Overview
Building on the experiences of Ambient Wood I, Ambient Wood II continued exploring the theme of augmenting a woodland playful learning experience with digital tools. New devices were introduced and an improved system for remote facilitator support was implemented.
Devices
- Pinging Probe
- The Ambient Horn
Infrastructure
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Ambient wood tracking 2.0
The Ambient Wood II took place in Sussex, as in Ambient Wood I. The field trip was similar to before, with children exploring and experimenting in a digitally augmented woodland, to learn about habitat distributions and interdependencies. The experience again was divided into three stages, but this time it was structured to encourage children to focus on particular kinds of information at each stage. In the first exploring stage they focussed on finding out about plant life in the different habitats (one pair of children explored a dense wooded area, the other explored an open clearing).On the basis of their discoveries they began to think about and predict what kind of animal life this habitat would support. This took place in the den, where an interactive screen display was used to enable them to show their information to one another. In the third stage they went back into the wood, but this time to the 'other' habitat, to verify their predictions made in the den. This design also meant that both pairs of children were able to experience each of the different habitats.
Technology used
On the basis of findings from Ambient Wood 1, some modifications were made to the design of the remote collaboration, as well as the addition of new technological devices. They again used PDAs which they used to both receive and store information; a probe tool to measure light and moisture readings (as in Ambient Wood 1); and GPS tracking was used to record and log all of the data captured by the children.
Taking readings in the dense wood
A sound horn (The Ambient Horn) was added in, to enable the children to have more control over when they heard the sounds within the wood. The sounds too were tailored more specifically to relevant information, but still used abstract sounds as explored in Ambient Wood 1. The Ambient Horn, thus, provided a way to access sounds representing processes invisible to the eye or events that had happened at a different time.
Collecting sounds in the wood with the Ambient Horn
In addition the remote collaboration and information triggered to the children's PDAs was designed to be more driven by the children's natural explorations in their physical world. Children used their walkie-talkies to report their findings to the remote facilitator, who sent additional information including images to the children's PDA.
Using the PDA to receive and record information in the wood
Information received on the PDA acted both as a source of information, and as a way of children storing their information, to use later in the den. The remote facilitator could also send other relevant digital information to the children if it was thought to be beneficial to their exploration.
Findings
Studies involving 20 pairs of children aged 11-12 years learning about habitat distributions and interdependencies suggest this to be a highly engaging experience and suggest:
1) Ways in which wireless technologies can support new forms of collaborative interaction and reflection for learning.
2) That different ways of transmitting and triggering digital information vary in terms of their pervasiveness or direct control, which seems to be instrumental in the ways that information is used and attended to.
In the news (Press)
BBC 'Go Digital' 30th June 2003 - Children explore wi-fi
The Sussex University Bulletin magazine article
Argus
See also
