Co-Engagement with the Natural World through an Interactive Mobile Application
Citation
Kawas, S., Davis, K., Chase, S. K., & Lawler, J. J. Co-Engagement with the Natural World through an Interactive Mobile Application. Presented at Playing together Workshop at the 16th annual ACM conference on interaction design and children, Interaction Design and Children 2017, Stanford, CA.
This project explores how interactive technologies might help children feel more connected to nature. In partnership with KidsTeam UW, researchers co-designed a test version of a mobile app called NatureCollections. The app invites kids ages 7–12 to explore the outdoors by taking photos, completing simple challenges, and organizing their own nature photo collections. It also includes features for collaborative play, such as team scavenger hunts and group photo challenges.
The app was tested with eight children in a botanical garden. Early observations show that NatureCollections helped kids notice more of the natural environment around them and encouraged playful social interactions. Over the next few months, researchers will continue evaluating how well the app motivates children to spend time outside, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In the future, they plan to test the app more widely to see whether it helps increase children’s sense of connection to nature in real-world settings
Abstract
As part of our research, we are studying the potential for interactive technologies to create opportunities for children to connect with nature. We developed a beta version of a mobile application, NatureCollections, that was co-designed with KidsTeam UW, that aims to engage young children (ages 7-12) in an exploration of the natural world. The app allows children to build, curate and share photo collections through individual challenges and simple photo classification walkthroughs. The app will also seek to facilitate collaborative play through team scavenger hunts and photo challenges. We piloted an app evaluation with 8 children in a botanic garden. Initial qualitative observations suggest promising results for the effectiveness of NatureCollections to draw children’s attention to their natural surroundings and spark playful social interactions. In the upcoming months, we plan to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the app’s ability to motivate children to spend more time outside. Later, we plan to deploy the app to evaluate its effect in increased connectedness to nature in situ.