Listening to the Future: Museum Podcast Research

1. Listening to the Future:Museum Podcast Research Glenda Sims Blanton Museum of Art University of Texas at Austin

2. Audio Assets at the Blanton • AudioTour - Uncommon Commentary • Acoustiguide • ExSite Wand • Music for the Blanton – Live • Composed by Donald Grantham • Inspired by specific works of art • Student Podcasts • Rachel Varon’s Thesis: Podcasting in the Museum: Giving Emerging Adults a Voice

3. Uncommon CommentaryAudioguide

4. Music For the Blanton PreludeBeckoning Music Joaquín Torres García Constructif en rouge et ocre

5. Student Podcasts Claude Vignon, David With the Head of Goliath

6. To Podcast or Not to Podcast? UT MP3 Player Penetration Blanton iTour PDA Research Experience

7. Blanton Mission & Brand Extraordinary Experiences Connecting visitors with art and ideas Art Ideas Experiences

8. Podcast Research Focus • Will visitors successfully use audio on their own MP3 players? • Advantages/disadvantages of MP3 players & wands • Will free podcasts marginalize museum audio players? • Museum’s best interest to podcast audioguide content?

9. Podcast & Audio Research • Test subjects: • Museum visitors • Original Target: • Own mp3 players • Download prior to arriving at museum • Device Comparison • Each test subject experiences both devices • MP3 Player & Acoustiguide ExSite Wand • 2 Blanton iPods (backup) • Audio Content • Uncommon Commentary (31 episodes/stops) • Music for the Blanton (18 episodes/stops) • Student Podcasts (2 episodes/stops)

10. Podcast Download Barrier Requires visitor pre-planning Find and successfully download podcasts to MP3 player

11. M4A Enhanced (-) iPod only (-) 31 stops = 31 chapters LARGE download (-) No ability to customize all or none (-) No easy random access (+) Easy to download MP3 (+) Device agnostic (+) 31 stops = 31 episodes small downloads (+) customize, pick stops you want (+) easier random access (-) Default download behavior 1st episode only (-) Download not intuitive Format Issues

12. Wand Advantages Intuitive, easy to use, user friendly, simple Familiar known interface, like a TV remote Disadvantages Bigger * No headphones * Can’t fast forward * No image * * Based on Blanton’s audio player selection. Other Acoustiguide devices offer these options. MP3 Player Advantages Multimedia/image Smaller Personal Fast forward Disadvantages Attempted download but incomplete (failure) Didn’t download prior to visit Complex confusing compared to wand Headphones/isolation Menu – too many choices Fragile Device Comparison

13. Device Preference Now that you have experienced the Blanton’s audio content on both the ExSite wand and an MP3 Player, which would you choose to use next time?

14. Podcast Advantages • Visitor Involvement (download) • Customizable & Personal • Preview/Review content • Provides more choice • Inspiration to visit

15. Implications & Recommendations • Uncommon Commentary Audio Tour • Personal: Offer Visitor Choices • download podcast to personal mp3 player • use free audioguide in gallery • Device: Keep It Simple • Museum provides free random access audio wand • intuitive, simple • no headphones (?) • Podcast: Just Do It! • Museum multi-purposes quality audio content • already in mp3 format • transcripts provided by Acoustiguide

16. Implications & Recommendations • Music for the Blanton • Offer as an album, not a podcast • Add an audio introduction • Add a map

17. Podcast Research Summary • Personal MP3 players successful? YES & NO • 61% preferred them • download barriers – need on demand access • Free podcasts marginalize audio tour? NO • Not today. Devices continue to evolve. Visitors continue to want quality content. • Provide audioguide as podcast? YES • For the Blanton? Absolutely! • Broader reach, more choices, personal, allows for planning, preview and review.

18. Student Podcast Project Rachel Varon’s Thesis: Podcasting in the Museum: Giving Emerging Adults a Voice • Select a work of art • Brainstorm ideas • Audience – UT Students • Justify your claims • 1 - 4 minutes • Research recommended • Podcast review parties 8 podcasts created. Only 2 3 published on official Blanton Web Site. X

19. Student Podcasts: The Challenge • Discerning: Formalize a Review Process • Constructive comments • Diverse opinions • Critical Thinking • Evaluation with evidence • Quality: Set expectations for official publishing • Free Thinking: Outlet for Unedited Podcasts • subversive/dissenting • need an outlet for the renegade • student blogs

20. Student Podcast Researchselected excerpts Podcasting in the Museum: Giving Emerging Adults a Voice - Rachel Varon Benefits of Student Produced Podcasts • Connect with art in a format that is familiar to them • digital technology • Actively engage in a discussion about a work of art • not just a consumer • Become a guide or authority on a work of art • via podcasting • Understand that there is more than one viewpoint • listen to peers’ opinions about a work of art • Question and engage more deeply with sources • Variety of voices and sources of information

21. Podcasting in the Museum: Giving Emerging Adults a Voice - Rachel Varon Producing Podcasts = Constructivist Teaching Multisensory Imaginative Podcasting Experiential Conversational Personal

22. Art, Ideas & PeopleA Meaningful Dialogue Are You Listening?