NatureCollections: Can a Mobile Application Trigger Children’s Interest in Nature?

Saba Kawas, Jordan Sherry-Wagner, Nicole Kuhn, Sarah Chase, Brittany Bentley, Joshua Lawler, Katie Davis

2020

Abstract

In this study, we investigate whether and how a mobile application called NatureCollections supports chil-dren’s triggered situational interest in nature. Developed from an interest-centered design framework, Na-tureCollections allows children to build and curate their own customized photo collections of nature. We con-ducted a comparison study at an urban community garden with 57 sixth graders across 4 science classrooms. Students in two classrooms (n = 15 and 16) used the NatureCollections app, and students in another two classrooms (n = 13 and 13) used a basic Camera app. We found that NatureCollections succeeded in focusing students’ attention–an important aspect of interest development– through sensory engagement with the natural characteristics in their surroundings. Students who used NatureCollections moved slower in space while scanning their surroundings for specific elements (e.g., flowers, birds) to photograph. In contrast, students who used the basic Camera app were more drawn to aesthetic aspects (e.g., color, shape) and tended to ex-plore their surroundings through the device screen. NatureCollections supported other dimensions of interest development, including personal relevance, social interactions, and positive experiences for continued en-gagement. Our findings further showed that the NatureCollections app facilitated students’ scientific discourse with their peers.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Kawas S., Sherry-Wagner J., Kuhn N., Chase S., Bentley B., Lawler J. and Davis K. (2020). NatureCollections: Can a Mobile Application Trigger Children’s Interest in Nature?.In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU, ISBN 978-989-758-417-6, pages 579-592. DOI: 10.5220/0009421105790592

in Bibtex Style

@conference{csedu20,
author={Saba Kawas and Jordan Sherry-Wagner and Nicole Kuhn and Sarah Chase and Brittany Bentley and Joshua Lawler and Katie Davis},
title={NatureCollections: Can a Mobile Application Trigger Children’s Interest in Nature?},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,},
year={2020},
pages={579-592},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0009421105790592},
isbn={978-989-758-417-6},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Computer Supported Education - Volume 1: CSEDU,
TI - NatureCollections: Can a Mobile Application Trigger Children’s Interest in Nature?
SN - 978-989-758-417-6
AU - Kawas S.
AU - Sherry-Wagner J.
AU - Kuhn N.
AU - Chase S.
AU - Bentley B.
AU - Lawler J.
AU - Davis K.
PY - 2020
SP - 579
EP - 592
DO - 10.5220/0009421105790592