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 at three Danish natural science museums − all with didactic concepts centered on user-generated video-productions.
Digital mobile and social media technologies have long been associated with the promise of providing valuable and unique new opportunities for enhancing and supporting participatory learning experiences in museums (Drotner & Schrøder 2013; Giaccardi 2012; Simon 2010; Tallon & Walker 2008). Recently, portable tablets have been a central focus in Danish political and learning discourses and many museums now experiment with ways in which iPads can deliver the assumed dissemination and experience results.
This presentation discusses museums’ use of iPads from a 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 users’ reflections on the user experience as compared to the content and communication purposes intended by the museums. Firstly, users’ prior knowledge and experiences raise the bar for user expectations, reinforcing the need for contextual grounding and justification on the use of tablets. Secondly, use of iPads in some instances enhances the classroom feel to the visit seen from the young users’ perspective. By way of conclusion, 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.
