Young children’s lives are increasingly spent indoors. They have less access to green spaces, parents are concerned about safety, and the lure of digital entertainment. This transition from the natural world has been evocatively named “the annihilation of experience.”
Being in green spaces benefits children in many ways, including increased physical activity and improved concentration and self-control. The outdoors is also a great place for children to learn. These benefits facilitated the rise of forest schools and the integration of nature play into early childhood education.
The biggest factors limiting the amount of time children can spend in nature are urbanization and parental attitudes. Despite this, digital devices are often blamed for keeping children indoors.
Digital entertainment is widely recognized as addictive and harmful. While the concept of screen time is controversial, most Australian children exceed the currently recommended guidelines.
In our research, we took a different approach and asked, “Can digital technologies be designed to foster connections with nature?” In examining research into digital technology used by children aged 8 and under, we found that there are a wide range of ways technology can help children find their way back to the great outdoors.
There are several stages in how children connect with nature: being in nature, being with nature, and being for nature. Key experiences that enhance this connection include free time in nature, seeing others like you in natural environments, documenting nature experiences, and gaining confidence and agency outdoors. Contains.
We want children to have social and playful experiences outdoors, discover nature, demonstrate respect for and learn about other species and the environment, and bring their creative and artistic abilities to the world around them. I discovered technology that helps me focus.
The most commonly used technologies were handhelds, GoPros, and various forms of digital cameras built into smartphones and prototype devices.
Case studies from around the world show how digital images open doors to the natural world. In São Paulo, Brazil, photography helped children discover the urban nature they had overlooked. In the United States, we were able to collect images to learn about the species.
In Australia, children took photos in a park for later creative manipulation, while in Finland, an augmented reality “forest elf” created an imaginative natural environment that children could take photos of. Exploration was encouraged. In Italy, ABBOT’s prototype used a screenless camera device linked to a tablet application, allowing exploration of nature without the distraction of a screen.
Nature photography is also a gateway to citizen science. Apps like QuestaGame, although not the focus of our research, bridge the appeal of photography and the game design of Pokémon Go. The aim of the game is to collect images of species for science.
Our research found a citizen science project in which 7- and 8-year-olds recorded in text the coastal creatures they found. The youngest children needed parental support to do this, but were reportedly the most enthusiastic.
Sound technology also helps connect children with nature. Ambient Bird House plays nature videos inside the house and makes children more sensitive to bird sounds when they are outdoors. Another tool, the Eko Nature Sound Collector, combines with an app to allow children to manipulate sounds collected outdoors.
Like photography, sound technology is also a gateway to becoming aware of the natural world. It can also be used by children who cannot read yet.
There are many ways to leverage existing technology and develop new ones to help children connect with nature. Parents and educators can use accessible technology such as cameras and applications such as QuestaGame, including school-oriented assignments.
Just like with film cameras, parents can hide the screen of a smartphone or digital camera to add mystery and excitement by reviewing the images later. (A few inches of masking tape may be effective.)
It might be fun to go out and check out automatic nature cameras. Sometimes it becomes a daily ritual. These cameras are available both commercially and DIY. To find the best place to put them, children can take part in experiments in the backyard, adding another dimension to this activity.
To further encourage children’s creative and scientific learning, parents can help their children create digital stories from nature photos and learn about species together.
Finally, technology developers can use all this evidence to design specialized technological tools that children can use in nature. These designs must be easy to use for young children, stimulate the senses rather than the sight, and encourage outdoor play, wonder at and respect for nature.
If such technology is designed in collaboration with children, families, and educators, it has the potential to be widely adopted both at home and in the classroom.
Our research shows that there are ways to use technology to increase children’s interest in the outdoors. By listening to parents’ concerns about dependence on smart devices and the safety of their children, we can ensure a world where children can play freely outdoors without being supervised.
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