Assignment
As this class focused on learning and technology in organizations
such as museums, schools, businesses and families, one important
assignment asked us to spend time in a museum observing the
ways in which people learn, interact and use technology and
then to write a paper chronicling and analyzing our observations
while offering suggestions for new possibilities or improvements.
Process
Two
of my classmates and I spent several hours observing visitors
to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. This hands-on science
museum with frequently changing exhibits draws children and
adults of all ages to visit, play and learn. After spending
nearly an hour observing different and only marginally effective
exhibits, we settled in to observe a new exhibit: Behind
the Screen. Each of us took notes and observed evidence
of learning and interactions with technology.
Writing
the Paper
We all wrote up observation notes with some initial analysis
and emailed them to the entire group. Once we had read through
all of the notes, we took turns tackling different drafts
using the tracking tool in Microsoft Word. With team members
in San Jose, Palo Alto and San Francisco, it was most efficient
for us to work remotely as we wrote the paper.
Excerpt
Unintentional and Intentional Modeling
A few minutes after we arrived at the animation station, an
"Explainer" a museum guide in his late teens, jumped
at the opportunity to make his own animation when he saw an
empty seat in front of one of the workstations. Without asking
if visitors needed help or guidance, he immediately went to
work putting together an animation of a rolling red wagon
knocking down Curious George with such "force" that
Curious George’s head fell off. He quickly moved the
props, hitting the Record button each time he wanted to record
a frame, and pressing the Playback button to show off his
animation to the two other amused Explainers standing nearby.
The Explainers had been walking around together as a group
and appeared to be friends. When the Explainer was done, he
and his friends left the exhibit area.
Sitting
to the right of the Explainer was an approximately 7-year-old
girl who, after watching the Explainer’s animation, began
animating a sequence of her own. She moved the props in a
sequential manner, pressing the record button every time she
wanted to record a frame. In her story a large frog jumped
and landed on top of Curious George’s head. Once again
the friendly monkey lost his head. After playing the animation
and excitedly showing her mom, who was making her own animation
in the next seat, the girl made two iterations of the same
movie, improving upon the first by making it appear as though
the frog was biting off Curious George’s head. Each time,
she eagerly asked her mom to look at her new animation.
Although
the Explainer’s job is to assist visitors and help them
to use the exhibits, it appears the modeling taking place
was unintentional. The Explainer was having fun with his friends,
and in the process, showed young visitors the correct sequence
of actions to take to create an animation. The girl sitting
next to him was able to pick this up right away after watching
him, and even imitated the content of his animation.
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