Mobile, web-based tools for HE students on field trips
1. VisitScape
Mobile, web-based tools for
HE students on field trips
Giasemi Vavoula
University of Leicester
gv18@le.ac.uk
Funded by SPLiNT
Spatial Literacy in Teaching CETL
3. VisitScape
Background – The Curriculum
• School of Museum Studies
• Two campus-based MA programmes,
with 4+1 taught modules, 8-week placement module, and
dissertation module
• Sessions for each module include 1-2 study visits to UK
museums and galleries where students typically:
• Attend lectures by / discuss with venue staff
• Explore venue to analyse choices of objects, exhibits, designs,
space layout, lighting, interpretation methods, visitor
behaviour, etc.
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 305/10/10
4. VisitScape
Background – Module 4 Museums and Regeneration:
The Regeneration Game
• 3-week group work to develop a “strategic bid” portfolio for the
funding of a new capital development and/or programming for an
inadequately funded local authority museum.
• Taught sessions focus on skill development and the development
of an understanding of museums and regeneration.
• “The Regeneration Game aims to provide students with an
understanding of museums and the contemporary political
environment within which museums operate. It aims to equip
students with knowledge and skills which will enable them to be
strategic and pragmatic in their dealings with funders and
potential funders.”
• Assessment
• Group bid portfolio (50%)
• Individual oral presentation (50%)
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 405/10/10
5. VisitScape
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge Skills
• cultural, economic, social, and
political contexts of museums
• financial needs of museums for capital
development and programming
• funding sources for museums
• knowledge and understanding of theories
and debates in relation to ‘culture-
led’ regeneration
• knowledge and understanding of the
strategic development of funding bids
• developing and testing oral presentation
• working in an inter-disciplinary team
• developing and delivering a pitch
• advocacy
• writing a strategic document and
professional writing
• understanding and objectively
assessing a variety of different kinds
of material and making critical
judgements
• high level problem solving skills for
complex real-life problems
• personal and professional self-reflection
Background – Module 4 Museums and Regeneration:
The Regeneration Game
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 505/10/10
6. VisitScape
Activity Subject Tutor
Workshop Group project induction session Module tutor
Lecture Museums and regeneration Module tutor
Lecture Museums and regeneration Guest lecturer
Study visit ‘Culture-led’ Regeneration in
Birmingham
Module tutor
Small group workshops Study visit discussion and feedback Module tutor
Workshop Bid writing Module tutor
Briefing The museum’s needs Guest curator
Small group Surgeries with ‘Museum Committee’ Module tutor & Guest
curator
Workshop Presentation skills Module tutor &
Learning Centre rep
Background – Module 4 Museums and Regeneration:
The Regeneration Game
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 605/10/10
7. VisitScape
Activity Subject Tutor
Workshop Group project induction session Module tutor
Lecture Museums and regeneration Module tutor
Lecture Museums and regeneration Guest lecturer
Study visit ‘Culture-led’ Regeneration in
Birmingham
Module tutor
Small group workshops Study visit discussion and feedback Module tutor
Workshop Bid writing Module tutor
Briefing The museum’s needs Guest curator
Small group Surgeries with ‘Museum Committee’ Module tutor & Guest
curator
Workshop Presentation skills Module tutor &
Learning Centre rep
Background – Module 4 Museums and Regeneration:
The Regeneration Game
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 705/10/10
8. VisitScape
Background – What students want from a study visit
• Survey in 2008-09 with students and staff at the
School asked “How would you describe an ideal study
visit?” (open-ended question)
• Responses analysed as per descriptors used and
yielded a list of study visit attribute values
• Some could be paired as opposite values of one
attribute, e.g.
• Free-form vs. structured as values for
‘structuredness’
• Social vs. solitary as values for ‘sociability’
• Others could not be paired, e.g. ‘informative’, ‘well-
prepared’ and ‘inspiring’
• Conclusions:
• conceptions of an ideal study visit vary with
individuals when it comes to certain visit
attributes (some like it structured, some like it
free-form)
• Certain study visit attributes take values
somewhere in the middle (has a structure but also
allows for free-form exploration)
• There seems to be consensus about the values of
some study visit attributes (nobody wants an
uninspiring visit)
• List lends itself well to semantic-differential
questionnaire...
Attribute Attribute Values
Preparation Well-prepared ↔ Ill-prepared
Support Well supported ↔ Poorly supported
Informativeness Informative ↔ Uninformative
Inspiration Inspiring ↔ Uninspiring
Excitement Exciting ↔ Boring
Ease Challenging ↔ Trivial
Activeness Active ↔ Passive
Guidance Self-guided ↔ Prescribed
Safety Safe ↔ Precarious
Busyness Busy ↔ Leisurely
Calmness Calm ↔ Hectic
Execution Smoothly run ↔ Problematic
Resources Resource-rich ↔ Resource-bare
Pace Rushed ↔ Well-paced
Interestingness Interesting ↔ Uninteresting
Diversity Diverse ↔ Monotonous
Collaboration Individual work ↔ Group work
Relevance to course Course-relevant ↔ Course-irrelevant
Structuredness Free-form ↔ Structured
Novelty Novel ↔ Repetition
Sociability Social ↔ Solitary
Comfort Comfortable ↔ Tiresome
Enjoyment Fun ↔ Tedious
Engagement Engaging ↔ Disengaging
Grounded Theoretical ↔ Hands-on
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 805/10/10
9. VisitScape
Background – What students want from a study visit
• Survey in 2008-09 with students and staff at the
School asked “How would you describe an ideal study
visit?” (open-ended question)
• Responses analysed as per descriptors used and
yielded a list of study visit attribute values
• Some could be paired as opposite values of one
attribute, e.g.
• Free-form vs. structured as values for
‘structuredness’
• Social vs. solitary as values for ‘sociability’
• Others could not be paired, e.g. ‘informative’, ‘well-
prepared’ and ‘inspiring’
• Conclusions:
• conceptions of an ideal study visit vary with
individuals when it comes to certain visit
attributes (some like it structured, some like it
free-form)
• Certain study visit attributes take values
somewhere in the middle (has a structure but also
allows for free-form exploration)
• There seems to be consensus about the values of
some study visit attributes (nobody wants an
uninspiring visit)
• List lends itself well to semantic-differential
questionnaire for evaluating actual visits
Attribute Attribute Values
Preparation Well-prepared ↔ Ill-prepared
Support Well supported ↔ Poorly supported
Informativeness Informative ↔ Uninformative
..........
extremely very quite neither quite very extremely
Well-prepared □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Ill-prepared
Well supported □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Poorly supported
Informative □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Uninformative
Inspiring □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Uninspiring
Exciting □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Boring
Challenging □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Trivial
Active □ □ □ □ □ □ □ Passive
..................
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 905/10/10
10. VisitScape
Background – What students want from a study visit
• Survey in 2009-10 with students at the School
asked them to rate the relative importance of
these values for an ideal study visit
• Greyed (negative) values had to be left out
(expecting that ‘uninformative’ etc. would get
lowest rating)
• Used the below design:
Attribute Attribute Values
Preparation Well-prepared ↔ Ill-prepared
Support Well supported ↔ Poorly supported
Informativeness Informative ↔ Uninformative
Inspiration Inspiring ↔ Uninspiring
Excitement Exciting ↔ Boring
Ease Challenging ↔ Trivial
Activeness Active ↔ Passive
Guidance Self-guided ↔ Prescribed
Safety Safe ↔ Precarious
Busyness Busy ↔ Leisurely
Calmness Calm ↔ Hectic
Execution Smoothly run ↔ Problematic
Resources Resource-rich ↔ Resource-bare
Pace Rushed ↔ Well-paced
Interestingness Interesting ↔ Uninteresting
Diversity Diverse ↔ Monotonous
Collaboration Individual work ↔ Group work
Relevance to course Course-relevant ↔ Course-irrelevant
Structuredness Free-form ↔ Structured
Novelty Novel ↔ Repetition
Sociability Social ↔ Solitary
Comfort Comfortable ↔ Tiresome
Enjoyment Fun ↔ Tedious
Engagement Engaging ↔ Disengaging
Grounded Theoretical ↔ Hands-on
Well-prepared □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Well supported □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Informative □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Inspiring □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Exciting □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Challenging □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Active □ □ □ □ □ □ □
...........
On the block scale below, where the shortest block
represents least important and the tallest is most
important, please rate the importance of the following
attributes of an ideal study visit:
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1005/10/10
11. VisitScape
Background – What students want from a study visit
• Survey in 2009-10 with students at the School
asked them to rate the relative importance of
these values for an ideal study visit
• Greyed (negative) values had to be left out
(expecting that ‘uninformative’ etc. would get
lowest rating)
• Used the below design:
Attribute Attribute Values
Preparation Well-prepared ↔ Ill-prepared
Support Well supported ↔ Poorly supported
Informativeness Informative ↔ Uninformative
Inspiration Inspiring ↔ Uninspiring
Excitement Exciting ↔ Boring
Ease Challenging ↔ Trivial
Activeness Active ↔ Passive
..........
Well-prepared □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Well supported □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Informative □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Inspiring □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Exciting □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Challenging □ □ □ □ □ □ □
Active □ □ □ □ □ □ □
...........
On the block scale below, where the shortest block
represents least important and the tallest is most
important, please rate the importance of the following
attributes of an ideal study visit:
• Analysis problem: what does a rating of ‘7’ (most
importance) for both ‘free-form’ and ‘structured’
mean for structuredness?
• The person is placing equal importance on both
• So importance rating averages for each opposite pair
(x, y) were scaled add up to 8 using the formulas:
and
while for those pairs with omitted values (‘ill-
prepared’, ‘poorly supported’, etc.), each omitted
value was assigned the lowest importance rating of 1.
yx
x
x
*8
'
yx
y
y
*8
'
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1105/10/10
13. VisitScape
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
From the handout:
• “in order to understand museums ... we also need to understand how the museum,
its programmes, its architecture, its visitors are connected (or not) to its wider
cultural, economic and social context.”
• Physical environment
• Architectural statement about city’s civility, scientific advancement and creativity?
• Plaques revealing funding / function?
• Sculptures / memorials characterising the space?
• Cultural environment
• Museum programmes that involve particular communities?
• What kind of visitors does it attract because of its location?
• Social environment
• Does the city / area look prosperous or economically depressed?
• Are there new / old services around the museum?
• Are there lots of people in the area?
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1305/10/10
14. VisitScape
On this study visit you will become flâneurs. We will be taking a walking tour of parts of
central Birmingham and visiting two very different museums and a department store:
We will discuss your ‘findings’ at the study visit workshops so please ensure you take notes of
the clues that you find and your analysis of what they tell you about Birmingham. You will be
assisted by the prompt questions listed at the end of this document. You will find you get a lot
more out of this study visit if you consult some of the materials listed in the study visit
reading list on Blackboard.
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery was opened in 1885 and is located next to
Victoria and Chamberlain Squares originally opened in the 19th century but which
have undergone substantial refurbishment in the last 20 years.
• You will walk through Centenary Place, a part of the city which has focused on leisure
and cultural facilities to encourage regeneration of this part of the city centre.
• You will walk through Brindleyplace, another regenerated part of the city, here you
will visit Ikon Gallery which moved into its current building in 1998.
• You will then walk back to the Bullring, a recently developed shopping centre located
on a medieval market place which is the result of a major building project which
opened in 2001. In Bullring you will visit Selfridges Department store.
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1405/10/10
15. VisitScape
• 10.00: Arrive Hill Street. Take 45 minutes
exploring Chamberlain and Victoria
Squares and the civic spaces thereabouts
including the public art and monuments
and clues relating to these.
• Ask yourselves who are the people, things
memorialised in the public art and
monuments here?
• What do the various plaques say about the
history and contemporary context of
Birmingham?
• What do you think the civic fathers of
Birmingham were trying to communicate in
the organisation of the spaces and buildings
you see here?
• Note the various plaques which tell you who,
why and how various spaces, buildings and
monuments were funded.
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1505/10/10
16. VisitScape
• 10.45-12.00: Go to Birmingham
Museum and Art Gallery to meet
the principal curator, who will
talk to you and allow you to ask
questions about the history of
BMAG. Then take a self-guided
tour of the Gallery.
• What were some of the themes
of the 19th century cultural
regeneration which BMAG was
part of? How did the founders of
BMAG hope that the institution
would lead regeneration?
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
Never Morning Wore to Evening but Some Heart Did Break
Langley, 1894
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1605/10/10
17. VisitScape
• 12.00-13.00: Walk through Paradise Forum to
Centenary Way and Centenary Place, then along
Broadstreet to Brindleyplace. Note the ‘signs’ in
the landscapes around you – monuments on
display, public buildings and commercial outlets
which front on to the Square and Brindleyplace.
• What do you think is the function of these different
spaces?
• What do you think is the relationship between public
spaces which are dominated by commercial leisure
services and publicly funded leisure services?
• How are Brindleyplace and Centenary Place different
to the spaces around BMAG?
• What do you think the city is trying to say about
itself through these places?
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1705/10/10
18. VisitScape
• 13.00-14.30: Go to the Ikon
Gallery to meet the learning
curator, for a talk and a tour of
the gallery.
• How is the location of the Ikon
Gallery different to BMAG? What
opportunities and challenges do
you think this presents?
• What were some of the themes
of the 21st century cultural
regeneration which Ikon is part
of? How does Ikon and its
funders hope that the institution
will aid regeneration?
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
Clare Rojas.
We They, We They
Installation, Ikon, 2010
Photo: Stuart Whipps
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1805/10/10
19. VisitScape
• 14.30-16.00: Walk back through Brindleyplace, Broad
Street, Centenary Square, Paradise forum and Victoria
Square to the top of New Street and down to the
Bullring. Notice the different distinct parts of the city and
how they relate to each other.
• How do you think the Bullring relates to the other spaces you
have been?
• What do you think Birmingham is saying about itself through
the Bullring?
• Note the exhibitionary techniques used to display different
‘artifacts’ within Selfridges, what are they?
• What strategies does the store use to convey value and
significance in different objects within the store?
• How are the exhibitionary techniques in this store different to
that of a museum or gallery? How are they the same?
• How do you think the Bullring might effect Birmingham’s
regeneration?
Background – Birmingham Study Visit
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 1905/10/10
20. VisitScape
Background – Study Visit materials / resources
• Handout described above
• Separate list of questions for each of the four locations
• Pre-reading list:
Primary texts:
Davies, S., 1985, By the gains of industry: Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery 1885-1985, Birmingham Art Gallery.
Hunt, Tristram, 2004, Building Jerusalem: the rise and fall of the Victorian city, Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Kennedy, L., ed., 2004, Remaking Birmingham: The Visual Culture of Urban Regeneration, Routledge.
Sites and institutions to be visited:
Victoria Square
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=913&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=682&EXPAND=251
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
http://www.bmag.org.uk/
Centenary Square
http://www.birminghamuk.com/centenary.htm
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=888&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=165
Brindley Place (look under ‘Info’ for ‘Brindleyplace history’)
http://www.brindleyplace.com/
Ikon Gallery
http://www.ikon-gallery.co.uk/
Birmingham Bullring
http://www.bullring.co.uk/website/MenuTitleOnly.aspx?currentSectionId=05e70eec-3a28-43cc-8a6b-9007f15962a3&PLID=-1&LH=TopLevel
Birmingham cultural context:
Birmingham Changed: Background
http://www.birminghamuk.com/aroundbirmingham.htm
Birmingham Historic Environment Conservation www.birmingham.gov.uk/buildingconservation
Statues and Public Art
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=884&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=1
Famous Brummies
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=31047&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=15
Other culture-led regeneration areas and projects in Birmingham:
Jewellery Quarter Regeneration Partnership
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=12991&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=679&EXPAND=251
Museum of the Jewellery Quarter
http://www.bmag.org.uk/index.php?type=element&maincat=1&subcat=2&subelement=3
The Custard Factory
http://www.custardfactory.com/
Millennium Point
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=3150&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=11143&EXPAND=251
Think Tank museum
http://www.thinktank.ac/
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2005/10/10
21. VisitScape
Background – (After the) Birmingham Study Visit
• Post-visit workshop
• In this workshop we will review your experiences on the study visit. Thinking
about Birmingham and other cities you are familiar with we will discuss:
• what you thought about the iconography of the different city spaces you experienced?
• how you understood the museums in their larger urban context?
• do you think culture-led regeneration is a successful strategy for economic, social
and/or cultural development?
• do you think culture-led regeneration enables access to culture?
• does culture-led regeneration facilitate ‘social inclusion’?
• The session is designed to further develop your understanding of both the
history and the contemporary contexts of museums in urban
environments.
• The ‘Museums and Regeneration Reading List’ and the ‘Birmingham Study
Visit Reading and Resource List’ … will be helpful for this session.
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2105/10/10
22. VisitScape
Student preparations for a study visit (in general):
• “skim read [materials provide by tutor] but didn’t go into much detail or
do my own research”
• “gave us so many materials that it was confusing”
• “[I use] the bus journey [to prepare for a study visit]”
• “everyone would read more if it was seen as obligatory, if they knew they
had to bring that knowledge and materials to discussion. I know I would”
• “not much”
Note: some students do actually prepare
• But they bring along:
• Course notes, notebook, camera, handouts
• And they receive on the day (from tutor / venues):
• More handouts, briefs, leaflets, maps
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2205/10/10
23. VisitScape
exhibits
buildings
policies
mission
Technology to support Birmingham study visit
Physical space
Museums, squares,
public art, commercial
outlets, statues,
monuments, exhibits...
Organisational space
Missions, policies, social and
political agendas, economic
targets...
Conceptual space
Historic meanings of museums,
planning, visitor studies,
exhibition design, education,
inclusion, accessibility...
topic
topic
concept
concept concept
concept
concept
Collaborative virtual space
Accessing, capturing, sharing,
reflecting
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2305/10/10
24. VisitScape
Collaborative Virtual Space: Requirements
• Access
• Information provided by tutor about the physical / organisational space; and
about the conceptual space
• But: they cannot read too much on the go
• Capture
• Aspects of the physical / organisational space
• Reflections on relevance of those aspects with conceptual space
• Provide alternative to their notebooks
• Share
• Students reflect on relationships between all spaces and make those reflections,
along with their captured materials, public and accessible by all other students /
tutors
• But not by those outside the course
• Shared student content sits along information provided by tutor
• Look back
• Captured and shared materials are brought back in the classroom to aid the
debriefing session
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2405/10/10
25. VisitScape
HP iPAQ 614c
Business Navigator
•3G
•4-inch transflective
TFT display
•Integrated WLAN
802.11b/g;
Bluetooth 2.0 with
EDR
•Touch screen and
stylus
•Integrated
microphone,
receiver, 2 speakers
and one 3.5 mm 4
pin stereo
headphone jack
•4 programmable
keys
•Voice recorder
•GPS
•3 Megapixel camera
Mscape
•Mobile media gaming
platform, by HP
•Maker: Map, defined
regions, media
associated with
regions
•Player: identifies
region based on GPS
and plays associated
media
• Everything pre-defined
/ pre-loaded on
mediascape
ASP.Net web-based
application
•Bespoke
•Serves as data
provider for user
specified content
•Data upload through
PDA button, from
the PDA storage
media using the
website interface.
•Data is created on
the PDA outside of
the MScape
application
•The presentation of
user content based
on the user’s
geographic location
System description
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2505/10/10
27. VisitScape
The trial
• 9 iPAQs with mobile internet running modified Mscape application
• 9 students in experimental group; 42 in control group
• Pre-visit (exp. group only)
• Focus group
• System demonstration
• On the day
• Pre-questionnaire on the bus (exp. + control groups)
• Visit with tools (exp. group only)
• Post-questionnaire on the bus (exp. + control groups)
• Post-visit (exp. group only)
• Focus group
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2705/10/10
28. VisitScape
Also a trial of character...
• ... for participants and researchers
• Weeks before the trial we found out that Mscape would be
‘discontinued’
• Days before the trial iPAQs become lost luggage
• Turn up last minute, but decide to freeze in freezing weather
• Technical support not available in person
• Server overload with so many requests gives formidable 404
kind of message
• But, perseverance (obstinacy?) won and we did go on…
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2805/10/10
29. VisitScape
The trial – how the groups compare per their ideals
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 2905/10/10
30. VisitScape
Findings: expectations for experience of the technology
• Structure the visit
• Learning
• Timely and detailed information
• Interactivity
• Sharing
• Photo-documentation
• Guide attention to surroundings
• Distract attention from surroundings
• Orientation
• Physical
• Conceptual
• Physical-conceptual (“information about interesting routes before we start wandering”)
• Internet access
• Personal social networks
• “Will we be penalised if we go on Facebook?”
• Fun
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3005/10/10
31. VisitScape
Findings: expectations for visit in general
• Learning
• Look at the city, the regeneration funding/funders, the cultural landscape
• Look at museum in context
• How museums fit into overall scheme of the city
• Compare different models of regeneration
• Personal interests
• Visit specific site
• Novelty of experience
• Walk around the landscape
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3105/10/10
32. VisitScape
Findings –
What did groups
think of the visit?
Experimental group found it
slightly more:
-Engaging
-Relevant
-Interesting
-Challenging
-Inspiring
-Exciting
and slightly less:
-Social
-Comfortable
-Self-guided
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3205/10/10
34. VisitScape
• Hardware problems
• iPAQs froze regularly
• Interface problems
• Content upload interface complicated
• No picture preview during upload must
rename picture after it is taken
• “in the end I just took photos and saved
them on the phone without uploading”
• No control over map vs. content display
• Mscape region identification random (e.g.
Showing map while in region instead of
content)
• Log in obscured by hidden soft keyboard
• Slow response times
• Battery problems
• Devices run out of battery half-way
through the visit
• Avoided to put on stand-by, as subsequent
request for unlock led devices to freeze
and require reboot
• Network/connection problems
• Simultaneous picture/comment upload
attempts could not be handled by server
• No GPS / reception inside the museum
• Training problems
• Lack of adequate prior training meant they
could not operate devices unaided – had to
learn the devices and the application
• Distract attention / focus – duty
• “I prefer just to explore the city, I don’t want
to always track the machine”
• “I don’t know if this way I missed out on other
things”
• “[with the technology] I would probably have
stayed to the places we had to see”
• “it can be really distractive in a way that you
have this relationship with the device and you
need to control it, you need to take pictures,
you need to read”
• “we were fiddling with it whilst the curator was
talking in BMAG”
Findings: actual experience of the technology –
negatives
“That was discouraging, cause I felt everyone else
had gone and was enjoying that stuff when we
were stuck with those devices making them work
instead of looking at actual things.”
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3405/10/10
35. VisitScape
• Guiding attention / focus
• “it was good that it told me what to pay
attention to”
• “there was a statue I got information from
the device about and otherwise I wouldn’t
have noticed it”
• Recording / capturing
• Shaping behaviour
• “it made me start looking for [interesting,
but not necessarily relevant] things to
photograph”
• Sharing
• “we were all taking photos e.g. in the
Imperial War Museum, but no one was
documenting them or sharing with others”
• Real-time: “it’s different that just having a
camera and taking pictures and documenting
when you come back home, because you can
document and put it there and somebody
[...] can come and access it [there and
then]”
• Informative
• Info about the context of artworks
• “these tools are effective and very
informative”
• “gave context to stuff I saw with info I
wouldn’t get by seeing these buildings,
sculptures, squares”
• Instant, real-time sharing
• Of information, discoveries, viewpoints
• Satisfaction
• “batteries aside, it was really enjoyable
having these devices, I do like handheld
equipment”
• Orientation
• Physical orientation
• Task orientation
Findings: actual experience of the technology -
positives
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3505/10/10
36. VisitScape
• Interaction with museum and academic
staff (and with PhD students)
• “conversations with real professionals
[curators] were quite enjoyable. It is good
to find out what happens in the real world”
• “staff were really kind, we got some
coloured pencils”
• Short bus journey
• Walk around, explore
• Visit specific sites
• Self-initiated learning
• Learning
• By observing rather than reading only
• Reflective experience on how museum
influences city and vice versa
• Focus on the context of the museum as a
physical space within the city
• “easier in Birmingham [to map concepts
from the coursework to the visit] than
mapping exhibition design [in other visits].
Because everything was bigger and we had
to walk through it”
• Had the framework to look for information
Findings: actual experience of the visit - positives
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3605/10/10
37. VisitScape
Findings: actual experience of the visit - negatives
• Information overload
• Task overload
• Bad weather
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3705/10/10
38. VisitScape
• Hands-on training in advance of the visit
• Use own phone / other model
• “you already know how to handle your own
phone”
• “I want to have the pictures I take as my
own, so I had to take the photos twice”
• “the device was heavy and bulky”; “was
like the big cell phones of the 90s”;
“iPhone would have worked much better”
• Sharing
• Within small group – increased interaction
and collaboration
• and filtering: “there are so many things
that interest you, you can’t upload
everything for everyone”
• Use for photodocumenting and sharing
rather than information push
• “on the spot information is probably
available physically anyway. But we can’t
always remember what we documented
and we can’t carry around a piece of
paper”
• Technology interface
• Change upload interface
• Preview of photos during upload
• Option to upload immediately after taking
picture
• Add voice connection with other groups
• Integrate other media (audio – but
transcribed; video)
• Better integration with coursework
• “link its use to preparing some assignment
might be more interesting”
• “we could all upload photos and then
identify some forms of display or [...]
whatever they were asking you”
• Use for reference / guidance when needed
Findings: what would students change
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 3805/10/10
39. VisitScape
Emerging themes
• Fitting the technology into relevant activity
• Technology – coursework integration
• Is information push passé?
• Provide lens to look at world instead
• Sharing culture
• Photo-documentation
• Physical-conceptual orientation
• Mindful that activity will shape behaviour (beyond your intentions)
• ‘made me look for interesting things to photograph’
• ‘constrained me in terms of where to go’
• Shared device
• Intermittent rather than continuous use
• Context can be perpetual
• Student in Bullring complains he could no longer upload a photo he had taken in
Victoria Square
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40. VisitScape
“Cause if you don’t feel you are successful with it, there is
nothing pushing you to use it in more creative ways”
Museum Studies student, 2010
G. Vavoula (gv18@le.ac.uk) 4005/10/10
41. VisitScape
Acknowledgements
• SPLINT – Spatial Literacy in Teaching CETL (funding, hardware)
• Adam Rousell, University of Leicester (development)
• Alex Moseley, University of Leicester
• Lisanne Gibson, University of Leicester (study visit tutor)
• Sandy Pearson, University of Leicester (IT support)
• All campus-based 2009-10 Museum Studies students who took part in the trial!
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