ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************

	Might be nice to have some data on visitor behavior in museums with public WIFi. Anyone?

Martin
On Jun 21, 2010, at 3:15 PM, David Smith wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> I think it is important to distinguish between the behavior and the
> technology.  I haven't been in this business for long enough to know, but my
> bet is that there were disengaged chaperones long before there were
> cellphones and wi-fi.
> 
> Personally, I love it when i have access to wi-fi, but lack of wi-fi is no
> longer an impediment to web surfing, since i have a smart phone.  I use my
> phone to look things up all the time, including when I'm at museum exhibits
> and want to show my daughter something or see something for myself. Since
> chaperones can be disengaged even without wi-fi, why not just provide it on
> the theory that it increases the number of mobile devices that visitors can
> use.
> 
> One more data point.  The fact that my office can always reach me if they
> need me, makes it far more possible for me to do things like be a chaperone
> for my daughters class.
> 
> Dave Smith
> 
> On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 2:09 PM, Beryl Rosenthal <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>> 
>> *****************************************************************************
>> 
>> I have repeatedly seen chaperones sit on the sidelines and text/check
>> mail/talk on the phone instead of being engaged with their charges' learning
>> opportunity.  Yes, it drives me nuts.  However, does that mean that everyone
>> will do it if wifi is available?  Probably not.  Still, it does raise the
>> spectre.
>> 
>> Every time I have had a computer-based kiosk in an exhibit, I have had to
>> have them hardwired so people could not break out of the program and engage
>> in websurfing.  People will always find a way...
>> 
>> I would be interested to hear from folks who use handheld devices in their
>> exhibits as the interactive device.  What are you seeing?
>> 
>> Beryl
>> On Jun 21, 2010, at 1:59 PM, Bob Raiselis wrote:
>> 
>>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>>> 
>> *****************************************************************************
>>> 
>>> On Jun 21, 2010, at 1:05 PM, Wendy Pollock wrote:
>>> 
>>>> Last week, there was an exchange about public Internet access in
>> museums. Bob and others seemed to be saying they'd like to avoid the
>> "Internet cafe" atmosphere. I'm curious about why.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> We were wondering if a public wifi connection would encourage parents
>> (and teens) to sit on the sidelines and surf the web or catch up on email
>> while their children/younger siblings were engaged in the exhibits, rather
>> than participating with them. I believe there were a couple of responses to
>> that question that brought this up.
>>> 
>>> We don't actually have a cafe. If we did that would be a good place to
>> catch up on email, probably. The exhibit floor, maybe not so much.
>>> 
>>> So I guess the question might instead be "is it appropriate to encourage
>> wireless Internet usage by museum visitors on the exhibit floor?"
>>> 
>>> Bob Raiselis
>>> Montshire Museum of Science
>>> 
>>> ***********************************************************************
>>> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and
>> the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>>> 
>>> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
>> www.exhibitfiles.org.
>>> 
>>> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft.
>> To learn more, visit
>>> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
>>> 
>>> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
>>> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
>>> [log in to unmask]
>> 
>> Beryl Rosenthal
>> Executive Director, Waterworks Museum
>> [log in to unmask]
>> 617.277.0065
>> 
>> ***********************************************************************
>> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the
>> Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>> 
>> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at
>> www.exhibitfiles.org.
>> 
>> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To
>> learn more, visit
>> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
>> 
>> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
>> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
>> [log in to unmask]
>> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> David L. Smith
> Da Vinci Science Center
> Allentown, PA
> http://www.davinci-center.org
> 
> Please consider the environment before printing this email.
> 
> "You can’t buy change. It’s a process, not a purchase. The right shopping
> list won’t change education.”
>    -Sylvia Martinez http://blog.genyes.com/
> 
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
> 
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.
> 
> The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.
> 
> To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
> message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
> [log in to unmask]


__________________
__________________
Martin Weiss, PhD
Science Interpretation Consultant
mweiss at nyscience dot org

***********************************************************************
For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.

Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org.

The ISEN-ASTC-L email list is powered by LISTSERVR software from L-Soft. To learn more, visit
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html.

To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the
message  SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to
[log in to unmask]