Engaging with Communications

今天，通信技术影响着日常生活的方方面面。在英国，84%的人口拥有一部手机，这些手机被用来发送和获取信息以及拨打正常的语音电话。互联网和数字电视提供了越来越多的获取信息的途径，“在线”工作的概念现在已经司空见惯，许多技术术语现在已经被普遍使用。然而，对当今通信技术的潜力及其基本操作的普遍认识却很少得到很好的理解或赞赏。因此，传播的故事及其对社会的影响是一个迷人而令人兴奋的故事，现在形成了MSIM新画廊的核心。鉴于通信技术的明显意义和影响，必须教育年轻人了解这种技术以及如何利用这种技术，并使老一代也对这种技术的影响和运作感到放心。我们的项目通过一系列活动来应对这一挑战。一方面，传统的参与活动，如讲座和学校活动，儿童通过构建小型项目获得通信系统如何工作的经验，被用来提高认识和激发热情。然而，另一方面，我们的意图是在博物馆的通信画廊内创建一个创新的通信系统应用。在这里，将为游客提供便携式设备，信息将根据游客目前的位置、去过的地方和他们的身份自动发送。通过这种方式，可以确保所传递的信息不仅与访问者正在浏览的内容高度相关，而且与他们以前看过的内容以及他们将要去的地方高度相关。这个独特的环境将被证明是一个非常强大的教育工具，它不仅允许改进多媒体演示和解释通信技术的功能，还允许我们展示这种技术的真正潜力，以及EPSRC资助的研究如何影响未来。在通信画廊的背景下使用通信技术，提高对通信技术本身的认识和理解，将独特地加强正在传递的公众参与信息。

Today communications technology impacts on every aspect of everyday life. Within the UK, 84% of the population own a mobile phone and these are being used for sending and accessing information as well as making normal voice calls. The internet and digitial television is providing an increasing range of access to information and the concept of working 'on-line' is now commonplace with many technical terms now in common usage. However, the general awareness of the potential of today's communications technologies and their basic operation is much less well understood or appreciated. The story of communications and its impact on society is therefore a fascinating and exciting one that now forms the heart of a new gallery to be opened at the MSIM. Given the clear significance and impact of communications technology it is essential that the young are educated to understand such technology and how to exploit it and that the older generation too are reassured about the influence and operation of the technology. Our project addresses this challenge using a range of activities. On the one hand traditional engagement events such as lectures and schools events, where children gain hands on experience of how communications systems work by constructing small scale projects, are used to raise awareness and generate enthusiasm. However, on the other hand it is our intention to create an innovative application of communications systems within the Museum's Communications Gallery. Here visitors will be provided with portable devices onto which information will be sent that is automatically determined depending on where the visitor is presently located, where they have been and who they are. In this way it is possible to ensure that the information delivered is not only highly relevant to what the visitor is viewing but also what they have seen previously and where they are about to go. This unique environment will prove an extremely powerful educational tool that not only allows for improved multimedia demonstrations and explanations of how communications technology functions but also allows us to demonstrate the true potential of such technology and how EPSRC sponsored research is impacting the future.Using communications technology within the context of a communications gallery, to raise the awareness and understanding of communications technology itself will uniquely reinforce the public engagement messages being delivered.