The design and development of an online exhibition for heritage information awareness in Singapore

Abstract

Web‐based multimedia systems provide an exciting means and communication channel for information access and sharing, with immense potential in public education. In this study, a Web‐based multimedia exhibition was designed and developed based on an existing exhibition that took the original form of static physical displays, part of a series of National Education exhibitions put together by the National Archives of Singapore. A requirements gathering study was carried out with 77 university students to determine the users’ requirements in terms of their computer and Web experience, content expectations of an online exhibition and their prior exposure to these systems. A prototype of an online exhibition system was developed and then evaluated by 30 of the students. They felt the online exhibition satisfied most of their requirements, apart from a search engine, and that online exhibitions were a flexible mode of delivering heritage information to inculcate awareness among the public, particularly in the context of Singapore, with its high percentage of Internet users.