Enhancing Distance Learning of Art, Culture and Heritage Using Digital Technology at Museums in Bangladesh

Due to a lack of resources, museums in Bangladesh are essentially store houses to protect the material evidence of Bangladesh's cultural heritage. Little information is provided even for objects on display in the galleries. Rarely is there information both in Bangla and English. Maps of historic locations, introductory wall texts to give an overview of the objects in a gallery, and information about individual objects that can arouse the visitors interest are absent in most museums. Museum catalogues are too costly for average Bangladeshis to consider buying. Yet every young person entering a museum is carrying a cell phone. It is their primary source of information and communication with their friends. Generally they are not allowed to take photographs in the museums but watch out for the guards and take "selfies" of themselves and occasionally of an object they find fascinating and share at the social media. Lacking a culture of volunteerism, there are no guides in the museums offering daily tours nor trained personal in the museum to recruit,
train, and supervise tour guides or museum curators available except for VIP tours. Most visitors leave museums having learned very little about their cultural heritage and rarely make a return visit.

A questionnaire survey, observational studies and interview with the museum personnel was undertaken at The Varendra Research Museum at Rajshahi, established in April 1910 is one of the earliest museums in this country. The study focused on how to enrich the learning experience of public using digital technology, and to explore the ways of providing better services delivery to the visitors and a more meaningful and enjoyable art, culture and heritage educational opportunity. This study suggests that developing digital contents for museums is essential that will enrich the learning experience of public. By utilizing the potential of individual's cell phones to deliver information in both Bangla and English, a cell phone tour for museums will have a low cost way of sharing information and answering the visitor's questions regarding objects in the collection both on display and in storage. Developing audio-visual digital contents, documentation of collections with its contextual information need to be completed using digital technology and share these information on museum website for the wider audience and open interactive distance learning opportunities.