The EU-funded MultiMatch project aims to overcome language barriers, and media and distribution problems currently affecting access to on-line cultural heritage material. Partners are developing a vertical search engine able to harvest heterogeneous information from distributed sources and present it in a synthesized manner. To design such a system, user requirements were initially gathered and then translated into specific design features to ensure that the search engine developed was consistent with user needs. This paper presents these user requirements, the initial design of the MultiMatch
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Jennifer MarlowPaul CloughNeil IresonJuan Manuel Cigarran RecueroJavier ArtilesFranca Debole
Technologies are socially constructed. They mutate in the process of finding their social niche, and we come to understand what they "essentially" are by their cultural fit... This year a broad array of Web 2.0 applications and services in museums is being displayed at Museums and the Web. Although social computing is not the only species of Web activity we see, it is dominant for the first time. So, with the pervasive adoption of Web technologies as mechanisms for audience engagement -- and the re-situation of the museum on the Web in social application spaces controlled by others, rather
In the provision of networked services for museums, the term 'openness' crops up in a variety of contexts including open standards and open source software. In addition, the Web 2.0 environment has led to increased interest in open content and in the use of freely available networked applications which may be regarded as open services. This focus on openness for the developer or service provider can be complemented with a culture of openness which encourages the users to actively engage with services and generate their own content. It can be difficult to argue against the benefits which
In September 2008 the Greater Screen Cinema Association (GSCA) hosted the one-day symposium Connecting Society with Science: the Greater Potential of Giant Screen Experiences. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the symposium was held in Jersey City, New Jersey, one day before the GSCA International Conference and Trade Show.
The Franklin Institute Science Museum is planning, implementing, evaluating and disseminating the results of a 2.5 day conference entitled "Museums and New Family. Audiences - Building Relationships." The conference will be held in Philadelphia and involve a total of 75 professionals representing 25 museum/community programs, local community partners, advisers, and community partnership funders. Growing out of several initiatives over the past decade, the primary goal of the conference is to explore how museums and other informal science education organizations can develop and maintain long-term museum/community relationships to engage underserved families in informal STEM activities. Outcomes will include stronger relationships, a set of best practices and guidelines to be disseminated to the field, and the beginnings of a network.
The "Crafting & Evaluating Interactive Educational Websites" conference will be developed through a collaboration between the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology and the Exploratorium. The PIs will develop and host a three-day invitational conference focusing on the practice of interactive web site design, development, evaluation and maintenance intended to achieve or support informal STEM learning. The conference, which will be held in Spring, 2005, will involve 50 individuals with a wide range of expertise who will focus on a variety of issues including audience expectations and abilities, designing for learner outcomes, testing for usability, evaluation tools and accessibility. With regard to intellectual merit, conference attendees will explore challenges and barriers that hinder development of truly interactive web sites and identify best practices and promising models, tools and technologies for encouraging authentic public interaction. Conversations begun at the conference will be extended to a broader audience through development of an online manual, informed by the conference presentations and commentaries, and designed for use by the museum, media and research communities. An interactive Web site developed after the conference will allow Web developers to locate content and ideas for design, and to share new ideas and results of usability studies and evaluations.