say That?: Interpretation with Justification Routine with a Historical Photograph

This collection uses the Harvard Project Zero Visible Thinking routine, highlighting interpretation with justification. The strategy is paired with a photograph from the National Portrait Gallery. Once you have examined the photograph and answered the questions, view the original resource and the short video with a curator to check and see if your interpretation was correct. How does viewing the photograph with the museum label change your interpretation? Suggestions for teachers regarding visual clues for this image are in the "Notes to Other Users" section.
Ashley Naranjo
3
 

The Brown Sisters: Forty Years in Forty Portraits

This collection includes a unique series of portraits of four sisters. Every year, for forty years, one of the sisters' husbands captured the four women in a black and white photograph. A New York Times article introduces the project, paired with the forty photographs and some discussion questions considering elements of portraiture that are captured in these images.
Ashley Naranjo
43
 

Objects that Changed the Way We Live

In this collection, we'll explore everyday objects and their impacts on society. Students can begin by reading an illustrated essay from the National Museum of American History highlighting objects that capture several pivotal moments in innovation. Included in this collection are the clock, the iPod, the bicycle and the cellular phone. What other objects have changed the way we lived?
Ashley Naranjo
11
 

Student Activity: Curious Curator

In this student activity, you’ll pick an object to represent your family history, the history of your community, or your own personal history. You will study the object as a museum curator would study it—as an artifact, an object with historical importance. You will first document the object in photographs, as museum curators usually do. Then you will write a label for the object, as if it were a piece on display in a museum. Finally, you will try to “think” like your object. You will write a story from the object’s point of view—as if the object itself were speaking. You might be surprised by what it says!
Ashley Naranjo
7
 

Aral Sea: Exploring Change Over Time with Satellite Imagery

This teaching collection includes maps and satellite images, complemented by image interpretation guides and related magazine articles, for students to discover what natural causes and human impacts have had consequences for the Aral Sea. The Aral Sea has been a continuously shrinking body of water over the last 50 years after the rivers that fed into it were diverted by irrigation projects. Learn what you can discover by annotating change through satellite imagery.
Ashley Naranjo
17
 

Asian Pacific Americans in the Performing Arts

<p>This topical collection includes resources about Asian Pacific American actors, choreographers, spoken word poets, musicians, composers, comedians, filmmakers, and stage performers. The collection includes portraits, videos and articles. </p> <p>Teachers and students may use this collection as a springboard for classroom discussions about Asian Pacific American representation in the performing arts. This collection is not comprehensive, but rather provides a launching point for research and study.  </p> <p><em>This Smithsonian Learning Lab collection received Federal support from the Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. </em>  </p> <p>Keywords: entertainment, actress, magician, dancer, “Siamese twins”, entrepreneur, Moana, Mulan, Anna May Wong, Chinese American, George Takei, Japanese American, Michio Ito, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Korean American, Regie Cabico, Filipino American, Yo Yo Ma, Aziz Anzari, Mindy Kaling, Indian American, Bruce Lee </p> <p>#APA2018<br /></p>
Ashley Naranjo
60
 

World War II Homefront Posters

Using these wartime posters, students will identify the message of each poster. They will determine the effect of the posters on daily life and the way that average citizens were being called to action to help in the war effort. Finally, students should consider the following questions: Why was it important to have a united homefront during the war? What roles do these posters depict for Americans supporting the war? How did these posters affect opinions and actions during wartime?
Ashley Naranjo
11
 

Narrated Stories from Around the World

This topical collection includes fourteen narrated stories, many include visuals, as well. These stories could be used with young children to compare narrative arcs, identify key elements of storytelling, or simply for enjoyment of listening to short stories from around the world, including tales from the Chinese, Blackfoot, Ho Chunk, Cheyenne, Cree, Anikara, Iroquois, Painte, Popul Vuh, artist Romare Bearden's reimagined version of "Homer's Odyssey", Inka, Tlingit and Ghanaian (Asante, Ashanti).
Ashley Naranjo
15
 

National Letter Writing Day- December 7

Learning resource collection introducing some letters in the Smithsonian's collections to provide inspiration for celebrating National Letter Writing Day! Letters can be written for a number of purposes. Here, a few examples are explored including a professional inquiry, a condolence letter, opinion sharing and a love letter. You’ll have access to the transcript of the text, as well as the primary source. Highlight some key facts about each letter to determine its main idea and purpose, by answering some guiding questions.
Ashley Naranjo
8
 

Water-Related Hazards: Flooding

This topical collection includes resources about a water-related hazard, namely flooding. Includes global examples in images and video, including Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Al Uqsur, Egypt; Herkimer, NY; Manila; and Venice, Italy. The effects of the Great Flood of 1927 and the US Army Corps of Engineers' response with the Mississippi River are also included.
Ashley Naranjo
11