Gamified Mobile Guidance for Museum Virtual Tours: How Task Design Shapes Learning Experience and Cognitive Load.

This study investigates how different task types—specifically task difficulty, user control (self-control vs. external control), and response format (open-ended vs. closed-ended)—affect cognitive load, museum-related knowledge, and learning experience during virtual museum tours guided by a gamified mobile application called Müzemob. Conducted with pre-service teachers using virtual tours of two museums, the research found that difficult, self-controlled, and closed-ended tasks increased cognitive load, while self-controlled tasks led to higher museum knowledge. Easy and open-ended tasks were associated with more positive engagement and emotional connection, highlighting the importance of balancing task complexity and autonomy to optimize virtual museum learning. The study emphasizes the need for thoughtfully designed task-based guidance in virtual museum environments to enhance both cognitive and affective learning outcomes, and it notes challenges related to dual-platform use and the limitations of current virtual tour interfaces.