It is interesting that machinery and technology arouse fears among some people. The Luddites in the early 1800s were British textile artisans with concerns about power looms. Luddite has become a word to describe anyone hanging onto the past in the face of new technologies.
John Phillips Sousa, the famous composer, decried the invention of the phonograph when it first appeared. I wonder what he would think of an iPod or Internet radio.
Interpreters sometimes sound a bit technophobic. I hear friends who avoid technology and insist that interpretation does not need it. This technophobia or neo-Luddism is understandable. Those of us who are more mature (old if you wish) remember the camping trips and outdoor adventures that did not involve much technology. Even camping now often includes GPS units, wireless Internet, and other gadgetry.
I think some of the new technologies are going to create interpretive experiences for people that cannot easily be realized in less technological ways. Some examples have been around a long time. Field glasses and microscopes, as tools of science, are valued technology in interpretation. They take us up close to distant animals or scenery. They enlarge the microscopic world.
Bat detectors are wonderful devices. They translate the voices of bats down into the audible range of humans. It allows an interpreter to take folks out into the night to study bats through their feeding behavior and amazing communication abilities. It brings alive the night sky in ways that cannot easily be done through visual means.
Some of the new technologies combine the power of the Internet, video and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Some use iPhones, iPods, and other high-tech communication devices that combine digital media. Apple’s Steve Jobs just announced the new iPad, a digital notebook with a color screen and an Internet connection. Like Amazon’s Kindle reader, it allows you to read books and newspapers, but the color feature gives it potential for more diverse media.
Often the uses of these new visual digital media are informational. Portable audio and video devices provide maps, self-guided tours, and even video media. They will become even more powerful as they get better at the interpretive approach to communication which includes making emotional connections. NAI’s annual media competitions have included award-winning audio tours for many years that use recordings of famous speeches by presidents and prime ministers to tell complex stories of war and international intrigue.
When I was ten years old, my parents stopped at the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma on a driving trip to Texas. I heard the first audio exhibit ever for me in the form of Will Rogers telling jokes about Congress and the political times. It was funny and memorable. It started my interest in knowing more about Will Rogers and his unique contribution to humor, politics and cinema.
Geoquest and Acoustiguide recently joined Interpretation Australia Association and City of Townsville as sponsors of the upcoming NAI International Conference in Townsville, Australia, April 13-17, 2010. Geoquest is using these new digital video technologies with iPods and iPhones (pictured above) to interpret national parks and other natural and cultural heritage sites and stories. Acoustiguide has been an important audio and multimedia tour provider for a very long time in our profession (pictured at right). This conference is a great way to get better acquainted with their technologies and capabilities to tell interpretive stories. See you in Australia.
- Tim Merriman
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