How can we teach children to appreciate nature when their faces are buried in screens? It鈥檚 a common worry among parents and researchers alike.
To address it, Professor of the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences approached Assistant Professor Katie Davis of the Information School with a rather counterintuitive idea: What if the screen can be used as a tool to get kids outside?
The result is a partnership to develop a mobile application that encourages kids to explore outdoors, and study how it affects their attitudes toward nature. Lawler and Davis from the University of Washington that will allow them to bring the idea to fruition.
鈥淧arents are always asking, 鈥楽hould I limit my child鈥檚 screen time?鈥欌 Davis said. 鈥淲ith this app, we鈥檙e trying to show that it鈥檚 really not so much about how much screen time you have, but what kind of screen time you have.鈥
The UW Innovation Awards were established in 2014 as a way to inspire innovation among faculty from a range of disciplines including engineering, health and the natural and social sciences. Funded by donors, the awards typically range from $100,000 to $500,000 over two years. In their first two years, nine awards have been given, totaling $2.5 million.
The idea for the app builds on elementary school-aged children鈥檚 innate desire to collect things. It will be designed for them to take pictures of nature, identify what they find, and share and curate their photos in categories such as plants, birds or landscapes. Kids will earn digital badges as rewards for accomplishments such as creating collections around mammals or flowers.
Davis said the app will be developed this year, then deployed in 2017. Lawler and Davis plan to partner with zoos, museums, aquariums and schools, where it could be used as an educational tool. For example, kids could take pictures during a field trip and then build a collection with their classmates.
The researchers intend to keep the app simple, so kids focus less on the screen and more on what they see around them. They will study the app鈥檚 effectiveness by comparing the attitudes of children who use it with those of children who don鈥檛.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really interested in measuring whether the app encourages kids to get outside and become active and also whether it sparks their curiosity and fascination with nature 鈥 both the physical part and the psychological part,鈥 Davis said.
Davis hopes that in addition to helping children be healthier and more active, the work can help foster a desire to take better care of their surroundings.
鈥淚f they fall in love with nature and feel a connection with nature, they鈥檙e more likely to be good stewards of the Earth and the environment,鈥 she said.