What are some effective ways to use mobile apps in museum education?

1 Define the learning goals

Before designing or choosing a mobile app for museum education, you need to define the learning goals that you want to achieve. What do you want your visitors to learn, understand, or appreciate from your exhibits? How do you want them to connect the museum content with their own experiences, interests, and values? How do you want them to interact with each other and the museum staff? These questions will help you align your mobile app with your educational vision and mission.

2 Choose the appropriate app type

Different types of mobile apps can be used to serve various purposes and audiences in museum education. Guide apps, for instance, provide information, navigation, and audio or video tours that allow visitors to explore the museum at their own pace and preference. Game apps use gamification elements like challenges, rewards, and feedback to make the museum visit more fun and interactive. Creative apps enable visitors to create, share, and remix digital content related to the museum exhibits. Lastly, social apps allow visitors to communicate, network, and co-learn with other visitors, museum staff, or experts. All of these types of apps can help enhance visitors' learning experiences and foster a sense of ownership and participation.

3 Design the app for accessibility and usability

A mobile app for museum education should be accessible and usable for all visitors, regardless of their age, background, or ability. To ensure this, it is important to use clear and simple language and visuals, while avoiding jargon and clutter. Additionally, providing multiple modes of representation such as text, audio, images, and videos with adjustable settings like font size, volume, and contrast is essential. Furthermore, the app must be compatible with different devices, platforms, and browsers and tested for bugs and errors. Finally, clear instructions and feedback should be provided along with support and guidance when needed.

4 Evaluate the app's impact and effectiveness

Evaluating a mobile app for museum education regularly and systematically is essential to measure its impact and effectiveness on the visitors' learning outcomes and experiences. Surveys and interviews can help you understand the visitors' needs, preferences, and expectations, while observations and analytics can track and analyze their behaviors and interactions with the app. Assessments and portfolios can measure the visitors' learning achievements and progress with the app. If used effectively and strategically, mobile apps can be valuable tools for museum education, following the principles of educational leadership to design or choose apps that enhance the learning experience of your visitors, and support your educational goals and vision.