The project “Plugging into nature with new technologies" aims to promote the use of technology to increase kids' interest in and engagement with the natural world. we strongly believe that connecting children to nature and the outdoors through technology will provide much more skilled students in different ways: - Using technologies will get kids outside for observation, learning about local habitat- This is an authentic way to engage in STEM learning- The participation in citizen science will be motivational because the data represent a real contribution and it will build stewardship and personal responsibility- Jumping off point for investigations and projects that mirror professional scienceParticipatory Science offers each of us a path to find special ways in which we can each help protect our part of the world. It's an elegant, efficient and engaging solution to the huge environmental problems we face in the 21st century. We cannot apart this away from technology since the information must be used by others. Biodiversity is a very important aspect of our lives and it can only be managed effectively by engaging all stakeholders in the stewardship process. We will find ways to create collaborations between stakeholders: botanical gardens, biodiversity associations, landowners, tourism operators, tourists, scouts, student organizations, scientists etc.We want to identify opportunities for digital technology to support children’s connectedness to the natural environment, thereby encouraging positive environmental attitudes in children, as well as healthy physical play. As schools, we have the duty to find what motivates children to interact with nature and to figure how technology may enhance this interaction. Pervasive and emerging technologies have the potential to motivate children to experience more frequent and meaningful interactions with local natural environments by designing opportunities for interactions between children, parents and technology “in the wild”. Many children have regular access to powerful digital devices containing GPS, access to online information and networks and audio-visual recorders that motivate children to interact and share how they relate to the environment. Elements of this technology can also be applied to counteract some of the barriers to independent outdoor learning. OBJECTIVES1. Promote a responsible environmental awareness based on scientific facts2. Increase understandings of the nature of science and lead to more positive attitudes toward science and the environment3. Bring scientists, teachers and students together in partnerships that result in useful research and effective science education4. Create learning lines and tools for connecting new technologies with nature5. Collect large quantities of data across an array of habitats and locations over long spans of timeOur partnership consists in 6 countries involved: Romania, Spain, UK, Czech Republic, Latvia and Italy. Start date will be 01-09-2016 and implementation will last 36 months due to huge amount of results and time taking researche activities.Our main results will be:- Create methodology regarding the integration of ICT into nature studies and sciences- Develop on-line/ virtual/Internet materials- Trainings and events for teachers and students:- conferences & symposiums- workshops- transfer of database to science associations, universities, stakeholders interested in collecting and analyzing data. During three years we are planning to travel in every country to interract with experts on main aim - plug in nature with new technologies and participatory science tasks. In each meeting we will bring 3 students for short term exchanges. Every visit will have a theme related to main aim.Our results will be provided in the form of digital assets and used on virtual environments. Final versions of our activities and results - such as presentations, photos, eMagazines, text files, posters, questionnaires and surveys will be published on the web and e-platforms in English and other languages. The publishing activities will deliver rich, flexible, opened and enjoyable learning experiences.In terms of mobility and transnational meetings we plan to have 6 staff meetings for management issues and 6 short term exchanges for students.
Through our initiatives we wanted to respond to the concern that children from all our schools do not experience nature as much as past generations and moreover they encounter difficulties in science classes. Since technologies are a demand of the 21st century we focused on the integration of technology into nature and science programs, incorporating interesting technologies into programs to engage children’s attention and interest. Our project aimed to promote the use of technology to increase kids' interest in and engagement with the natural world. We wanted to identify opportunities for digital technology to support children’s connectedness to the natural environment, thereby encouraging positive environmental attitudes in children, as well as healthy physical play. We also needed to innovate our curricula with a new actual theme - participatory science – in fact the implementation of CITIZEN SCIENCE as an elegant, efficient and engaging solution to the huge environmental problems we face in the 21st century. Our main objectives were to promote a responsible environmental awareness and increase understandings of science, leading to more positive attitudes towards STEM subjects. Bringing scientists, teachers and students together in partnerships have created lots of opportunities to explore new pedagogical approaches. The partnership consisted in the end of 5 European partners Romania, Spain, Czech Republic, UK, Italy Our target groups were students from 10 to 18 from all the five European schools and we addressed our project as well to the skilled students in STEM subjects, as for less skilled students to amplify or improve their competencies. Each partner brought its own experience and expertise to the project. All the schools took students of broadly similar age range. Our main activities have been: 1. Create visual elements and ID of the project (logo, sociomedia, blogs, websites) 2. Prepare questionnaires and online surveys: based on 3 main aspects: How Can Technology Enrich the Nature Experience/ How kids are using technologies/ Impact of Technology. 3. Train teachers and students - teachers from the project have been trained by other teachers, specialists, scientists on the next main subjects: i. Deal with Bioblitz and Citizen Science in schools ii. Managing iNaturalists iii. Virtual Curriculum (making & integration) iv. Naturalist expeditions step by step Students have been also trained on: i. Bio ID - Scientific Identification of plants, birds, mushrooms and dealing with species inventories - Students learnt how to identify and record the number of species they find in a certain area and document their findings using digital cameras using smartphone apps and/or field guides. ii. Macroscale Photography iii. Writing scientific articles - Scientifical protocols- interpreting scientifical data; iv. Using iNaturalist v. Using Apps to explore Nature Teachers training have been made face to face in local schools or during the transnational meetings. 4. Prepare Nature Chronicles - this activity aimed to investigate the meaning of nature for ancient people (and this according to the local legends, songs and fairy tales, and by exploring the exhibition, local gardens etc), interrelationship between the local people and nature evolution in the 21st century. We also wanted to investigate the impacts of a modern lifestyle and its activities on the ecosystem and biodiversity. Students and teachers made researches and compilations,preparing presentations. 5. Organize Nature Challenges - Bioblitz and many field trips & naturalist expeditions 6. Making Science More Attractive: researches and experiments - Students have conducted lab experiments Our approaches provided much more skilled students in different ways: 1. Using technologies helped kids to go outside for observation and active learning about local habitats 2. We developed many authentic STEM learning materials to encourage the Science careers 3. We have designed a pedagogical model of citizen science projects for schools Our project lasted 3 years and all the activities have provided the next results> 1. Create methodologies regarding the integration of ICT into nature and science 2. Develop on-line/ virtual/Internet materials 3. Publications on researches and methodology at small scale- brochures, 4. Training and events for teachers and students The project offered us a deepen understanding of nature, we have challenged with new pedagogical approaches for the 21st century. Thanks to new tools we will constantly improve the nature study by using technology.