TY - JOUR
T1 - Designing integrated physical–digital systems for children–nature interaction
AU - Caiola, Valentina
AU - Cusumano, Elisabetta
AU - Motta, Margherita
AU - Piro, Ludovica
AU - Gelsomini, Mirko
AU - Morra, Diego
AU - Rizvi, Mehdi
AU - Matera, Maristella
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the pupils and teachers of the School “Don Luigi Sturzo” of Cornaredo for their participation in this research. Children participating in the Ekō evaluation were attending a summer camp in an elementary school in Cornaredo, in the Lombardy region in Italy. They were involved in the study as part of their activities during the summer-camp time. The purpose of the study was explained to them, and they were given the opportunity to participate voluntarily. By agreement with the educators, there was no selection. Parents were asked to sign a consent form to express their willingness for their children to take part in research activities. The consent form was defined in accordance with the institutional consent mechanism which was approved by the authors’ institution Ethics Committee (approval no: 12/2019) and included a commitment to adhere to Data Protection legislation. We provided the summer-camp educators with consent forms and information sheets, which were distributed to parents prior to the study being carried out. We also made sure children wanted to take part in the study at the start of the activities.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Studies in the last decades have highlighted how children spend less time outdoors, while they are increasingly attracted by screens and indoor digital activities. Based on the assumption that technology and open-air activities are not necessarily mutually exclusive, this article illustrates the design of integrated physical–digital systems motivating children to connect with nature and learn from it. A key ingredient is providing unobtrusive technology supporting playful, creative, and educational outdoor experiences without distracting children from their experience with nature. Based on the insights gathered through design-based research, the article also outlines design considerations that aim to refine the theory and practice of technology for children–nature interaction.
AB - Studies in the last decades have highlighted how children spend less time outdoors, while they are increasingly attracted by screens and indoor digital activities. Based on the assumption that technology and open-air activities are not necessarily mutually exclusive, this article illustrates the design of integrated physical–digital systems motivating children to connect with nature and learn from it. A key ingredient is providing unobtrusive technology supporting playful, creative, and educational outdoor experiences without distracting children from their experience with nature. Based on the insights gathered through design-based research, the article also outlines design considerations that aim to refine the theory and practice of technology for children–nature interaction.
KW - Children–nature interaction
KW - Outdoor education
KW - Outdoor smart experiences
KW - Pervasive games
KW - Smart-thing design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85152557747&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijcci.2023.100582
DO - 10.1016/j.ijcci.2023.100582
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85152557747
SN - 2212-8689
VL - 36
JO - International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction
JF - International Journal of Child-Computer Interaction
M1 - 100582
ER -