What is MyLearning?
The MyLearning website is the national hub hosting free, national curriculum linked teaching resources created by museums, galleries, cultural and educational organisations from across England. Our content covers Key Stages 1,2, 3 and 4. Our mission is to get all the wonderful objects and the stories they hold out of museums and archives and into classrooms.
Who creates the content on MyLearning?
All the teaching resources are written by experts and edited by learning professionals. We benefit from the professional knowledge of museum and gallery curators, archivists and academics, and a range of professionals working in the cultural sector, and we share this with schools and educators free of charge. Content on the site has won multiple awards, including the prestigious Museums & Heritage Awards for ‘Educational Initiative of the Year’ in 2019.
Today, we continue to grow, currently hosting over 300 teaching resources from over 80 different cultural organisations.
Why should teachers use MyLearning for lesson planning?
We know that many teachers are teaching outside of their specialism and that they need trusted information at their fingertips. Because our content comes from museums, archives and other cultural organisations, we deal with real stories, real people and real objects, helping teachers to connect with their students in authentic ways. Our network of contributors means we can respond to the changing needs of teachers and the curriculum.
Each of our learning resources provides enough information to help teachers feel confident in the subject. On top of this we add high quality images, downloadable materials such as worksheets and power-points, audio, video and interactives, and discussion and activity ideas. These are editable, meaning that teachers and home educators can adapt them to match their teaching style and the needs of their pupils.
All the content on MyLearning can be accessed for free, but for those who choose to create an account, we offer a personalised home page with resources matched to chosen key stages and subjects. Creating an account also unlocks our digital ‘Workboards’ where teachers can ‘pin’ content from MyLearning on themed boards making it easy to find the content when they need it again. Additionally, these Workboards can be used to share content with colleagues, saving precious time, and with students for homework and research use. No account or sign-in is necessary to view a Workboard shared in this way.
What else sets MyLearning apart?
Despite being free to access, MyLearning contains no advertising or marketing. This means no annoying pop-ups, no ads interrupting the text and no click-bait. It also means we’re an excellent resource for students to use for research and homework.
Additionally, because we acknowledge the contributing organisation for each of our resources on the Teachers Notes page, teachers can directly contact an organisation if they want further information or to organise a workshop or visit.
What is the history of MyLearning?
MyLearning was launched in 2006 as a Renaissance Yorkshire Hub initiative to answer the need for high-quality and trusted teaching resources that could be used in classrooms. It is now the national hub, hosting resources contributed from cultural organisation from across England.
The website is funded by Arts Council England and managed on behalf of the cultural sector by Leeds Museums and Galleries.
How to Contact MyLearning
For queries and feedback, please use the Feedback Form. We’d love to hear from teachers about their experience of using MyLearning, any content they found particularly useful (or not!) and what content they would find useful to have access to.
If you are an arts, cultural or heritage organisation interested in hosting resources on MyLearning, please see the Contribute page for more information.