Personalization in cultural heritage: the road travelled and the one ahead

Over the last 20 years, cultural heritage has been a favored domain for personalization research. For years, researchers have experimented with the cutting edge technology of the day; now, with the convergence of internet and wireless technology, and the increasing adoption of the Web as a platform for the publication of information, the visitor is able to exploit cultural heritage material before, during and after the visit, having different goals and requirements in each phase. However, cultural heritage sites have a huge amount of information to present, which must be filtered and personalized in order to enable the individual user to easily access it. Personalization of cultural heritage information requires a system that is able to model the user (e.g., interest, knowledge and other personal characteristics), as well as contextual aspects, select the most appropriate content, and deliver it in the most suitable way. It should be noted that achieving this result is extremely challenging in the case of first-time users, such as tourists who visit a cultural heritage site for the first time (and maybe the only time in their life). In addition, as tourism is a social activity, adapting to the individual is not enough because groups and communities have to be modeled and supported as well, taking into account their mutual interests, previous mutual experience, and requirements. How to model and represent the user(s) and the context of the visit and how to reason with regard to the information that is available are the challenges faced by researchers in personalization of cultural heritage. Notwithstanding the effort invested so far, a definite solution is far from being reached, mainly because new technology and new aspects of personalization are constantly being introduced. This article surveys the research in this area. Starting from the earlier systems, which presented cultural heritage information in kiosks, it summarizes the evolution of personalization techniques in museum web sites, virtual collections and mobile guides, until recent extension of cultural heritage toward the semantic and social web. The paper concludes with current challenges and points out areas where future research is needed

MUSEUM SIGNAGE AS DISTRIBUTED MEDIATION TO ENCOURAGE FAMILY LEARNING

Many prior studies conducted in museums have focused primarily on exhibits as the main objects for learning. Less progress has been made in studying signage as another meaning-making tool in museums. The present study was designed to understand the role of signage in family learning by answering the following research questions, "How does signage about exhibit content or interaction strategies affect parents' and children's learning and their engagement?" and "What is the role of parent prior knowledge on parents' and children's learning and their engagement?" To address these questions, 45 parent-child dyads with children aged six to seven years were recruited to engage with two exhibits about cars. Fifteen parent-child dyads were assigned to each of three conditions, created by two different types of signage: 1) Content and interaction signage condition, 2) Content signage condition, and 3) No signage condition. In each condition, eight parents with low knowledge in the car domain and seven parents with high knowledge were recruited. Findings showed that parents and children learned and engaged differently across the three signage conditions. Both children and parents in the conditions with signage learned more than children and parents in the no signage condition. By using information from signage, parents in the two signage conditions were able to identify the content of the exhibit more quickly and to shape appropriate educational messages in their conversations with children. Findings also showed that parents with high knowledge were more likely to have the exhibit-focused engagement, which was often oriented to their own interpretation and not always beneficial for children's learning. However, by showing that parent-child dyads in the content and interaction signage condition were most likely to operate and observe the exhibit appropriately and most likely to describe evidence and make appropriate inferences, this study suggested that the interaction signage can be a way to support parents with high knowledge. This study suggested that signage is not only a tool for communicating about the learning opportunities in the exhibit but it can be also a tool for mediating the usage of the exhibit

Museum and school partnership for learning on field trips

Department Head: Timothy Gray Davies.2009 Spring.Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-213).School field trips are the most common type of partnership between museums and schools. Museums of all specialties offer programs to children of all ages/grades keeping their physical, intellectual, and cognitive development in mind. By partnering with schools, museums support curriculum standards and supplement classroom teaching. The purpose of this phenomenology was to explain the partnership between a local history museum, the Fort Collins Museum (FCM), and Poudre School District’s (PSD) schools for learning on 2nd grade field trips. Museum educators and school teachers are the representatives of the two institutions. Their perceptions and processes regarding museum field trip delivery and integration were studied and the partnership was explained on the basis of purpose and level of interactions

Assessing the Impact of a Visual Arts Family-Focused Pre-Kindergarten Intervention

This study examined the effect of a visual arts, family-focused school readiness intervention on the parental efficacy and level of family involvement of low-income families. A second, primary focus of the study was to test the potential of academically focused experiences in the visual arts to increase the basic concept development of young children. To increase accessibility, the intervention was conducted in a neighborhood library. The research design for this descriptive study included qualitative and quantitative components. Data collection consisted of a non-randomized one group pre-test/posttest design from students on a standardized instrument and from primary caregivers using self-report questionnaires. Other data collection sources included field notes documenting observations made during implementation collected by the investigator, parent home engagement data in the form of a weekly survey filled out by adult participants and weekly phone calls monitoring any issues or questions regarding the completion of take-home activities. The results of this relatively small sample using the visual arts to build basic concept knowledge indicate that, given a larger sample, this approach may prove to be a promising strategy to use with young children and their families. The average raw score gain on the student basic concept scale was 8 points at the end of the seven-week intervention. The parent surveys indicated that almost all books sent home were read each week and an average of three home learning activities per book were completed between sessions. The majority of parents commented at least once on the At-Home Surveys about increases in positive interaction with their children while engaged in the home learning activities. Enhancing the parent-child relationship begins with the sharing of positive experiences. Comments made by adult participants indicated that parents felt empowered to better support their child\u27s learning by participating in this experience

Museum Pedagogy and Early Years Children: A Critique of Research, Policy and Practice

Museum Pedagogy and Early Years Children offers a critique of research, policy and practice on children’s status in museums, galleries and heritage sites. It is a critical synthesis of research and practice in the field of museum pedagogy for children that draws upon educational programmes and policy in the UK. It provides an overview of the development of museum education in the UK and the policy context within which museum pedagogy meets early childhood. The review of international research conducted over the past three decades identifies four main research strands of research that perceive children as ‘human becomings’, ‘meaning makers’, ‘active agents’ and most recently ‘the post human child’ within a spatial and material turn in research. This book advocates for a synergy between museum pedagogy and childhood studies, a critical reflection on the status of museum pedagogy within the professional terrain and the parameters that shape museum practices and argues for research that explores the museum experience as a holistic phenomenon

Location-based and contextual mobile learning. A STELLAR Small-Scale Study

This study starts from several inputs that the partners have collected from previous and current running research projects and a workshop organised at the STELLAR Alpine Rendevous 2010. In the study, several steps have been taken, firstly a literature review and analysis of existing systems; secondly, mobile learning experts have been involved in a concept mapping study to identify the main challenges that can be solved via mobile learning; and thirdly, an identification of educational patterns based on these examples has been done. Out of this study the partners aim to develop an educational framework for contextual learning as a unifying approach in the field. Therefore one of our central research questions is: how can we investigate, theorise, model and support contextual learning

Medieval Media

The Worcester Art Museum has hopes to attract more families, children, and millennials to the museum using interactive exhibits. Our project goal was to collect data on the effectiveness of various aspects of exhibit design for the WAM to use in future exhibits and to propose improvements for the current Medieval Gallery. We assessed the effectiveness of audience engagement of the Medieval Gallery and non- renovated exhibits. To do this, we created various data gathering tools such as observational rubrics and path tracking methods. After obtaining all of this information, the team designed and piloted a new digital media element to the medieval exhibit. Our work was completed through the Worcester Community Project Center with help from our Sponsor, Jeffrey Forgeng

Proceedings of the International Workshop “Re-Thinking Technology in Museums: towards a new understanding of people’s experience in museums"

Proceedings of the International Workshop “Re-Thinking Technology in Museums: towards a new understanding of people’s experience in museums