anyone using technology to reduce "Nature Deficit Disorder"?

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Bosch on October 18, 2007 at 2:31pm

We've done two outdoors projects this year. CSI: Cemetery Scene Investigation sent us out to local cemeteries. This fall we joined our art teacher for an architectural walking tour. We took along cameras, videos, GPS, Palms. Great fun--don't know if we got in touch with nature--but you could see those "outdoor" kids just light up!!

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Permalink Reply by amy cheatle on October 18, 2007 at 3:22pm

As artists, ecologists and educators, we are always looking for ways to creatively involve children with "nature" experiences...

For an installation last summer my husband and I used PD and sensor technology to encourage kids to care for a bed of wheat grass- when they stepped on a stone (with a sensor underneath) an audio signal would sound in the gallery- when the grass was at an optimal moisture level another audio tone would sound- harmonious to the footstep audio (if it was too wet or too dry the sounds would be 'off')
here's a link to the project: www.socialmediagroup.org (click on excavate)

here's some pics:

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Permalink Reply by Christine Southard on October 18, 2007 at 7:24pm

What a great project! Thanks for sharing Amy.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Koch Lubke on October 18, 2007 at 9:26pm

This is a totally non-techie aside, but your fabulous grass project and pictures remind me of the short story "Antaeus" by Mississippi writer Borden Deal. We read this story in ninth grade every year as part of a thematic unit -- "Who am I?" Never thought about it in this way before, but it's totally a story about nature deficit disorder. And I guess the original Greek myth in which Hercules defeats Antaeus by lifting him off of Mother Earth (the source of his strength and power) may be one of the earliest tales about nature deficit disorder!

Both of these literature resources might be useful for those planning a secondary-level interdisciplinary unit about "getting back to nature."

Also, if you are an English teacher who wants to instill an appreciation for setting and place, check out the link to GoogleLitTrips, which was in today's Classroom 2.0 blog.

Interesting topic, Connie. I passed it up at first -- glad I stopped back in!

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Permalink Reply by Ian Carmichael on October 18, 2007 at 10:06pm

Mmm. Fabulous topic - got the mind going, although in my realms, probably not implementable. I like the idea of the reconstructed excursion, images with annotations a la flickr etc. Even a photo history/slide show of land degradation, erosion, reclamation, regradation. Keys are the gathering of real data in the open air, and perhaps then the examination of archival data, and some analysis. (eg Mark Twain has a wonderful passage discussing erosion on the Mississippi delta, and pointing out that way back in the past it must have stuck out in space like a fishing pole!)
But now that the brain's been awakened, next time I'm dealing with creation and responsibility, I have a whole new perspective and range of actions available for us.
You could choose some atmospheric setting for literature - Ursula LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, or the Seawards stories(Yes, I'm sure there are very modern works, but I'm an old dude) all have a range of landscapes painted - a video with story narration over could be great - small video bites would do- a well designed slideshow with transitions. A photo essay with an author?

It may be, after all, Jennifer that I'll be into media despite myself!

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Permalink Reply by Nancy Raff on October 19, 2007 at 11:10am

I love that book too! As parents of two kids, we are concerned about the same thing, as well as aghast at the way we treat the planet overall and the trajectory of where it's headed. So we started www.planetfesto.org, which we hope is a new way to look at the problem.

We wanted to help move people from acting out of fear and guilt to realizing how much they love the planet and want to care for it, and to move from trying to get other people to act to trying to do all we can do everyday as individuals, because we care about this place! Planetfesto is trying to build a virtual ribbon of 6" squares to circle the earth. Each piece of the ribbon has a photo or drawing expressing what you love most about the planet, a brief statement of why you love it, and actions of what you pledge to do to protect it. It combines writing, art, science, and has pieces from 37 countries.

Many schools have come on board (the village school in maine is making enough squares to circle their gym, and they've challenged a school in burrton, Kansas to see who can get the highest % of kids on board.) What teachers are liking is that it is prompting new conversations about nature, as well as projects like photographing their surroundings, talking about the impact of their actions, etc. We have lots of tools and ideas on the site as well. I also just started a group on this site where hopefully teachers can share how they are using planetfesto as a spring board for new attitudes that hopefully can last for a lifetime. http://www.classroom20.com/group/planetfestoorg

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Permalink Reply by Carolyn Foote on October 19, 2007 at 9:12pm

Clay Burell has an interesting staff development site, where he explores web 2.0 tools via multiple intelligences.

One of the intelligences is naturalistic, so there are a few websites on the wiki relating to that.

I think it is an excellent point that students need to be spending time in nature, and I also think some of these tools naturally lend themselves to that.

For example, having students create "flickr studies" with photographs of the elements, outdoor signs, plants, trees, trails, parks, etc....

Projects like the Global Cooling Project are also valuable ways to encourage students to think more environmentally.
http://globallycool.ning.com/

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Permalink Reply by Ian Carmichael on October 19, 2007 at 9:18pm

Hey Connie
This one's taken off - we'll be so outdoors we'll all need some pretty modern laptops or decent extension cords, then again, maybe just the phones will do the job!

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on November 6, 2007 at 10:45pm

Hi Connie,

My passion is environmental education and it can sometimes be difficult getting techno-savvy kids out into the bush and connecting with nature. One successful project was building and installing nesting boxes at a local grassland reserve. We mapped the locations using GPS and monitor them to reduce feral birds and bees invading.
We have also produced videos, Powerpoints and Photostories about "Students Living Sustainably" - photographing and filming the environmental activities undertaken at school (composting, seed collection and propogation, tree planting, recycling etc), for entry into competitions, such as the "Sustainable Living Challenge'.
Another project is filming a 30-second advertisement for sustainability, as featured on the "Change the World" website:() it will feature nine short films based on the book 'Change the World for 10 Bucks', all aimed at inspiring a global conversation for change. (It's kind of a You-Tube for greenies.)
Regards, Britt.

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Permalink Reply by Britt Gow on November 6, 2007 at 10:49pm

Hi Connie,

Another thought was the National Geographic "Crittercams", an interactive site where students can 'build' their own camera to research various wild animals. The Gould League also has some good interactive spaces for looking at Food Webs etc.

regards, Britt.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on November 7, 2007 at 4:46am

Britt, I looked up Crittercams and found out just how marvelous it is! This week, I'll assign a student the job of making a presentation for others, of being classmates' "guide" through the site. Great! I've been looking for some more animals sites that are engaging, kid-friendly, and interactive. Thanks for another fine resource in this forum!

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Permalink Reply by BobStimson on November 7, 2007 at 6:54pm

Hi Connie et al,

Here's an animal site that I and my students have found to be engaging, kid-friendly, and interactive: jamesreserve.edu/webcamFiles/Robocam.html

This site originates at the University of California's James Reserve for Environmental Research in the San Jacinto Mountains near Idylwild, California. They have a variety of live cameras focused on birds' nests, wildlife feeding areas, and animal burrows.
What I love about the site is its interactivity, some of which was not intended by the James Reserve! For example, with the Robotic Camera, students anywhere in the world (mine are in Albania) can move the camera's viewpoint in various directions. But we found quite spontaneously that the very movement of the camera can affect the animals themselves. Once we saw a pair of squabbling Stellar's Jays perched on the camera itself, and by our moving the camera we spooked them and they flew off. Another time (my students swear this is true; I regret that I didn't witness this scene) there was a red-tailed hawk stalking a pigeon. My students scared the predator away by moving the camera from 10,000 miles away!
One victory for a pigeon; one loss for scientific objectivity and the researcher's non-interference with the experimental subject!

Bob

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