Treasure codes: augmenting learning from physical museum exhibits through treasure hunting

Ng, Kher Hui; Huang, Hai; O’Malley, Claire

Abstract

Previous studies have highlighted the difficulty that designers face in creating mobile museum guides to enhance small group experiences. In this paper, we report a study exploring the potential of mobile visual recognition technology (Artcodes) to improve users’ experiences in a visitor centre. A prototype mobile guide in the form of a treasure hunt was developed and evaluated by means of a field study comparing this technology with the existing personal guided tour. The results reveal a preference for the mobile guide amongst participants and show significant learning gains from pre-test to post-test compared with the pre-existing personal tour. Our observational analyses indicate how the mobile guide can be used to improve visitors’ learning experiences by supporting active discovery and by balancing physical and digital interactions. We further expand the concept of design trajectories to consider micro-scaffolding as a way of understanding and designing future public technologies.

Citation

Ng, K. H., Huang, H., & O’Malley, C. (2018). Treasure codes: augmenting learning from physical museum exhibits through treasure hunting. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 22(4), 739-750. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-018-1126-5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 22, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Mar 13, 2018
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Aug 14, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 13, 2019
• Journal: Personal and Ubiquitous Computing
• Print ISSN: 1617-4909
• Electronic ISSN: 1617-4917
• Publisher: Springer
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 739-750
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-018-1126-5
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1323537