Virtual Reality and Art History: A Case Study of Digital Humanities and Immersive Learning Environments

The potential benefits of integrating immersive realities into traditional humanities curricula have been touted over the last two decades, but budgetary and technical constraints of implementation have limited its adoption. However, recent advances in technology, along with more affordable hardware coupled with more user-friendly interfaces, have seen widespread adoption beyond that of the military and healthcare. In fact, higher education institutions are poised to adopt VR on a broader scale to enhance learning with virtual environments. This study seeks to determine the expectations and results of integrating virtual reality into coursework with students and faculty in Art History. The study surveyed students, first to ascertain the prevalence and familiarity of immersive reality technologies, as well as the perceived benefit of integration into curriculum. Next, surveys collected data on student experience relating to virtual reality assignments integrated into coursework for both face-to-face and online learners. The results provide a model for other institutions for a variety of disciplines to reinforce outcomes through strategic use of the technology

Innovative Exhibit Interpretation Using Mobile Applications

London\u27s Science Museum sought innovative ways to interpret important artifacts, such as James Watt\u27s workshop, which contains many objects far removed in time and experience from modern visitors. To assess the suitability of new interpretive tools, this project surveyed a wide range of potential technologies, and then carefully assessed in two stages a prototype iPod Touch Multimedia Guide. The result is a promising new interpretative tool that allows visitors to explore a wide range of objects within multiple interpretative dimensions

Methodological Rationale for the Taxonomy of the PO.EX Digital Archive

The PO.EX Digital Archive aims to create a digital representation of large corpus of intermedia literary works produced by Portuguese authors since the 1960s. In the process of remediating these works for the current digital networked environment we address metadata issues in a way that satisfies both our material and textual analysis of intermediality, and also the interoperability requirements of current information systems. The creation of a taxonomy for organizing and classifying a diverse array of materials such as those that constitute the digital archive of Portuguese Experimental Poetry (which includes Performance, Digital, Concrete, Spatial, Sound, Video, and Visual poetry) is a challenging task for the present researchers. The purpose of this article is to offer a brief rationale for our decisions, and to explain and illustrate our classification system.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Hello Shoppers? - Themed Spaces, Immersive Popular Culture Exhibition, and Museum Pedagogy

This dissertation explores popular culture-related themed space exhibitions and immersive museum pedagogy through the emerging post-museum, media convergence culture, and Deborah L. Perry’s museum-oriented “What Makes Learning Fun” framework. These exhibitions utilize popular media like Star Wars, Doctor Who, and the films of Hayao Miyazaki as a means of engaging audiences with brand and subject-specific pedagogy. By bringing fictional worlds to life through environmental stimuli (sets, sounds, objects, media segments), these exhibitions use popular texts as a means of facilitating the educational goals of the institution by having visitors engage in “work as play.” Learning becomes encompassed in the “fun” and “play” that is experienced with theme parks and games. Oftentimes educational programs are developed for these exhibitions that are frequently tied to specific national and regional educational requirements. In the post-museum, visitors are assigned interpretive powers where meaning is produced through their own personal experience. As Eilean Hooper-Greenhill argues, the use of visual media helps transcend usual classifications of high and low culture. This study argues that fandom within a themed space exhibition enhances this aspect, and the act of play enhances visitor interpretation. These key issues are examined through three main examples: The Doctor Who Experience (addressing public service vs. corporate profits), Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition (roleplaying as pedagogy and Alberta, Canada’s CALM program), and the Ghibli Museum (Japanese history, national identity, and self-discovery). These exhibits act as sites where the tension between branding and pedagogy operate, and illustrate how popular texts and education are localized for different audiences. The close examination of these themed spaces leads to a better understanding of contemporary media culture and its social/cultural applications on an international scale

Software Takes Command

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Software has replaced a diverse array of physical, mechanical, and electronic technologies used before 21st century to create, store, distribute and interact with cultural artifacts. It has become our interface to the world, to others, to our memory and our imagination - a universal language through which the world speaks, and a universal engine on which the world runs. What electricity and combustion engine were to the early 20th century, software is to the early 21st century. Offering the the first theoretical and historical account of software for media authoring and its effects on the practice and the very concept of 'media,' the author of The Language of New Media (2001) develops his own theory for this rapidly-growing, always-changing field. What was the thinking and motivations of people who in the 1960 and 1970s created concepts and practical techniques that underlie contemporary media software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Final Cut and After Effects? How do their interfaces and tools shape the visual aesthetics of contemporary media and design? What happens to the idea of a 'medium' after previously media-specific tools have been simulated and extended in software? Is it still meaningful to talk about different mediums at all? Lev Manovich answers these questions and supports his theoretical arguments by detailed analysis of key media applications such as Photoshop and After Effects, popular web services such as Google Earth, and the projects in motion graphics, interactive environments, graphic design and architecture. Software Takes Command is a must for all practicing designers and media artists and scholars concerned with contemporary media

Youth, Technology, and DIY: Developing Participatory Competencies in Creative Media Production

Traditionally, educational researchers and practitioners have focused on the development of youths’ critical understanding of media as a key aspect of new media literacies. The 21st Century media landscape suggests an extension of this traditional notion of literacy – an extension that sees creative designs, ethical considerations, and technical skills as part of youth's expressive and intellectual engagement with media as participatory competencies. These engagements with media are also part of a growing Do-It-Yourself, or DIY, movement involving arts, crafts, and new technologies. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a framework and a language for understanding the multiple DIY practices in which youth engage while producing media. In the review, we will first provide a historical overview of the shifting perspectives of two related fields—new media literacies and computer literacy —before outlining the general trends in DIY media cultures that see youth moving towards becoming content creators. We then introduce how a single framework allows us to consider different participatory competencies in DIY under one umbrella. Special attention will be given to the digital practices of remixing, reworking, and repurposing popular media among disadvantaged youth. We will conclude with considerations of equity, access, and participation in after-school settings and possible implications for K-12 education

Digital Practices and Strategies of Western United States Museums during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic forced museums globally to shut their doors, yet many continued to extend content and resources through virtual means. This paper highlights some of the efforts of museums in the Western United States as they have pivoted digitally through educational resources, digital programming, virtual exhibit tours, and enhanced collections access. Further discussion of five museums of different institutional types provide a deeper look into the policies, strategies, and pre-existing practices that aided in the quick turnaround from physical to digital. As many museums were pressed for time in content development and its release, this paper concludes with recommendations for policies and procedures that will help prepare museums for a successful virtual future

Software Takes Command

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Software has replaced a diverse array of physical, mechanical, and electronic technologies used before 21st century to create, store, distribute and interact with cultural artifacts. It has become our interface to the world, to others, to our memory and our imagination - a universal language through which the world speaks, and a universal engine on which the world runs. What electricity and combustion engine were to the early 20th century, software is to the early 21st century. Offering the the first theoretical and historical account of software for media authoring and its effects on the practice and the very concept of 'media,' the author of The Language of New Media (2001) develops his own theory for this rapidly-growing, always-changing field. What was the thinking and motivations of people who in the 1960 and 1970s created concepts and practical techniques that underlie contemporary media software such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Final Cut and After Effects? How do their interfaces and tools shape the visual aesthetics of contemporary media and design? What happens to the idea of a 'medium' after previously media-specific tools have been simulated and extended in software? Is it still meaningful to talk about different mediums at all? Lev Manovich answers these questions and supports his theoretical arguments by detailed analysis of key media applications such as Photoshop and After Effects, popular web services such as Google Earth, and the projects in motion graphics, interactive environments, graphic design and architecture. Software Takes Command is a must for all practicing designers and media artists and scholars concerned with contemporary media

Enhancing the visitor experience in museums with Augmented Reality

The so-called "one-size-fits-all" experiences do not apply to most of the museum visitors and this research addresses the compelling need of customized experiences in museums contexts.One of the audience groups that is often ignored by museums is the age group of teenagers since the segmentation is usually made between children and adults and there is little customization for the teens' generation. At the same time, studies have shown that this age group appears to be disinterested in what museums might offer.This project aims to ameliorate this problem by providing guidelines to museum practitioners of how the interest of teenagers towards museums could be increased through the integration of AR and QR Code Technology.The investigation took place in the Customs Exhibition of the Alfandega Transports and Communications Museum. A non-linear technology-mediated experience was developed to reinvigorate the exhibition. This experience integrated mobile Augmented Reality and QR Code technology with storytelling and gamification elements, specifically customized for the age group of teenagers.Regarding the development of this experience, the first prototype of the experience was assessed by experts in experience design, visitor studies, gaming, storytelling and design and then was re-designed according to the guidelines given by them.So, alongside with a validated customized experience, there are developed some guidelines that refer to how mobile AR and QR Code Technology can be used in a museum context to enhance the experience of the age group of teenagers. Thus, this research will contribute in lessening the gap that exists for empirical studies in museum literature in the area of visitor experience and specifically for the target group of teenagers