Master of Museology Degree Program ▪ Reinwardt Academy ▪ Faculty of the Amsterdam University of Applied Science for the Arts Beyond the Audio Tour: Challenges for Mobile Experiences in Museums The case of “Scapes”: when an artist experiments with one of the most universal interpretation tools Valeria Gasparotti Master Research Thesis – 2012/2014 Written by Valeria Gasparotti ▪ Master Research Thesis ▪ Supervised by Ruben Smith ▪ Submitted August 2014 Acknowledgements Foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ruben Smith, for the continuous support for my research, his motivation, enthusiasm and knowledge. I would also like to thank all the people that contributed, through interviews and amazing conversations, to the realization of this work. My research couldn’t have been realized without each of the invaluable insights and opinions they gave. I am grateful to Halsey Burgund for providing, through his wonderful work, his vision and his kindness, the inspiration and the support to continue my thesis. I thank Robbie Davis for his helpful insights and amazing enthusiasm. I also thank my friends, old and new, for “being there”: Corina, Laura, Manon, Lori, Francesca I, Francesca II, Dixie, James, Erica, Selwyn, Margo, Alice, Paolo, Ryan. My sincere thanks also goes to both my families. The one that continuously supported and loved me from far away, and the one that I have found throughout my journey to the US. Thank you Giovanni, Nancy, Titus, Pearl and QingQing for making possible things that I couldn’t have achieved otherwise. Beyond the Audio Tour: Challenges for Mobile Experiences in Museums. The case of Scapes: when an artist experiments with one of the most universal interpretation tools Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 1.1a. Scope of the thesis 1 1.1b. Research setting 2 1.1c. Thesis question 3 1.1d. Research approach and methodological considerations 3 1.1e. Structure of the thesis 5 2. Mobile in museums: between tradition and innovation 6 2.1. Introduction 6 2.2. Museums and new technologies: a square peg in a round hole? 8 2.3. Mobile and emerging technologies: an overview 11 2.4. Between tradition and innovation: an overview of mobile in museums 15 2.5. A closer look at history, development and features of mobile technology in museums 15 2.5a. The audio – tour as the first mobile experience in museums 15 2.5b. Mobile in museums today 19 2.5c. From handled devices to mobile apps: is the lesson learned? 21 2.5d. Future challenges for mobile interpretation: flow experiences and interaction 32 3. Overcoming the audio tour model ‐ The case of SCAPES by Halsey Burgund 37 3.1. Defining spaces through sounds 37 3.2. How did Scapes work? 39 3.3. An analysis of the narrative, personalization and interaction within the Scapes framework 41 4. From headphones to microphones: Roundware at the Smithsonian 51 4.1. Access American Stories 54 4.2. Stories on Main Street 59 5. Learning and meaning making through immersive mobile experiences 63 5.1. Museums and experiences 63 5.2. Experiencing worlds: reality and virtuality 65 5.3. Learning in museums: a framework for immersion through personal, connected and social mobile tools 69 6. Conclusion and future work 81 6.1. Summary 81 6.2. Considerations 81 6.3. Future work 84 Appendix A – Interviews to professionals from the audio tour/mobile media industry 86 Appendix B – Interviews Access American Stories Users 88 Appendix C – Transcripts Interview Halsey Burgund 90 Appendix D – Transcript interview Robbie Davis 94 Appendix E – Bibliography and Resources 97 1. Introduction 1. Introduction 1.1a. Scope of the thesis Museums are more and more looking at new technologies to support their core activities, from interpretation and learning, to way finding and commercial collaterals. Institutions can no longer ignore impacts and reach of digital tools and have to set the strategies to make the best out of them. As already limited museum resources hinder the possibility of experimentations with devices and platforms that evolve at a fast pace and have a short life‐span, strategic thinking should in approaching digital engagement should be applied. In particular, involve audiences through mobile devices, should not be done for the sake of embracing a new technology assuming that this would maintain the relevancy of the institution. Portable devices first entered the museum field in the form of audio tours. Mobile has been primarily used to provide interpretation and access as an overlay of information on collections. For example by providing descriptions in different languages for foreign visitors. However, audio tours have never gained the status of indispensable parts of the museum visit, despite having been introduced over 60 years ago. The industry rule of thumb claims that permanent collections tours have an average take‐up rate below 5% or less. Over the last years, interactive platforms have been seen as a revolutionary tool for museum interpretation, but none of the technologies through which content are delivered have changed the way we look at cultural institutions and on‐site interpretation. Today, web apps and smartphones enclose a revolutionary promise, and the museum world is looking at employing them as they offer unprecedented possibilities for engagement and collaboration. Cutting edge mobile technologies permit new ways of connecting with audiences, communities and partners, as well as increased accessibility paired with the possibility to ‘meet audiences where they are and bring them someplace new’1. However, the classic model of the audio tour still predominates, and even if it’s now delivered on smartphones and tablets including videos and images, it repeats the same kind of “broadcasted” experience on different device. Thus, it can be argued that ‘these new platforms will simply replace the traditional tour, which effectiveness in providing engaging experiences is not certain, with more difficult and expensive solutions for museum interpretation’2. Furthermore, a series of questions can be raised. Is there is a glass ceiling for take up rates and usage of mobile tours delivered on different platforms? And if so, is it because just a minority of museum‐goers prefer that form of interpretation? Or has the success of mobile tours been limited mainly by “external 1 Nancy, Proctor. "Nancy Proctor Keynote at MuseumNext." Vimeo. N.p., May 2012. Consulted on 1 June 2014. <http://vimeo.com/44404225>. 2 Proctor, Nancy. "The Museum Is Mobile: Cross‐platform Content Design for Audiences on the Go." 31 March 2010. Museums and the Web 2010. Ed. J. Trant and D. Bearman. Consulted on 23 March 2014 1 1. Introduction factors” such as poor marketing and signage, low quality content and generally not being a priority for decision‐makers? This thesis taps into the status of the art for mobile interpretation in museums, which is rooted into the audio‐tour interpretation model, to explore possibilities for mobile to offer deeply engaging experiences rather than primarily didactic ones. This thesis takes in consideration content and design, as well as the full potential of the “connectedness” of mobile devices. In particular, it looks at one example that leverages the two‐ways communication potential of mobile technology. In 2010 the artist Halsey Burgund created Scapes, half mobile app and half art installation, for the deCordova Sculpture Park in Massachusetts. Scapes was a crowd‐sourced audio location‐based experience of the Park. Visitors moved around the space while the music they heard changed according to where they were standing. Furthermore, they could record a message, a comment to a work of art, a thought or even a sound. The pool of contributions blended with music, sounds and noises, was inscribed into the physical location of the park, attached to the objects and the environment and changing according to visitors locations and dwelling time. The conversations among visitors, who could respond to each other’s observations, increased over time as more participants added their voices. The thesis investigates the potentials for the application of this model in museum settings as a way to establish personal and emotional connections with objects and collections and create innovative forms of storytelling. Aims of the thesis is thus to analyze the current scenario in mobile interpretation and define recommendations for sustainable and user‐centered mobile projects in museums. 1.1b. Research setting Research for the thesis has been conducted in the context of an internship at the Smithsonian Mobile Strategy and Initiatives Program (SI Mobile) that run from September 2013 to July 2014. SI Mobile is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access. In addition to leading the development of the Smithsonian's Mobile Strategy, the program functions as an advisor on mobile policies and projects with the aim of creating network effects and generating economies of scale across the Institution's mobile projects. The Smithsonian Institution has embraced the motto “recruit the world” for its mobile strategy and has been employing mobile tools to fulfill its mission: to increase the diffusion of knowledge. Challenging the top down approach that museums have been traditionally used in delivering contents, a number of SI mobile projects have experimented with crowd sourcing as a way to share narrations, connect communities and enhance accessibility and learning. During my internship, I have been assisting the Head of SI Mobile on a number of projects and, in particular, on the internal and external promotion of the more than 40 apps and mobile website that the Institution has. This gave me the chance to explore a wide variety of mobile projects in the context of different Smithsonian Museums. 2 1. Introduction Another substantial part of my research came from the opportunity to work as a volunteer and attend two Museums and the Web conference, held in Florence and Baltimore.