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Creating Engaging Experiences in a Digital Age
The document discusses creating engaging experiences at the Peabody Essex Museum, focusing on the four elements of engagement: emotion, immersion, storytelling, and gaming/play. It emphasizes that engagement is an intrinsically motivated process leading to emotional responses and behavior change. The document also highlights examples from the museum's new maritime gallery and encourages reflection and audience interaction.
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Creating Engaging Experiences in a Digital Age
- 1. Creating Engaging Experiences ina Digital Age Ed Rodley, Peabody Essex Museum
- 2. • Acknowledging theApocalypse • About PEM, and me • What do I mean by “engagement”? • Elements of engagement: • Emotion • Immersion • Storytelling • Gaming/Play • Examples from PEM • Q & A AGENDA
- 3. 2020: The PlagueYear This year will be one that we look back on like 1941, 1929, 1918, 1861. Things will be different… but how?
- 4. What is thePeabody Essex Museum (PEM) like? http://www.pem.org/ 1799 - present
- 8. A little aboutme 1977 - present
- 12. Web development Immersive environments Videoproduction Game development Me circa 2018 In-gallery interpretation
- 14. Creating Engaging Experiences ina Digital Age Four elements of engagement that don’t necessarily require any fancy technology
- 15. What is Engagement? Engagement isan intrinsically motivated process where a person directs their conscious, focused attention to an autotelic experience which triggers an emotional response, leads to the creation or reinforcement of a memory, and influences their behavior afterward. Engagement is an intrinsically motivated process where a person directs their conscious, focused attention to an autotelic experience which triggers an emotional response, leads to the creation or reinforcement of a memory, and influences their behavior afterward.
- 16. Emotion Humans are notrational creatures who are also emotional, rather we are emotional creatures who are also able to be rational.
- 17. Immersion “immersion matters tocreate a distinction between the outside world and inside the exhibition, a magic circle where visitors gain superpowers”. -Seb Chan
- 18. Storytelling “All we areas humans are storytellers… We tell stories for entertainment. Science is merely a rigorous way of telling stories that are hopefully true. If they’re not, we change them to get one that is more true.” -Adam Savage
- 19. Gaming/Play “Just as thereis no formal difference between play and ritual, so the "consecrated spot" cannot be formally distinguished from the play-ground… All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart.” -Johan Huizinga
- 20. The thing you’re designing Thepoint of all this is to create a magic circle
- 21. Our culture Their experience Thething you’re designing Their journey expectations reflection memoryexperience Johnanna Koljonen, Alibis for Interaction Koljonen’s participant journey
- 22. Examples from PeabodyEssex Museum (PEM)
- 23. The new MaritimeGallery @ PEM
- 24. What kinds of experiencescan you have in this gallery?
- 25. Our experience ofthe sea is universal.
- 26. Recreating a feelingrather than reconstructing a context
- 27. Making moments of discovery •A ”speedbump” to slow you down and encourage close looking • Intimate; a moment to recharge • Audience activated; you enter, the space lights up • Enclosed; a visual break from the density of the rest of the gallery • Social; built for group experience • A storytelling moment • An explicit appeal to emotion
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- 33. Thanks! Hit me upat: • ed_rodley@pem.org • @erodley • www.thinkingaboutmuseums.com
Editor's Notes
- #6 PEM is the oldest continuously-operating museum in the country, tracing its founding back to 1799. In the 19th century, Salem merchants and ship captains made enormous fortunes in trade with Asia, and brought back objects from their travels around the world. Fun fact: In 1800, Salem was the largest port in the United States, ahead of Boston, New York, or Philadelphia.
- #7 In 1993, PEM became a museum of art and culture, and its collecting shifted to include a strong emphasis on contemporary art in addition to its historic collections. It’s an interesting mix of old and new with particularly strong collections of maritime history, Asian, South Asian, and Native American art, a major research library, and two dozen historic houses from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. So, that’s PEM.
- #8 Additionally, PEM also owns and maintains 20-odd historic buidlings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. It’s a fascinating mix…
- #10 I’ve worked in museums as a kid, doing any number of volunteer jobs, including walking around in spacesuits, like this sexy Apollo A7M.
- #11 I’ve also worked in museums my whole adult life. I started off as a registrar, looking at objects in dark rooms.
- #13 Now at least I get to look up! I’m responsible for developing a variety of media projects at PEM, which include In-gallery interpretation, like this AR viewer that let you “look inside” a model of the Queen Mary Video production Immersive environments like this recreation of a 19th century Impressionist’s studio boat, where you could look out the stern at a tranquil river scene while the canvas next to it showed a time lapse of a painter capturing that scene. We also do the website And now, I often work with game designers to create gameful experiences for visitors.
- #17 Once you find your sources, you will want to evaluate your sources using the following questions: Author: Who is the author? Why should I believe what he or she has to say on the topic? Is the author seen as an expert on the topic? How do you know? Current: How current is the information in the source? When was the source published? Is the information out-of-date? Accuracy: Is the content accurate? Is the information presented objectively? Do they share the pros and cons?
- #18 Once you find your sources, you will want to evaluate your sources using the following questions: Author: Who is the author? Why should I believe what he or she has to say on the topic? Is the author seen as an expert on the topic? How do you know? Current: How current is the information in the source? When was the source published? Is the information out-of-date? Accuracy: Is the content accurate? Is the information presented objectively? Do they share the pros and cons?
- #19 After consulting a variety of sources, you will need to narrow your topic. For example, the topic of internet safety is huge, but you could narrow that topic to include internet safety in regards to social media apps that teenagers are using heavily. A topic like that is more specific and will be relevant to your peers. Some questions to think about to help you narrow your topic: What topics of the research interest me the most? What topics of the research will interest my audience the most? What topics will the audience find more engaging? Shocking? Inspiring?
- #20 Now, that you have narrowed your topic, you will want to organize your research in a structure that works. There are some common organizational patterns based on the kind of research you are doing. Organizational Structures: Cause and Effect- this kind of structure is great for explaining the causes and effects of a topic Compare and Contrast- in this pattern you highlight the similarities and differences of the topic Explain process- this structure is great for outlining a series of steps to follow; Definition- if you want to make sure your audience understands what something is using illustrations, meanings, clarifying misconceptions, you may want to use this structure Classification- a common organizational structure is grouping like topics or facts from the research together. For instance, in the internet safety about social media apps, you may organize the research where you look at each social media app one at a time
- #21 It owes its current vogue though to Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, who wrote “To play a game means entering into a magic circle, or perhaps creating one as a game begins.” In their 2003 book, “Rules of Play: Fundamentals of Game Design”. Since then, it’s become a foundational concept of game design, and has its own sub-literature devoted to critiquing or defending the idea. What Salen and Zimmerman meant by “magic circle” was the idea that it is a boundary. On the outside is the world, and on the inside is the game. And when players cross that threshold, the rules change, norms change, and people’s roles and behaviors change. What is verboten or discouraged in the world can become acceptable inside the magic circle. The stereotypical quiet meek person who turns into a cutthroat poker player is just one example of how play redefines the rules, or at least establishes a different set while the play is occurring.
- #22 Straight out of Huizinga via Salen and Zimmerman. I first encountered it through Johanna Koljonen’s great Alibis for Interaction in Mälmo, Sweden. “magic circle” is a boundary. On the outside is the world, and on the inside is the game. And when players cross that threshold, the rules change, norms change, and people’s roles and behaviors change. What is verboten or discouraged in the world can become acceptable inside the magic circle. The stereotypical quiet meek person who turns into a cutthroat poker player is just one example of how play redefines the rules, or at least establishes a different set while the play is occurring. To me, the act of becoming a visitor to a heritage site is the same thing. Whatever you were in the world, you become this new thing, and new norms apply. The Magic Circle also useful to heritage professionals because it is a way to see the visitor experience holistically. In the diagram, the visitor’s journey starts long before they get to the magic circle of the thing you’re designing for them. Their journey is rooted in the larger cultural context of wherever they are and their particular personal experience. Along the way, they’ve picked up expectations about what is going to happen when they enter that magic circle. It is very easy to spend all of one’s time deciding what to do with visitors when they arrive at the entrance to your thing, but by then, they are already a long way into their journey, and you’ve lost opportunities to influence them. And most importantly, the thing that happens inside the magic circle is well defined. Have you ever accidentally played a game? Me neither. Have you ever wandered from one part of a museum to another and realized belatedly that you’ve entered another exhibition? Me too.
- #23 You can use this slide as your opening or closing slide. Should you choose to use it as a closing, make sure you review the main points of your presentation. One creative way to do that is by adding animations to the various graphics on a slide. This slide has 4 different graphics, and, when you view the slideshow, you will see that you can click to reveal the next graphic. Similarly, as you review the main topics in your presentation, you may want each point to show up when you are addressing that topic. Add animation to images and graphics: Select your image or graphic. Click on the Animations tab. Choose from the options. The animation for this slide is “Split”. The drop-down menu in the Animation section gives even more animations you can use. If you have multiple graphics or images, you will see a number appear next to it that notes the order of the animations. Note: You will want to choose the animations carefully. You do not want to make your audience dizzy from your presentation.
- #33 After you’ve done your research, it’s time to put your presentation together. The first step in the process is to introduce the topic. This is a great time to connect your topic to something that your audience can relate. In other words, why should they listen to all the information you will be sharing in your research presentation? What is in it for them? You may also want to include a graphic or image to grab their attention. Feel free to duplicate this slide by right-clicking on this slide in the slides pane to the left and select Duplicate Slide. The next step in your presentation is to state your claim or topic clearly. Your teacher may even call this your thesis. As you state your thesis, you may find that this layout is not the best layout for your claim or topic. You can change the layout by clicking the drop-down menu next to the Layout in the Slides menu section. You can choose Two Content, Comparison, or Picture with Caption. Note: A different layout might change the look of the icons on this page. You will also want to state your facts. You have done the research now share some of the interesting facts with your audience. Facts do not have to be boring; you can communicate facts in a variety of ways by going to the Insert Tab. In the Insert tab you can: Insert pictures from your computer or online. Add a chart Create some SmartArt Insert a variety of icons to help your facts come to life. Note: You can change the color of the icons by selecting the icon and then click on the Format tab and then Graphics Fill. From there, you will choose a color from the list or choose More Fill Colors to give you more options. Since this research presentation is a result of your hard work and searching, you want to make sure you support the claims or points in your presentation with facts from your research findings. Make sure you give the author proper credit for helping you share your ideas. If one of your sources has a video that is relevant to your topic, you can add the video as added support. Keep in mind the length of the video and the amount of time you have for your presentation. For a 5 minute speech, the video should be no longer than 30 seconds. Questions to consider: How will you state the author of the source? Will you need to cite the source on the slide? What are some ways you can engage your audience so they feel like they are a part of the presentation? Some ideas to consider is by taking a quick poll like: by a show of hands, how many of you think school uniforms are a way to cut down on bullying? Another suggestion is to have them hold up a certain number of fingers to see if they agree or disagree. Finally, you can share a story that the audience can relate to that makes them laugh. After all the applause, your audience may have some questions. Be prepared to answer some of their questions by making a list of questions you think they might ask. You may also want to share the presentation with them by providing the link to your presentation, if they want more information.
- #34 After you’ve done your research, it’s time to put your presentation together. The first step in the process is to introduce the topic. This is a great time to connect your topic to something that your audience can relate. In other words, why should they listen to all the information you will be sharing in your research presentation? What is in it for them? You may also want to include a graphic or image to grab their attention. Feel free to duplicate this slide by right-clicking on this slide in the slides pane to the left and select Duplicate Slide. The next step in your presentation is to state your claim or topic clearly. Your teacher may even call this your thesis. As you state your thesis, you may find that this layout is not the best layout for your claim or topic. You can change the layout by clicking the drop-down menu next to the Layout in the Slides menu section. You can choose Two Content, Comparison, or Picture with Caption. Note: A different layout might change the look of the icons on this page. You will also want to state your facts. You have done the research now share some of the interesting facts with your audience. Facts do not have to be boring; you can communicate facts in a variety of ways by going to the Insert Tab. In the Insert tab you can: Insert pictures from your computer or online. Add a chart Create some SmartArt Insert a variety of icons to help your facts come to life. Note: You can change the color of the icons by selecting the icon and then click on the Format tab and then Graphics Fill. From there, you will choose a color from the list or choose More Fill Colors to give you more options. Since this research presentation is a result of your hard work and searching, you want to make sure you support the claims or points in your presentation with facts from your research findings. Make sure you give the author proper credit for helping you share your ideas. If one of your sources has a video that is relevant to your topic, you can add the video as added support. Keep in mind the length of the video and the amount of time you have for your presentation. For a 5 minute speech, the video should be no longer than 30 seconds. Questions to consider: How will you state the author of the source? Will you need to cite the source on the slide? What are some ways you can engage your audience so they feel like they are a part of the presentation? Some ideas to consider is by taking a quick poll like: by a show of hands, how many of you think school uniforms are a way to cut down on bullying? Another suggestion is to have them hold up a certain number of fingers to see if they agree or disagree. Finally, you can share a story that the audience can relate to that makes them laugh. After all the applause, your audience may have some questions. Be prepared to answer some of their questions by making a list of questions you think they might ask. You may also want to share the presentation with them by providing the link to your presentation, if they want more information.