JordanO_R10

Museums provide various levels of learning for all kinds of people and even though there is the same information available to everyone, not everyone will always take away the same information. This not only goes for learning that takes place in museums but anywhere in life. People will be drawn to what they have natural interest in. If they have natural interest in a certain subject that person is more likely to take that information into greater depth and take greater lengths to concentrate and acquire the knowledge. People will not always gain the same levels of information either. Sometimes a person will have previous background knowledge about a certain subject and this will cause them to learn less about the topic being studied compared to the other people taking in the experience. This comes from them having a basic knowledge of the subject matter causing them to learn more specifics about a topic and fill in the gaps in more detail. The person learning this information for the first time will acquirer more basic knowledge but will not be able to retain or comprehend some of the complex details without the previous experience or added interest.

I think that another great aspect of this free learning system that we use for museum visits and taking in knowledge on a daily basis outside of a controlled learning environment is the choice of learning methods. Everyone will choose to learn at his or her own pace or own particular style if given the choice. The writer of the blog stated in the reading that he noticed a significant difference in learning methods from person to person. He preferred reading the signage and the use of visuals to gather information about a certain subject, where as his partner would often choose the auditory method of learning. Along with that people will often choose the method of learning that is most comfortable to them. Because the writers partners native language was Spanish he chose to use the Spanish audio tapes in the museums because it was a more natural form of learning for him than reading in English or another language.

I find that when I go through museums that I am often are more interested in the objects themselves than I am the explanation. If something truly captures my attention then I will invest more time and interest in that subject and further my learning about that topic. When I think back to the learning we did in the museums we went to, I found myself going after the information that we were required to get first. If then I was more interested I would spend the addition time to gather the rest of the information presented on display. I think that especially in Discovery World I found myself wandering to various exhibits even that weren’t highlighted in our questionnaire because I was interested in them. Storms have fascinated me for quiet some time so anything about weather such as the exhibit presented MATC instantly gained my attention. Even though we were not required to gain any knowledge as a class at this exhibit I was fascinated and built new knowledge off of my previous knowledge. I found that I new quiet a few of the fact in this exhibit, but was still able to give myself further information about something I already had a background in.

Learning is a different process for everyone and everyone learns differently. This is such a true statement and when designing museums, or in our case info graphics it is important to keep in mind the various types of learning and making sure more than one type is available if possible. I think that would greatly insure the retention of your information and increase interest from a greater number of people.