Abstract
The research provided guidance of the key elements on design and development of virtual museum which is a critical learning resource supporting learning experience outside the classroom for youth. The objective of this research is to develop a prototype of virtual museums for youth and evaluate the efficiency of the prototype. The research comprised three steps: 1) studying demands and expectations of virtual museums for youth by examining documents and researches about virtual museums, visiting 10 museums in Bangkok and 20 virtual museums in Thailand and worldwide, and conducting a questionnaire survey on 400 university students about their expectations of virtual museums; 2) developing a virtual museum website prototype and trialing it with three experts and 10 university students for improvement recommendation; and 3) having five experts evaluate the quality and efficiency of the improved prototype. The study showed that virtual museums for youth should consist of five key elements: 1) efficiency of website’s function, 2) the website itself, 3) type of media used in the virtual museum, 4) type of tools used in the virtual museum, and 5) evaluation of the virtual museum. The virtual museum prototype received a highest level score from the experts (mean = 4.56) and a high level score from the university students (mean = 4.43). Moreover, evaluation results from the other five experts showed that all elements of the improved prototype were appropriate.
Highlights
Museum is a place where important information is gathered and important objects are exhibited, for the sake of education, research, and entertainment
Since virtual reality technology is important to the development of learning for people in the 21st century to mitigate the limitation of time and space for learning, this research aimed to develop a model of virtual museums to fill in the learning gap regarding aesthetics and youth
This study examined key elements of existing virtual museums and developed a prototype of virtual museums to be used for future development or adaptation by private or public sectors
Summary
Museum is a place where important information is gathered and important objects are exhibited, for the sake of education, research, and entertainment. Learners no longer have to wait for knowledge from teachers only, but can seek knowledge themselves. This can lead to lifelong learning [1]. Application of virtual reality technology to develop virtual local museums, which can display still pictures, motion pictures, and 360-degree motion pictures, does create environments that can promote learning proficiency, and allows learners to engage in self-directed learning anywhere and anytime regardless of the limitation of space and time [2]. Many museums and cultural institutions have quickly adapted to the current situation by creating virtual access to their exhibits. Many cultural institutions have seized this occasion to share more content and reach a wider audience online or through social networks [3]
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