Innovations in Development: The Use of Mobile Applications for Informal Learning in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park

该项目将通过移动设备应用程序将STEM内容知识带给凯霍加谷国家公园的游客。游客将能够使用他们的手机访问关于公园功能的详细信息(例如他们在公园的什么地方，他们正在看什么，以及哪里有相关的功能)，支持即时的STEM学习。凯霍加谷国家公园每年接待约250万游客，并经历了大量的询问。在这个项目之前，参观者受到的信息和背景信息和背景的标识不够理想，他们可能会感兴趣，也可能不感兴趣。在这个项目中，知识建设信息将由参观者选择并方便快捷地传递给他们。支持这项工作的数据库将为游客提供公园特色的识别和历史记录，以及游客在公园内和休假后更深入的知识建筑信息，提供比目前更全面的体验。研究人员将分成几个部分建立系统，在每个阶段测试可行性，并评估每个部分的情感和认知结果。在本项目过程中将解决的研究问题包括：(1)与使用这一全球定位系统有关的结果可以为未来的发展和实施提供信息？以及(2)这些基于GPS的移动学习应用程序对非正式科学学习有什么贡献？预计在该项目中产生的知识将促进更多的方案，以提高效率，并在其他广泛的场所使用。如果成功，不难想象这种STEM知识建设应用程序将如何扩展到全国其他场所使用。

This project will bring STEM content knowledge to visitors to Cuyahoga Valley National Park via mobile device applications. Visitors will be able to use their mobile phones to access details about Park features (such as where they are in the park, what they are looking at, and where are related features), supporting just-in-time STEM learning. Cuyahoga Valley National Park receives around 2.5 million visitors every year and experiences multitudes of inquiries. Until this project, visitors were subjected to less than optimum signage for information and background about a given feature that may or may not be of interest to them. In this project, knowledge building information will be selected by the visitors and delivered to them with convenience and speed. The data base supporting this effort will provide the visitor with identification and the history of park features as well as more in depth knowledge building information while they are in the park and after the leave, providing a more holistic experience than is currently available. The investigators will build the system in parts, testing the feasibility at each stage and evaluating affective and cognitive outcomes of each portion. Research questions that will be addressed in the course of this project include: (1) What outcomes associated with use of this GPS-base system could inform future development and implementation? and (2) What contributions do these GPS-based mobile learning applications have on informal science learning as understood within the Six Strands of Informal Science Learning? It is expected knowledge generated in this project will stimulate additional programing for increasing efficacy and use in other widely ranging venues. If successful, it is easy to imagine how this STEM knowledge-building application could be extended for use in other venues across the country.