Digital Heritage

Karen Exell, Curator of Egypt and the Sudan at the Manchester Museum has started a blog about the redevelopment of the Egyptology gallery at the museum (to open in 2011). The blog is titled titled Egypt at the Manchester Museum. Karen will be reflecting on the process of consultation and redevelopment of the galleries and using the blog to generate discussion and feedback. As the blog points out:

This blog is about everything Egyptian (and Sudanese) at the Manchester Museum, from events, behind the scenes curatorial work, gallery redevelopment, Museum policies that affect the Egyptian and Sudanese material, to schools teaching and research links with the University.

It promises to be an exciting ‘behind the scenes’ diary and notebook of the thinking, consulting, evaluating, designing and developing of the new galleries, which will be worth following and actually contributing! Looking forward to it!

Well, its certainly been a busy week on the Digital Heritage course. We’ve been treated to no less than three seminars and two guest speakers. On Tuesday, Sally Olding from The Whitworth Art Gallery described how podcasting has been used in a recent exhibition, while on Wednesday Dr Ross Parry from the University of Leicester shared his recent research.

Now I have to admit that before Tuesday my knowledge about podcasting was rather limited. What I did know was that Adam and Joe’s BBC6 Music podcast makes the commute into university slightly more bearable. However, Sally Olding explained exactly what they are and how they’re created, distributed and ‘caught’ and the software that’s required. She then went on to describe how The Whitworth Art Gallery has used podcasting as part of the recent Blake’s Shadow exhibition. Blake TV features a series of video and audio interviews with contemporary creatives who have been influenced by Blake’s artistic legacy in some way. The exhibition is given a presence beyond the context of the gallery, has the potential to reach a wider audience and has increased exposure. They are on target to achieve over 1000 downloads and the podcasts can be downloaded here.

On Wednesday, Dr Ross Parry, Lecturer in Museums and New Media at the University of Leicester’s Department of Museum Studies (and Kostas’ former PhD supervisor) chaired a seminar with the Digital Heritage students titled ‘Narrative, Labelling and Authorship in the New Gallery Environment’. We were asked to consider who the author is within a museum and what labels represent culturally, pedagogically and curatorially. We also debated the role of narrative in a museum and pondered the question of there ever being a completely narrative-free exhibition. Indeed, is it even possible? Are we culturally conditioned to expect narrative? Do we need to frame our experiences within a narrative context in order to make sense of them?

Dr Parry went on to explain how the LIVE!Labels project addressed some of these issues, as well as traditions of labelling in cultural institutions and recent technological developments. LIVE!Labels can be updated with new content whenever and wherever and bring some of the more recent online museum techniques into the onsite museum. I found it interesting that during their trial they were used differently by two institutions. The National Space Centre updated them daily with information about orbiting objects while the New Walk Museum updated them once and used them to support traditional text panels.

Dr Parry’s recent book, Recoding the Museum: Digital Heritage and the Technologies of Change, has proved fascinating reading for Digital Heritage students. In fact, the library’s only copy is rarely on the shelves and is often reserved (any chance of some more copies Kostas?) Dr Parry’s second seminar of the day, ‘Resolving the Museum/Computer Disconnect’ addressed many of the issues in his book. There has been a history of incompatibility between museums and computer technology, fuelled by an anxiety of technology led innovation, that has prolonged the realisation of many plans for digitisation in museums. However, museums are inherently adaptive spaces which have been accommodating new display technologies and information organisation techniques for centuries. The use of digital media within the online and onsite museum can be seen in this context, and the incompatibility of the last forty or so years will evolve into a history of compatibility in the twenty first century museum.

IADIS Mobile Learning 2008 - Conference Review

by
Heloisa Candello
Doctoral Candidate, University of Brighton

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Last month I went to the IADIS International Conference on Mobile Learning 2008, which was organized by the International association for Development of the Information Society in Algarve, Portugal during 3 days (April 11/13). We had plenty of time to get to know other during the conference in a very nice hotel surrounded by colourful natural beauty. In the first day of the conference a little city tour was provided followed by a traditional dinner at Fábrica do Inglês, animated by a Folklore Group. Some of us tried some steps after a good Port wine and tasteful food.

It was interesting to see that the greater part of presented studies was focused on learning rather than devices. The opening speech was exactly this: Dr. Graham Brown-Martin (founder of Handheld Learning - UK) emphasizes that people have focussed their attention on the technology rather than learning. By this he means that there is a notion that low specifications and low cost devices will provoke changing in teaching methods and therefore learning. However, children are familiar with other devices that could be used to enhance their educational experience. So it’s necessary to think about a new generation of learning that lets children use the tools they are most comfortable with to match their learning style. One of the papers that illustrated this issue was the paper called ‘Learning through treasure hunting: the role of mobile devices’ by Kevin Walker (London Knowledge Lab) and his colleagues. They analysed the interaction between mobile technology and children in non-school context. As a result, they attested that children are able to construct meaning using mobile devices and are strongly motivated to do so.

In the field of formal learning, Malcolm Andrew presented a study that looked at using video podcast for undergraduate students. He concluded that technology is not yet established enough to expect pervasive use of mobile devices to view this type of material. Another perspective of mobile learning was given by Irene Karaguilla Ficheman and Roseli de Deus Lopes (University of Sao Paulo) in “Mobility in digital learning ecosystems” that won the best paper of the conference. They examined mobile learning, from the learner’s point of view, with a focus on mobility in physical, conceptual and social spaces in addition to mobility of technology.

In the perspective of collaborative learning, Immaculada Arnedillo- Sanchez (Conference Program Chair – Trinity College Dublin) drew attention to a methodology to support creative collaborative learning on a multimedia digital narrative on mobile phones. After conducting a study with over 200 participants, she identified that this methodology makes it possible to reduce the time overhead of Digital Film and Video-Production as well as enabling all the participants of a group to synchronously assist in all stages of production. Talking about video-based mobile learning, Lisa Gjedde (Aarhus University) presented a study of a learning environment that was relevant to the needs of truck-drivers in movement. Based on action research with design interviews she highlighted that the use of blended learning (mobile and personal presence interaction) in the introductory stages of the process was needed to support users and so, a lack of adaptivity was found when some fundamental concepts were not clear to users. Inside this perspective, Angeliki Antoniou and George Lepouras (University of Peloponnese) recognized the museum as a lifelong learning institution that can take advantage of mobile technology. They presented some advantages for the use of mobile phones within the museum environment rather than other mobile technologies such as: users should get, store and take along the information, they can use their own device which they already familiar with and reduce the resources necessary to implement and maintain applications and also minimise maintenance expenses. Moreover, they suggested the use of adaptive systems to enhance the visitor’s activity in learning and visiting style and also the use of 7 categories that should be assist designers to consider visitor needs and types of users.

Other initiatives could be seen in games, collaboration learning, use the cross-platform and social interaction in mobile learning. Some reflections about mobile learning definition and relations between it and society could be found. Overall, collaboration learning and how to use mobile learning to improve education were the main issues. So, the challenge of the field is to pay attention to user expectation in order to enhance learning environments.

***
Many thanks to our visiting blogger Heloisa Candello for this very interesting and comprehensive review of the IADIS Mobile Learning Conference 2008. Heloisa is a PhD student at the University of Brighton and her doctoral research is on interactive technologies. She has been looking at ways to explore the graphic interaction design issues involved in viewing video with other media on cultural mobile guides. See her blog here.

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay….

There is so much to discuss that Joleen and I thought that we would raise some of our observations and key issues in order to prompt further discussion on the blog.

Philippa; After wandering round the Cabinet War Rooms, the Churchill Museum seemed to provide a complete contrast in terms of space and technology. It is packed with technology and it felt quite different to anything I had previously experienced in a museum setting. Plus, everything appeared to be in working order – even more impressive!! I was particularly interested in the parallel with the War Rooms as both spaces seem to complement each other really well, yet still maintain different identities.

Joleen; I too found quite a contrast between the two Museums and before entering (from the map) and found the placement of the Churchill Museum quite intriguing. First I wondered around the Cabinet War Rooms and left the Churchill museum to be discovered last. The war rooms pride themselves on being quite authentic and staged the exhibits according to photographs often referring to dates in which the room looked a certain way. About a quarter of the way through the authentic WW2 maze, the Churchill museum gave an extreme change of pace with dramatic lights, sounds, computers, video and top of the line interactives. I found it quite easy to get sucked into the space and the transition was surprisingly easy (think that had a lot to do with the well maintained machines!!!). At the time it didn’t occur to me to ask Sarah but I now wonder if the transition was taken into account and if they had any comments from visitors?

Philippa; The museum itself is split into six sections although I didn’t follow any particular path through. In fact, there didn’t seem to be much of a path to follow but this wasn’t a problem as it encouraged me to explore the space and engage with what it had to offer. After exploring the museum ourselves, we then met with Sarah Clarke, the Exhibitions Manager, who explained some of the research and processes that went into the design of the Museum. This turned into a more general discussion where we shared our experiences and comments.

One of the first points raised was whether the museum had too much technology. It is a relatively small space and I could see how this could be quite daunting for some visitors. I was encouraged by watching people of all ages interacting with the technology and found the timeline to be one of the highlights. I loved the rewards (what a great way to test your knowledge of significant dates!) and the way in which this created a shared social experience over the table. Sarah pointed out that there were 26 workstations at the table and so it could be used by an entire class. During the group discussion, the idea of enabling visitors to change information within the timeline was raised. If it can be updated from an office in a short amount of time (or even from America!) then the possibilities for lesson plans are endless.

Joleen; Did the visitor engage with the systems or was the learning curve too steep? I found most of the interactives to be quite user friendly and observed that visitors from every age group seemed to engaged at one time or another. I followed a senior citizen who particularly was touched by the video of Churchill’s funeral and later observed her at the painting interactive in the house section. A class of 10-13 years olds couldn’t tear themselves from the timeline table. Once I did observe three girls from the class who found the video’s to be quite boring and used their silhouette on the screen to comb the frizz from their hair. The only hesitation or confusion I observed was my own and Chris’s at the chess piece interactive. We tried to figure it out, but didn’t seem to have the right touch. Sarah later told us that the sensor connecting the piece to the machine is placed at the top of the chess piece (where we had placed our hand) was a common mistake, and was being remedied soon

Philippa; I’m sure everybody had a favourite section/interactive – I personally loved the fish in the pond – although I must admit I didn’t realise that they could be enticed with food! I did think that the fact that there was no text pointing this out was a good thing – again, this encourages exploration. I also liked the way that video screens were integrated within display cabinets. I felt that you could walk round the museum a few times and notice something different each time.

Sarah pointed out that the golden egg interactive wasn’t one of the most successful due to the fact that visitors weren’t looking in the case, to the right of the interactive, for the answers. It was really interesting to hear her discuss these issues and possible ways of resolving them. The same goes for the issue of space - the small amount of display space is addressed by using options like directional speakers, which help save space.

Joleen; I did notice that the lack of space did create an intimate environment to engage with the interactives but I can foresee a problem during a particular busy day. Sarah mentioned this briefly and said that layout pattern addressed this issue by creating an open path (unlike the war rooms) was particularly designed to avoid the bottle necking effect.

Overall, we both thought the museum provided a really stimulating environment which helps put Churchill’s life into context. We also feel that the next time we look at any museum interactives they now have a lot to live up to! We would love to hear your comments, as I’m sure we have missed lots out! I think we all enjoyed the trip and must say a big thank you to Sarah for talking to us all.

Philippa and Joleen

Hola!

Great to see everyone after the Easter break.

My first ever blog…here goes…

Todays presentation by Pauline Webb (Head of Collections at MOSI) and Professor Nigel Linge and Dr Duncan Bates (Salford University) was particularly interesting as it provided a real example of digital technology being used in a museum and an examination of the problems and also benefits which come with devices such as the mi-guide (handheld multimedia guide) for more info visit www.msim.org.uk/get-involved/partnerships/engaging-with-communications and www.salfordphonesproject.co.uk

It was interesting to learn that many of the problems which we had observed with using the device were influenced by numerous practical issues such as staffing, the removal of reception desks for example which had a significant impact on each persons visit; highlighting the fact that the success of a device such as the mi-guide is interdependent on so many other factors. As was highlighted by the discussion of our findings - the mi-guide when working properly certainely added to interpretation of the gallery but when it wasn’t working properly became extremely frustrating.

It seems that the pace of developments within digital technology, whilst promising potential ways to revolutionise communication inside and outside of the museum can also be problematic for museums in terms of knowing which technologies will be embraced en masse and which will quickly become obsolete. This lack of certainty has very practical implications for the museum in terms of cost and maintenance.

This seminar highlighted the importance of taking the theory out of the classroom and into real scenarios - providing the opportunity to talk to museum professionals about the current realities of using digital technology in museums today.

See you all next week.

PS by Kostas: and here is the photo we’ve taken at the Museum!

I am sure all of you are out enjoying your holiday and…visiting Museums

At the prompt of our esteemed Professor I thought I would share one of my Museum related experiences and hopefully encourage anyone else who may want to contribute…errr, yea!

So, recently there was a “Museums as Creative Spaces” symposium at Salford University. It was amazing to realize was the great resources and thinkers that are so close to us yet so far from our own University umbrella. There were a lot of speakers, I won’t bore you with all the details, however it is worth saying that the tone of this event was very open. Professor Pat Sterry, the diva of the day, mentioned a couple times that if anyone had further questions they can email her or the speakers present on that day. This is definitely a useful resource for some of us. So, here is the link so you can see for yourself:

Hello All! 

After a busy week of presentations, proposals and placements, I thought it was about time I sat down to reflect on this weeks action packed seminar which included Kostas’ presentation, fun with post-it notes and a quick dash to Manchester Museum.

This week, we examined the use of digital interactives in exhibition spaces and considered the evolution of digital media through Ross Parry and Andrew Sawyer’s framework in Space and the Machine. We tracked the progression of digital media from its humble beginnings completely outside of the museum to becoming totally integrated in to the exhibition in the innate stage of the model. 

I particularly enjoyed watching Louise’s bemused expression as Kostas handed her his mobile phone in 3 parts, and said nothing more. I though this was a really good example of illustrating how interactives in museums need to make it obvious how the participant is supposed to participate in the experience. Although it can’t always be assumed everyone has the same prior knowledge, and would instinctively know what to do. Luckily Louise knew exactly what to do from her previous experience of mobile phones, and put the phone back together in a matter of seconds!

While we were sticking post-it notes everywhere, one of the images we were looking at particularly interested me, it showed a text panel, film and label.  In the image, the digital media which we had been discussing as a tool for interpretation, actually swapped roles and became the object. I am particularly interested in the idea of using digital media as a medium for art, and I am currently researching the relationship between Internet Art and the Institution. Internet Art has a strange attraction and I’ve become addicted to exploring the work. I’ve added a couple of links in case anyone else wants to take a look, and no your computer isn’t broken, its supposed to look like that!  

I’m really looking forward to seeing the other groups presentation next week, its all been very secretive so have no idea what they have in store for us. Our group was particularly pleased when we actually managed to get our website up and running and live on the net, and we are looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

 http://wwwwwwwww.jodi.org/

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_1_42/ai_108691821

See you next week,

Emma

Hello fellow bloggers!

This week ive mostly been….

Week 5 on the Digital Heritage course saw us conclude ‘The Online Museum’ section with a discusion on ‘Curating Museums on the Web’. In week 4 Malcolm Chapman had enlightened us towards Manchester Museums humble beginnings on the web. A key concept of that talk was how quickly ideas and technology surrounding the web, change and become outdated within in a number of years. This was highlighted early on in week 5 as we examined some of the terms used to to describe Museums on the Web, including Virtual, Hyper, Cyber, Digital and Museum Online. The most common of these in use right now is Museum Online (eg. Tate Online), but I thought it was both interesting and important to know about the previous terms and how museums have evolved their websites to fit these models according to popular trends of the time. We used Google Fight to confirm the current champion of terms! Conclusive proof, more reliable than an 8 Ball! 

After canvassing opinion from our group following the seminar, we all seemed to have enjoyed this session the most so far. As well as an improved table layout, this was probably down to the fact that we are now beginning to feel more confident with the subject matter after three weeks of studying online museums.

Towards the end of the seminar we split into smaller groups to consider the relationship between the onsite/online museum and the local/remote visitor, for the museums we had looked at as part of our fieldwork. Alex and I looked at the Powerhouse museum online collection, and for the purpose of the exercise we were suppposed to ignore the links between the local visitor and the onsite museum. However, with this particular example we found it difficult as the links between the the onsite/online and local/remote appeared to be so fluid. A good example of A. Barry’s ‘Virtuous Circle’ - the notion that the digital website should not be remote from the physical museum.

I am now looking forward to next weeks session and the beginning of a new topic.

See you all soon,

Regards,

Jordan

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a successful fourth week of Digital Heritage and that the group projects are coming together nicely. It’s my turn (albeit belatedly!) to reflect upon last week’s session where we were treated to an extremely interesting presentation by Malcolm Chapman, Head of Collections Development at The Manchester Museum as the second part of The Online Museum section of the course.

In Malcolm’s presentation, I found the screenshots of The Manchester Museum’s website at various stages of it’s evolution extremely interesting. Since the session, I emailed Malcolm for some images to add to my post which I will do as soon as I receive them. The shots of the 1994 and 1998 sites especially made me reminisce of when I first got online using a 56k modem, a dial-up connection and a phone cable that I had to trail from my bedroom to the socket downstairs, tying up the phoneline for hours upon end. Much to the annoyance of my mum and dad!

The speed in which online technology has evolved is incredible and it was also interesting to learn of how The Manchester Museum expanded the role that it’s website plays; shifting away from the simplistic, brochure-style to a more user-orientated experience incorporating fully-interactive features. The shift in the website’s importance to the museum is also echoed in the way its staffing structure developed during the periods discussed. It’s hard to imagine now that, for an institution the size of the MM, it’s entire web presence was originally the responsibility of just one person! 

The ‘Great Expectations’ report produced circa 1998 would be an intriging read with our technological hindsight. I also emailed Malcolm requesting a copy and will again add any relevant issues to this post. 

Chris x

A belated post on our last week’s workshop on web construction. I hope you’ve found Nvu easy to use. I have to say, it was impressive to see that your webpages that you built in 2 hours passed the accessibility test of the a W3C W3C validation

I am currently reading about visualisations of the Internet and the Web (for example, see this: Visions of the Mediascape RoundUp) and thinking about what a visual map of a ‘Museum Web’ would/could be…I’ll come back to that…Speaking of mapping, here is an interesting way to map connections between museum objects: Eternal Egypt

Anyway, below I’ve included some links about Nvu and web accessibility that you may find useful also for the website construction of your group projects. See you next week.

University’s guidelines on Nvu

Further support if you are using Nvu

University’s guidelines of how to set up your personal web pages

W3C Web Accessibility Iniatitive Guidelines

W3C Checklist

W3C HTML Validation

TechDis: JISC disability advisory service

Cognitive Impairment Simulation

Screen Reader Simulation