characterised by differentiation
and change. Better understanding will
require synthesis and integration of what is
known about the nature of information, the
characteristics of complex communities
and instructional design for online
learning.
4.4 WEBCASTS
Webcasts are a developing feature of the
e-learning offer of an increasing number
of museums. Initially seen as a way of
introducing the human dimension – of
curator, researcher, expert – at far less
cost than film or TV, they provide another
example of synergy. Webcasts give the
learner the potential for interaction not
(yet) otherwise available. Participants can
ask questions, feedback ideas or
preferences and engage in a raft of other
activities. A pioneer in the museum realm,
the Exploratorium offers a programme of
frequent live webcasts while the Natural
History Museum – from its Darwin Centre
– has an equally ambitious commitment to
creating an ever-increasing archive of its
daily Darwin Centre Live programme. In
both cases video and audio is streamed
over the internet, although different
platforms are utilised. (A recent highlight
was a three-way collaboration between the
two institutions and the NHM’s field
research station in Belize (www.
exploratorium.edu/
origins/belizelondon/
index.html).)
In many ways such webcasts are a natural
development of the kinds of public
presentations given on-site, themselves
extensively supported by a range of digital
technologies. Presentation is a more apt
term than talk or lecture, although
encounter or exchange might place further
emphasis on the aspiration of two-way
communications, especially in science
museums, where dialogue is replacing
deficit as a model: see also, for example,
the Dana Centre at the Science Museum
(www.danacentre.org.uk) or the Boston
Museum of Science (www.mos.org).
4.5 SUMMARY
Museum websites may have begun as
digital brochures and developed
subsequently into online representations of
the physical museum, but they have not
stopped there. Generally resisting the
temptation to use the latest special effects
for their own sake, they show considerable
diversity – of content, design, philosophy
and navigational practice. The best are
among the best sites for learning
anywhere on the internet. While not
professing to play the same kind of role as
commercially produced games, many
museum websites provide enjoyable and
meaningful experiences in which the
representation of objects and artefacts and
the motivation and active engagement of
learners are clearly paramount.
5 THE FUTURE: MORE OF THE SAME... OR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?
To what extent will museums continue to
use digital technologies to facilitate the
same kinds of learning as earlier, more
traditional approaches? Will cultural
institutions inevitably become hybrids of
the real and the digital? How far can they
go in using new opportunities to foster
completely new strategies? What
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kinds of
learning philosophy and rationale – explicit or implicit – are discernable? What are the
key parameters that museums need to
address when planning future
opportunities for learning with digital
technologies? Where do the tensions lie?
What are the risks in making the wrong
decisions – or in making no decisions at all
beyond the maintenance of the status quo?
Museums began to develop electronic
exhibitions and learning resources for a
number of reasons. They were able to
showcase a wider range of objects; they
could mount exhibitions on different – and
difficult – subjects, perhaps more
specialised or more topical; they could
increase outreach and access; they could
attract more visitors to the physical
museum. These aims have already been
realised. They have certainly moved well
beyond the use of ICT to facilitate the
school visit or field trip (Schmidt 1997;
Tinker et al 2002). Beginning to emerge
are signs of a revolution far greater than
that envisaged in A Netful of Jewels
(National Museum Directors’ Conference
1999) or in Building the Digital Museum
(Smith 2000).
Since the proliferation of museums in the
late 19th century there have been many
changes (Table 5.1). The museum’s
relationship with its visitors, with potential
learners, has moved from (in)tolerance
through encouragement (in search of
visitor numbers) to empowerment (as
philosophies alter). Once the only raison
d’être, objects – while no longer quite as
| |
1880s |
1990s |
2020? |
Objects
Learners
ICT |
exotic
tolerated
n/a |
marginal
encouraged
alternative |
essential
empowered
integral |
Table 5.1 2020 vision (Hawkey 2001)
exotic – retain (or, possibly, have regained)
their uniqueness. The most dramatic
change lies with digital technologies,
initially feared as competitor, now
welcomed as ally.
So, whither learning in the 21st century
museum? Abungu (1999) is clear that,
“Museums of the 21st century are places
to explore, and to learn through discovery.
The exhibits should not provide all the
answers, but be interactive and stimulate
the visitor to ask questions.”
Sheppard (2001) agrees with the
significance, in terms both of discovery
and of intellectual development:
“Museums encourage discovery. Through
the power of objects, they help visitors
link their worlds to those of other times
and places. Through both content and
context, museums teach visual thinking
skills, using tangible objects to help
visitors understand and respect the
diversity of their worlds.”
It has been convenient in this review to
deal separately with learning on-site, in
the physical space of the museum, and
online – at home, school or wherever.
However, as with the distinction between
formal and informal learning, the
boundaries are blurring (Fig 5.1) and
it would be a mistake to make any
assumptions based on the traditional
Figure 5.1 Persistent dichotomies or
blurring the boundaries? (Hawkey 2001b)
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