Reprinted from Connect
Vol.21 No.4, March/April, 2008
Focus on: Screen Time
Grade Level: 6-8
Grade Level: K-8
Grade Level: Professional Development

Screen Time vs. the Environment

Technology for Learning

by Bob Coulter

In his recent book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv quotes a student as saying that he prefers to play inside since that is where the electrical outlets are. There's no doubt that computer games have a hold on the attention and imagination of many of our students, as well as a good number of their teachers.

Couple this with the substantial decrease in the past quarter of a century in how much time kids play in and explore their local environment, and it becomes clear that many students are more attached to screens than scenes. This aspect of the modern learning landscape certainly poses challenges for our efforts to engage students in authentic science and mathematics learning experiences, and to motivate students to get out and make a difference in their community.

Rather than throw our hands up in despair at how much screen time students have, it might be useful to look at computer games to provide another perspective. Just as a key martial arts strategy is to use your opponent's strength to your advantage, games can be leveraged for great learning opportunities.

Many teachers and youth leaders have found that students become quite engaged in authentic investigations using computer mapping tools including Geographic Information System (GIS) software and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers. Whether they use comparatively simple Web-based mapping tools such as gis4kids or dedicated GIS software such as ArcView or MyWorld, students can do real investigations, collect and record their data, and use computer modeling tools to understand their world. Projects we have supported through the Missouri Botanical Garden's Mapping the Environment program include studies of water quality in local creeks, the environmental benefits of trees, and the effects of suburban sprawl.

Learning partners

Projects such as these use existing resources such as software and GPS units to get students outdoors and into the community. Rather than being a rival for students' attention, technology becomes a valued learning partner, integral to the task at hand. Carefully planned screen time used for tasks such as data analysis brings added value to students' field investigations. For example, I recently worked with a class of fifth and sixth graders at our ecology center as they began a study of their local watershed. During their visit, they had ample time to investigate the different elements of the stream ecosystem found on site, including the water chemistry, macroinvertebrate life, and landforms. As such, it was a perfectly normal sort of field exploration. What gets lost in field projects such as this is context: How does this site fit into the larger watershed?

In an effort to remedy this inherent limitation of field study, we paired their work in the creek with time in the computer lab. Students worked in pairs to investigate maps of the watershed, looking at key issues such as how the landforms determine the paths the water takes and how land use may impact water quality.

The key point here, of course, is that the fieldwork and computer time came together to create synergy: Neither element would be as strong as it would be in the absence of the other. The fieldwork by itself was certainly rewarding, but limited to one place in time and thus devoid of context. Computer analysis of a watershed, on the other hand, would just be an abstraction. Even in our technological age, kids need plenty of time to "mess about" in creeks. Our task as educators is to be sure that students have these different forms of experience in ways that are mutually complementary. Neither techno-wizards nor Luddites can provide the learning opportunities that a balanced approach offers.

Looking toward the horizon, the Sheller Teacher Education Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is actively exploring how the power of games contained in handheld computers can motivate students' interest in the local environment. Far from being simply "shoot 'em up" games, these "augmented reality" games are environmental mysteries that use GPS navigation to guide students through a local park looking for clues and data they need to solve a mystery. Learning goals include exposing students to how "real science" works and giving them experience integrating data with their growing understanding of science concepts to make sense of the world. A larger goal is that students' engagement with the local setting will foster their interest and commitment to the environment.

Close to home

A key feature in all of this is that the projects are very localized: The project is in your park, investigating an issue that is actually (or at least plausibly) of significance in that setting. Students view an aerial photograph of that site (e.g., their local park) on their handheld computer screen and, as they physically move around the real-world location, the students see their "me" icon correspondingly move on the map. As the students approach certain areas (as detected by the GPS), new information in the form of data, images, and short interview clips becomes available to the student investigators.

To support better use of screen time, the Missouri Botanical Garden's Mapping the Environment program is partnering with MIT to extend these augmented reality games. We'll be working together to pilot test augmented reality games in schools that are participating in our National Science Foundationfunded LIONS (Local Investigations of Natural Science) after-school program, but hope to expand their use in the coming school year.

In a broader sense, beyond the specifics of what a particular game or project does, it's worth looking at what games give students that all too often, school does not—at least not in any way that is meaningful to students. The answer to why students find games addictive and school boring might be found there. In Digital Game-Based Learning, Marc Prensky cites six features of games that overlap what we are trying to achieve with place-based education:

• Rules (How does an ecosystem work? How does water quality affect organisms?)
• Goals and Objectives (What problem am I trying to solve?)
• Outcomes and Feedback (How am I doing? How can I do better?)
• Conflict, Competition, Challenge, and Opposition (What factors do we need to overcome, such as pollution or invasive species?)
• Interaction (How can others help with the project?)
• Representation or Story (How did things get this way? How will they be better after we're done with our project?)

Which of these gaming attractions are in your curriculum?

©2008 Synergy Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bob Coulter - Bob Coulter is director of Mapping the Environment, a program at the Missouri Botanical Garden's Litzsinger Road Ecology Center that supports teachers' efforts to enhance their science curriculum through the use of the Internet and geographic information system (GIS) software. Previously, Bob taught elementary grades for 12 years.
List all articles by Bob Coulter