Out of the Classroom: Supporting Museum Pedagogy with Mobile TechnologiesObjective of this research was to explore new and mobile collaboration technologies and try to find more effective ways for museum visits with mobile technology. The research was implemented in December 2002 with 20 Finnish secondary school students. Students were participating in alternative art course.Students worked totally eight hours. First task was to paint self- portrait and get it in digital form with digital camera. A second task was to get familiar with the virtual learning environment (xTask, developed in TUT,Pori), which was build up for the course. Students got familiar with the learning environments use and its possibilities. Then they wrote with the computer a personal work plan. Work plans were saved in each student's personal folder in learning environment. Third task was to document the museum visit with mobile devices. Four of the mobile devices were Compaq iPag -PDA devices. With PDA's the students were able to do audio notes and text notes. Two of mobile devices were built especially for video and sound notes. These two devices were built from a laptop (Fujitsu Lifebook B-serie) linked with a microphone and a web cam. With all these devices the students were able to make combine different kind of notes and to send them directly to learning environments personal folder. Fourth task was to organize the notes they had made in the museum. Organized notes were saved in xTask. In learning environment students were able to see other student's notes and comment them. Traditionally web based collaboration is made with text based tools. Still text isn't always the best way or optimal form to make notes. Sometimes a quick thought or an idea needs to be documented immediately. This is why this experiment was based on speech or video notes, which were able to use with more traditional text notes. Because the working in teams is more difficult when you are working with PC, the notes should be able to do there were people actually does collaborate. In this case it meant that the notes should be done in museum. That is why the mobility and mobile devices are necessary to perform this kind of research.Generally students were enthusiastic and seemed highly motivated to work. This came out especially when students were working in Pori art museum with mobile devices. There were probably several factors that increased student's motivation. Firstly, this was alternative course, which students had picked up their selves, so they had already interested to work with art. Secondly three from four lessons was held outside of the normal classroom. Previous research has shown that all actions that happen outside of the normal working environment increase student's motivation. Also the working with new technology and especially with mobile devices increases itself the working motivation. Students who took part in this research did not have any previous experience from the use of similar technology, their motivation is so supposed to be higher.Even if there has been similar, previous researches, that combine technology and culture, this research's difference is in the use of mobile technology and in a virtual environment where students are able to collaborate. So for the future research and development, the main focus should be in a supporting the use of mobile devices and learning in groups. This might led us in developing non-formal learning that isn't dependent on place or time. Useful is also to explore the combination of still picture notes and voice notes. A possible technology for this is Multimedia Messaging (MMS technology), which allows excellent technical possibility for the transfer of voice notes and still picture notes.