Locative media and situated learning

Abstract

This article covers the conception and development of Empedia, a new locative software environment for mobile phones specifically designed for expanded archives, documentary and heritage/historical interpretation, using situated and collaborative learning, at resonant and related sites. It will examine our developmental methods employed through a number of workshops for pilot projects, employed specifically to test the reception of rich media assets and augmented reality features in a simple open source user interface and authoring environment for iPhone and browser consumption. The research projects at the Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT) examined here include: a D. H. Lawrence Heritage Blue Line trail in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire (2009); Riverains, a dramatised history trail in Shoreditch, London (2010); and the use of collaborative documentary in Codes of Disobedience and Dysfunctionality in Athens (2011).

Keywords:

• locative
• augmented reality
• museums
• heritage
• GPS
• mobile
• pedagogy
• research
• situated learning
• collaborative learning

Acknowledgements

Empedia was developed by Cuttlefish Multimedia Ltd (http://cuttlefish.com) with support from the MLA Renaissance East Midlands programme and an sKTP grant in conjunction with De Montfort University's Institute of Creative Technologies. All multimedia content contained within the Empedia database remains the property of the original content owners and should not be reproduced without their prior permission. Empedia can be found at http://empedia.info and the Empedia iPhone Player is a free download form the Apple App Store. We thank all those involved in the ongoing development and testing of the platform.

Notes

¹ This is a commissioned extension of the existing trail using locative media; see http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4702 (accessed October 2010).

² See http://www.illuminievent.co.uk (accessed October 2010).

³ See http://empedia.info/maps/41 (accessed January 2011).

⁴ See http://socialnets.wikispaces.com/Definitions (accessed October 2010) and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locative_media (accessed February 2012).

⁵ See http://www.futurelab.org.uk/ (accessed October 2010).

⁶ See http://www.learning-theories.com/situated-learning-theory-lave.html (accessed October 2010).

⁷ See http://www.mla.gov.uk/what/programmes/renaissance/regions/east_midlands (accessed October 2010); also see http://www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4702 (accessed February 20, 2012).

⁸ Mobile Bristol is a professionally coordinated team of business and academic researchers from Hewlett Packard, Bristol University, University of the West of England (UWE), and digital product experts The Appliance Studio; http://www.mobilebristol.co.uk/QueenSq.html.

⁹ 34 north 118 west premiered November 15, 2002 at the Art in Motion Festival. Accessed July 2005. http://www.xcp.bfn.org/hight.html

¹⁰ Jeremy Hight, “Narrative Archaeology.” Streetnotes (Summer 2003). Accessed July 2005. http://www.xcp.bfn.org/hight.html

¹¹ Sandra Gaudenzi (2010 ). Interactive Documentary: Towards an Aesthetic of the Multiple. Chapter 6: The Experiential Documentary through the Lenses of the Live Documentary. Accessed November 2011. http://www.interactivedocumentary.net/about/me/

¹² See http://empedia.info/maps/20 (accessed October 2010).

¹³ http://www.illuminievent.co.uk (accessed October 2010).

¹⁴ See http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/~xalarcon/soundingunderground/info/ (accessed October 2010).

¹⁵ See http://www.mirror-of-infinity.net/ (accessed October 2010).

¹⁶ See http://www.mobile-barcodes.com/about-qr-codes/ (accessed October 2010).

¹⁷ See http://www.layar.com/ (accessed October 2010).

¹⁸ Helena Smith: “Greek Crisis Forces Thousands of Athenians into Rural Migration in Andritsaina, Arcadia.” Accessed May 1, 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/13/greek-crisis-athens-rural-migration#history-link-box

¹⁹ Jeff Watson, blog interview with Speakman, October 7, 2010. Accessed November 21, 2011. http://remotedevice.net/blog/subtlemob-creator-duncan-speakman-on-framing-everyday-realities/

Additional information

Martin Rieser's art practice in internet art and interactive narrative installations has been seen around the world, including at Milia in Cannes (1991); The ICA London (1992); Germany (1994); Montreal (1994); Nagoya, Japan (2002); Melbourne (2009); Vienna (2009); Xian, China (2010); New York (2011); and Athens (2011/12). He has delivered papers on interactive narrative and exhibited at many major conferences in the field, including ISEA: Montreal 1995, Rotterdam 1996, Chicago 1997, Nagoya 2002, Belfast 2009, University of Oslo 2004, Siggraph, 2005, Refresh: Banff Arts Centre 2005, Digital Matchmakers Trondheim 2005, Plan ICA 2005, NAI Rotterdam 2008, Locunet University of Athens 2008, Intelligent Environments Seattle 2008, Barcelona 2009, ICIDS 2009/10/11, ISEA 2009, i-docs 2011/12, ISEA 2011, MIX12, ISEA12 and at many other conference venues across the UK and Europe. His interactive installations include: Understanding Echo shown in Japan 2002; Hosts, Bath Abbey 2006; Secret Door, Invideo Milan 2006; The Street, RMIT Gallery Melbourne 2008/ISEA Belfast 2009; and Secret Garden, Phoenix Square 2012. He has developed mobile artworks for Leicester, London and Athens, and exhibited the Third Woman interactive mobile film in Europe, China and America, and public installations for the new DMC in Leicester. He has published numerous essays and books on digital art including New Screen Media: Cinema/Art/Narrative (BFI/ZKM, 2002), which combines a DVD of current research and practice in this area together with critical essays. He has recently edited The Mobile Audience, a book on locative technology and art published by Rodopi (2011), also logged in a blog, www.mobileaudience.blogspot.com. He has also acted as consultant to bodies such as Cardiff Bay Arts Trust, the Photographers' Gallery London, Arkive in Bristol, The Soros Media Institute in Prague and UIAH in Helsinki.

Sean Clark has published over twenty research papers and has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars. He has an honours degree in computer studies from Loughborough University, a masters in digital arts from Camberwell College of Arts, University of the Arts London, and is currently working towards a practice-based PhD in systems theory and digital arts at De Montfort University. He is a Fellow of the British Computer Society and Treasurer of the Computer Arts Society.