UK Museums on the Web 2009The V & A, London, December 2nd 2009

Anne Kahr-HøjlandDREAMDanish Research Centre on Education and Advanced Media MaterialsUniversity of Southern Denmark & The Experimentariumakh@dream.dk

EGO-TRAP – you have no idea…How to extend the learning experience within museums by means of a digital narrative

- you have no idea…

EGO-TRAP: What is it?

A digital narrative at the Experimentarium. The visitors are guided by means of their mobile phones through the exhibition hall at the science centre

Three levels and two narrative layers 1. A personal test; what kind of human being am

I?

2. Cooperation – and: the arousing of a suspicion (the meta narrative)

3. Insight/confrontation: who is really behind the personal test?

Augmented Reality: a digital narrative or game play which is determined by the physical setting

Target group: students from upper secondary schools

EGO-TRAP: Why?

Overall objectives: to stimulate young people’s interest in

science to improve the learning setting at the

Experimentarium by prompting reflective processes

Reflective processes are (thought to be) prompted by…

Predictions & Evaluations Narrative structure:

establishing a meaningful context (Mandler, 1984; Bruner, 1990;) and supporting meta reflection (Labov, 1972)

Dialogue with others (socio-cultural learning, Wenger, 1998)

Insights gained from the data analysis

The visitors are very engaged in the experience in EGO-TRAP

They remember exhibits and results at a high level of details

The test narrative works as a well-functioning exhibition guide

Content matters

The users are more occupied with the test than with the rat

The young people's strong commitment to the personal test happens at the expense of their engagement in the meta-narrative, which was planned so as to support critical thinking through social learning processes.

The positivistic-oriented personality test tends to derail the students from the important aim of critical reflection

Thank you

Anne Kahr-Højland, akh@dream.dk