Chavez conducted an exploratory study to investigate the role of technology in supporting or enhancing children's outdoor experiences compared to outdoor activities that did not involve use of technology. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether technology could be used as a way to attract children and youth to outdoor nature-based experiences.
The project design came out of the larger planning process with multiple agencies interested in effective ways to engage children and youth in nature-based activities in outdoor settings. As part of Youth Day in Los Angeles, CA 38 six- to seventeen-year-old children participated in four activities. Two were technology-based (a camera safari and geocaching for treasure) and two were not technology-based (nature rubbings and a nature scavenger hunt). All children participated in each of the four activities and voted on how much they liked each activity. In addition, adult observers and trained facilitators provided feedback on children's participation in each activity. Observers were assigned to the same activity throughout the day so they could observe each group of children's responses to the same activity. The facilitators were trained not to show special enthusiasm for any of the activities. A detailed agenda for the day is available in the study report, along with descriptions of the activities. The format for each of the four experiences was the same: The first five minutes was spent on introducing the activity to the children, with the instructions for what they would do; 30 minutes was spent actually experiencing the activity; 15 minutes was devoted to closing discussion, the voting process, and debriefing. Then 10 minutes were allowed for the children and youth to transition to the next of their four activities.
In analyzing the data, Chavez found that all activities received a majority of positive votes. The children and youth were actively engaged in each of the activities, while some differences were demonstrated. For example, the younger children had more difficulty understanding the geo-caching activity initially, and some of the older youth may have found the nature scavenger hunt less interesting than the other activities. Overall, the technology-dependent activities received a higher percentage of positive votes as compared to non-technology dependent activities.
While there are a number of factors that could have influenced these findings, such as participant age and the specific activities selected, this study suggests that technology may help attract and engage children in nature-based outdoor activities.
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