Conference IMCL2007 April 18 -20, 2007 Amman, Jordan
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Potentials and Challenges of Mobile Media in Museums

Eva Mayr
1
and Daniel Wessel
2


1
Applied Cognitive and Media Psychology, University of Tuebingen
2
Knowledge Media Research Center, Tuebingen


Key words: mobile learning, museum learning, mobile devices
(handheld/PDAs), electronic guidebooks

Abstract

In the context of life-long learning implementation of mobile media in museums is
increasing. However, current applications do not tap the full potential offered by the
special characteristics of this technology. Based on a literature review different
potentials giving benefits to the visitor experience and the museum are presented and
innovative applications discussed. Implementation, technology, and evaluation of
mobile media applications in museums pose a challenge for museums as well as
current research and development.

1 Introduction
1


With the increasing relevance of life-long learning, informal settings like museums gain in
importance. This article addresses learning with mobile handheld devices in museums as an
important example of life-long learning in informal settings
2
. Informal learning settings in
contrast to formal ones are generally characterized by high autonomy of the learner, no formal
evaluation, and fleeting situational interest. In this review article we discuss the potentials and
challenges of mobile media in these informal settings and museums in particular from a
psychological viewpoint. We are going to focus on personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Although cell phones vastly outnumber Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs, small, handheld
computers), we expect that PDA functionality will become standard in future generations of
cell phones (like today’s “smart phones”). As a consequence we focus on the functions and
potentials of today’s PDAs since they will probably become as widely used and familiar as
cell phones are today.

1.1 Mobile Devices in Museums
It is important to realize that there is no “typical visitor” of a “typical exhibition” in a “typical
museum”: Visitors across and within different exhibitions are usually very heterogeneous
(e.g., regarding age, gender, prior knowledge, interests, goals) and vary between different
types of museums. Exhibits can be displayed in many different ways: From a “classic”,

1
The authors are doing research on mobile learning within the project “Lernen im Museum: Die Rolle von
Medien für die Resituierung von Exponaten” [Learning in museum: The role of media in embedding of exhibits]
funded by the “pact for research and innovation” of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. It
is an interdisciplinary project of the Knowledge Media Research Center (Tuebingen), the “Deutsches Museum”
(Munich) and the Institute for Science Education (Kiel).
2
Some differences remain, e.g. museum visitors have only a short time to get accustomed to the use of the
device. As the device is owned by the museum and will not be personalised as much as a private PDA; created or
retrieved content must be transferred to another device to be accessible after the visit.

Conference IMCL2007 April 18 -20, 2007 Amman, Jordan
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neutral style in front of a “white wall” or in a display case without any or minimal information
(especially in art museums) to a highly interactive, media dominated style (especially in
science centers). Museums addressed here are such of art, science and technology, history,
local history, ethnography folk, modern art, fine arts and many more. They can be in a
building, open-air or mixed. For the purpose of this article, they may also include botanic
gardens, aquariums, zoos and science centres.
Mobile technology in museums is often used for provision of information and as guides.
While the classic audio-guide is common, more and more museums begin to use PDA-like
devices. They can still display audio information, but also visual information (static and
animated) and can be flexibly configured (e.g., regarding user interface or functionality).
Although they generate a lot of attention, their value – for visitors and museums alike – is
doubtful. In this article we want to point out and discuss the specific strengths and challenges
related to different characteristics of mobile devices in museums from a visitor and a museum
point of view.

1.2 Characteristics of Mobile Technology
There are special characteristics of mobile technologies, which can add to the visiting
experience in a museum and which will be addressed in this paper:

• Made to be mobile
PDAs must be small and lightweight to be easily carried around. This requirement leads to
small screen sizes and reduced input keys. Displaying much information at one time or
entering large or complex amounts of data are challenging to impossible, especially for
visually impaired persons or children with reduced motor control.
The mobility itself offers unique advantages compared with fixed terminals or even
notebooks: The information and applications on the PDA can easily be accessed any time
(even on the move) and anywhere in the museum (i.e., in the natural context).
• Made for connectivity
PDAs offer a number of interfaces for data exchange (e.g., WLAN, Bluetooth, infrared,
RFID). Real time updates of content (e.g., exhibit information, guided tours, special
events) are possible, providing a greater flexibility with information. Content can also
include the visitor’s spatial position (location-awareness), providing the current position
on a map and leading the visitor to interesting exhibits or giving location specific
information. Communication with other visitors (in different parts of the museum) is
feasible, allowing groups to experience the museum separately but remain in constant
contact.
• Made for a personal experience
As the name states, the device is a personal digital assistant, made for a single user.
Instead of an (often) shared computer terminal or large screen projection (Hornecker, &
Stifter, 2006), the PDA’s small screen size and frequent use of audio makes sharing a
single device difficult or impractical. However, it allows using adaptive programming and
personalised content to provide an individualised visit, tailored to the interests and
capabilities of the visitor (e.g., age, prior knowledge and time constraints; cp. Naismith,
Lonsdale, Vavoula, & Sharples, 2004, p. 33). If this user-awareness is combined with the
above mentioned location-awareness, powerful, fully context-sensitive applications are
possible, providing the “right information, at the right time, in the right way” (Ogata, &
Yano, 2003, p. 1). On the other hand, since visiting a museum is a social event (Gammon,
2004) visitor-medium interaction may reduce visitor-visitor-interaction (Proctor, 2005)
and inhibit knowledge and information exchange with other group members (cp. Treinen,
1988).