Introducing iPads in Danish natural science museum settings: A youthful user perspective

For portable tablet resources to be efficient and relevant tools for participatory learning their adoption and didactic substance need to be developed with a dual view to learners’ socio-cultural contexts of learning and to institutional objectives for adoption. I substantiate my claim through analysis of a media ethnographic study on the introduction of iPads on three Danish natural science museums − all with didactic concepts centered on user generated video-productions.

Digital mobile and social media technologies have for long been associated with the promise of providing valuable and unique new opportunities for enhancing and supporting participatory learning experiences in museums. Recently, portable tablets have been a central focus in Danish political and learning discourse and many museums now experiment on how iPads can deliver the dissemination and experience results they have hopes for them to deliver.

This paper discusses museums’ use of iPads from user-led perspective and, in particular, the mismatch between the call for museums to use these technologies as tools to embrace or even challenge young users’ expectations and the user experience realities. Based on my preliminary analysis, I present two issues surrounding the differences between user’s reflection on the user experience as compared to the content and communication purposes intended by the museums. Firstly, users’ prior knowledge and experiences raises the bar for user expectations, reinforcing the need for contextual grounding and justification on the use of tablets even more. Secondly, use of iPads in some instances enhances the classroom feel to the visit in the young users’ perspective. Conclusively, it is argued that even though didactic focus on creators is obvious, it has profound impact on conceptual framing and how natural science and media production and dissemination themes are balanced.