State of the Art: German Museum Education on the Social Web

PhD Thesis "German Art Museums on the Social Web – Social Media for Museum Education" by Bianca Bocatius

Institute of Information Science, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf

Outline

1. Designing the Social Web for Museum Learning

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites and with

Blogs

3. Conclusions and Explanations

1. Designing a Learning Place

European museums are places of learning:

Learning in informal contexts

Learning of facts, improving or developing skills

and feeling or enjoying a creative experience

Learning as the biggest challenge for museums

today

1. Designing a Learning Place

The Web develops into a learning place as

well.

platform for different kinds of media to publish

information

a place that enables participation, engagement,

and communication

a place that enhances the visitor’s experience

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

The online educational museum service in Germany can be separated into three categories (PREHN, 2010):

general information specialized information educational service

online

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

Jewish Museum Berlin

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

The Website is used

to publish information,

to guarantee public access to cultural heritage,

to enable visitors to prepare and review their visits

individually,

to guarantee an online experience outside the

museum walls,

to enable interested people to learn about the

Jewish culture in a receptive or interactive way

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

A fourth category: educational service and participatory/ collaborative learning opportunities online

Web-based participation: active engagement of visitor; visitor or participant as prosumer

Web-based collaboration: active engagement of visitors who work together voluntarily

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

TATE museums

receptive

participatory

interactive

2. Online Learning on Museum Websites

The Website is used to publish information,

to guarantee public access to cultural heritage,

to enable visitors to prepare and review their visits

individually,

to guarantee an online experience outside the museum

walls,

to enable interested people to learn about art in a

receptive, interactive, participatory, sometimes even

collaborative way

to activate dialogues and enable creative expressions

2. Online Learning with Blogs

Functions of social media

communication and information: microblogging,

blogs, social networks, podcasts, social tagging

personalization: MySites/ Community-sites, social

bookmarking

network and exchange: social networks, wikis,

Sharing-sites

basic characteristic of all social media:

participation and collaboration (user-generated-

content and user-generated-tools)

2. Online Learning with Blogs

ArchäoLOGIN

exhibition project for the exhibition

“Fundgeschichten”

school classes (age 10-16 years)

use of digital technology (iPad and a blog) to

guarantee self-directed and collaborative

learning about the different objects and their

stories

2. Online Learning with Blogs

ArchäoLOGIN – Fundgeschichten blog

2. Online Learning with Blogs

The blog is used as a collective knowledge archive in a static way.

The blog is not used to foster participation and/ or collaboration (no

comments, no exchange, no blogosphere);

to connect and expand educational work by combining

activities onsite and online;

to guarantee a communicative and participatory

relationship between the museum and its visitors

onsite and online.

2. Online Learning with Blogs

Dulwich OnView blog

since January 2008, currently with almost 25

volunteers involved

by visitors for visitors to inform others about the

Dulwich Picture Gallery and its community

inside stories, guest posts by Gallery staff

2. Online learning with Blogs

Dulwich OnView blog

2. Online learning with Blogs

The blog is used as a communication and information tool;

to guarantee a communicative and participatory

relationship between the museum and its visitors

onsite and online;

to foster participation and/ or collaboration (comments,

exchange, blogosphere).

The blog is not used to connect and expand educational work by combining

activities onsite and online.

3. Conclusions and Explanations

German Museum Websites participation, collaboration and knowledge exchange

mostly not intended, focus on receptive and interactive content mediation, information tool

Social Media in German museum education no holistic concept, social media as another information tool, static and one-way communication, benefits and effects are not exploited, participation and collaboration are connected to the

real site

Anglo-Saxon Museum Websites different mediation approaches for different target-

groups, Web-based participation and knowledge exchange, Web-based collaboration and knowledge acquisition

within communities, focus on a holistic content mediation concept, Website as another learning place

Social Media in Anglo-Saxon museum education staff is mostly aware of the benefits and effects, Web-based participation and knowledge acquisition, Web-based collaboration within communities Web as another learning place

3. Conclusions and Explanations

3. Conclusions and Explanations

Explanations lack of know-how (ELLIS et. al., 2007: WWW) reluctance of technologies (PEACOCK, 2008) fear of losing control (LOOSELEY et. al.,

2009: WWW) fear of marginalization (VOGELSANG, 2012) Web presence has no priority – lack of time,

money and will (ELLIS et al., 2007: WWW)

3. Conclusions and Explantions

Potential benefits and effects for learning with social media in museums “understanding”, “learning” and

“knowledge” as individual results documentation, observation and evaluation easy to guarantee communication,

information, personalization, networking and exchange

active participation and collaboration to foster engagement, involvement and motivation to guarantee learning online

Thank you for your attention!

Bianca Bocatiusbiancabocatius@gmail.com

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