Media-Enhanced Group Inquiry and Interaction in Museums Using Ask Dr. Discovery

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: Mobile Applications for Enhancing Learning

Abstract

The Ask Dr. Discovery study addresses the need for ongoing, large-scale museum evaluation while investigating visitor engagement with museum content. To realize these aims, we developed an inquiry-based mobile app with two parts: 1) a front-end virtual scientist called Dr. Discovery (Dr. D) used by museum visitors as an unobtrusive data-gatherer and 2) a back-end analytics portal mined by museum staff, evaluators, and researchers. In this paper, we describe a study exploring visitor group interactions while using two modes of the Dr. D app. We found that groups using a gamified version (Game Mode) of Dr. D app were significantly more likely to report engagement in group discussion during question-asking than groups using a non-game version (Ask Mode).

Authors

• Jesse Ha, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Arizona State University

• Luis Enrique Perez Cortes, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Arizona State University

• Man Su, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Brian C. Nelson, Arizona State University

• Catherine D.D. Bowman, Arizona State University

• Judd Bowman, Arizona State University