Integrating a Location-Based Mobile Game in the Museum Visit

Abstract

Location-based systems currently represent a suitable solution to enhance cultural experiences inside museums, as they can satisfy visitors’ needs through the provision of contextualized contents and services. In this framework, a promising approach to captivate the attention of teenagers—a hard to please target audience—is represented by mobile serious games, such as playful activities aiming to primarily fulfil educational purposes. The use of a mobile digital tool during the visit definitely discloses new opportunities for contextual learning scenarios; however, so far, only a few studies have analysed the impact of different communication approaches on visitors’ degree of exploration and acquisition of knowledge. This work aims to enrich this field of research, presenting the conceptual framework; the design principles; and the evaluation results of “Gossip at palace,” a location-based mobile game integrating a storytelling approach. The game was developed for an Italian historical residence to communicate its 18th-century history to teenagers, capitalizing on narrative and game mechanics to foster young visitors’ motivations to explore the museum and facilitate their meaning-making process. Following a mixed-methods perspective, the article firstly describes to what extent the components of the application were appreciated by teenagers as well as by other visitor segments. Secondly, it provides an insight on the effectiveness of the game in facilitating the acquisition of historical knowledge by participants, enriched by considerations on the methods to be adopted when evaluating mobile learning in informal educational settings. Thirdly, players’ degree of use of the digital game throughout the visit is compared to analogous patterns registered for people using a multimedia mobile guide in the same venue. On the one hand, the study pointed out that the game facilitated a wider exploration of the museum; on the other, it highlighted that players mainly gained a superficial knowledge of the proposed contents.

A review of research on bridging the gap between formal and informal learning with technology in primary school contexts

“…Regarding learning outcomes, the majority of selected studies (33 out of 43) explored the impact in the affective domain such as student affection, attitude, motivation, and engagement in the learning process, typically measured by a simple questionnaire or observation. For example, Rubino, Barberis, Xhembulla, and Malnati () used questionnaires and interviews to determine the extent to which users liked their mobile history game in a museum, and Tay and Lim () used tape‐recorded interviews and observation notes to determine the motivation level and opinion that students had about their three‐dimensional multi‐user virtual environment game. Twenty‐five studies evaluated cognitive results, whereas only six studies reported effects in the psychomotor domain.…”

“…example,Rubino, Barberis, Xhembulla, and Malnati (2015) used questionnaires and interviews to determine the extent to which users liked their mobile history game in a museum, andTay and Lim (2010) used tape-recorded interviews and observation notes to determine the motivation level and opinion that students had about their threedimensional multi-user virtual environment game. Twenty-five studies evaluated cognitive results, whereas only six studies reported effects in the psychomotor domain.…”

Comparison of Wearable Optical See-through and Handheld Devices as Platform for an Augmented Reality Museum Guide

“…Engagement and active participantion with the artworks have been explored by Rubino et al (2015) and Schmalstieg and Wagner (2007) who have included gamification in handheld AR guides. Through use of storytelling adventure games and pervasive games, their studies suggest that games are an engaging way of bringing an active role to the visitors, and thereby, increase their satisfaction during the museum experience.…”

Difusión Del Arte Rupestre a Través De Aplicaciones Móviles De Realidad Aumentada: Un Enfoque Práctico

“…Una gran parte de ellas se centra en el uso de aplicaciones de RA dentro de muesos, para mejorar la experiencia del visitante (Flores Gutierrez et al 2011;Rubino et al 2015). Además, la RA también ayuda a mostrar los diferentes estados del proceso de restauración de forma comprensiva para el visitante (Haladová et al 2015).…”