Summer is flying by and the hard work in the Cyberlab continues.\u00a0 If you have been keeping up with previous posts, we have had researchers in residence as part of our Cyber Scholar program, movement on our facial recognition camera installations, and conference presentations taking place around the country and internationally.\u00a0 Sometimes I forget just how amazing the implementation of unobtrusive audio and video collection methods are to the field of visitor research and exhibit evaluation until I talk to another researcher or educator working at another informal learning center.\u00a0 The methods and tools we are applying have huge implications to streamlining these types of projects.\u00a0 It is exciting to be a part of an innovative project in an effort to understand free choice learning and after a year in the lab, I have gained several new skills, particularly learning by doing.<\/p>\n
As with any research, or project in general, there are highs and lows with trying to get things done and working.\u00a0 Ideally, everything will work the first time (or when plugged in), there are no delays, and moving forward is the only direction.\u00a0 Of course in reality there are tool constraints, pieces to reconsider and reconfigure, and several starts and stops in an effort to figure it out.\u00a0 There is no Cyberlab \u201cmanual\u201d \u2013 we are creating it as we go \u2013 and this has been a great lesson for me personally when it comes to my approach to both personal and professional experiences, particularly with future opportunities in research.<\/p>\n
Speaking of research, this past week I started the data that will go towards my Master\u2019s thesis.\u00a0 As I am looking at family interactions and evidence of learning behaviors around the Ideum touchtable, I am getting the chance to use the tools of the Cyberlab, but also gain experience recruiting and interviewing visitors.\u00a0 My data collection will last throughout the month of August, as I perform sampling during morning and afternoon hours on every day of the week.\u00a0 This will allow for a broad spectrum of visitors, though I am purposively sampling \u201cmulti-generational\u201d family groups, or at least one adult and one child using the exhibit.\u00a0 After at least one minute of table use, I am interviewing the group about their experience using the touch table, and will be looking at the footage to further analyze what types of learning behaviors may be occurring.<\/p>\n
During my observations, I have been reflecting on my time as an undergraduate conducting research in marine biology.\u00a0 At that point, I was looking at distribution and feeding habitats of orange sea cucumbers in the Puget Sound.\u00a0 Now the \u201cwildlife\u201d I am studying is the human species and as I sit and observe from a distance, I think about how wildlife biologists wait in the brush for the animal they are studying to approach, interact, and depart the area.\u00a0 Over the course of my sampling sessions I am waiting for a family group to approach, interact, and depart the gallery.\u00a0 There are so many questions that I have been thinking about with regards to family behavior in a public science center.\u00a0 How do they move through the space, what exhibits attract particular age groups, how long do they decide to stay in any particular area, and what do they discuss while they are there?\u00a0 I am excited to begin analyzing the data I will get.\u00a0 No doubt it will likely lead to more questions\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summer is flying by and the hard work in the Cyberlab continues.\u00a0 If you have been keeping up with previous posts, we have had researchers in residence as part of our Cyber Scholar program, movement on our facial recognition camera installations, and conference presentations taking place around the country and internationally.\u00a0 Sometimes I forget just… Continue reading