Walk Schofield: Walk. Learn. Play.

Nearly 90,000 soldiers, civilians and family members are stationed in Hawaii. Schofield Barracks, an Army installation on Oahu, is home to approximately 16,370 soldiers. A network of Army museums have been organized to expand public service and learning opportunities for these soldiers and family members. Through this project a mobile application tour has been developed to facilitate the educational mission of the Tropic Lightning Museum on Schofield Barracks. Using location-based software, this app facilitates a historical walking tour of the installation. Accessing resources from archived collections, the tour provides the community with unique historical information, audio, and trivia questions to broaden knowledge and appreciation of the installation’s cultures and history.

The purpose of this usability study was to develop, evaluate and improve this mobile application to facilitate an interactive and participatory walking tour used by military personnel and their families. Using the FRAME Model, the app was evaluated based on three aspects, social, device, and learner. This study identified the key components of app-based tours and their relevancy in facilitating on-site educational lessons. Most importantly, this study contributed to the improvement of the apps’ usability and accessibility for the members of the Schofield Barracks’ community. Multiple factors contributed to the success of the app-based tour and the positive reception by community members. The progression of the app from a paper-based walking tour to an interactive and augmented reality experience will be discussed along with the growing pains of developing a mobile app.