2007 Volume 48 Issue 2 Pages 53-62
Our research group has developed "clippicKids," an information-sharing system using camera-equipped mobile phones. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the system based on experimental results. The experiment involved second-grade students engaged in a learning activity called "Great Discovery Project." This project required students to keep photo diaries for one year using a camera-equipped mobile phone and clippicKids. From among the pictures taken for the project by the students, our research group selected photos of nature and examined them from three perspectives: (1) what kind of nature the students took pictures of, (2) what they discovered in nature while taking photos, and (3) how they evaluated this learning activity with technological support. We found that the students took many pictures of plants growing in the wild as well of those being grown at school. We also found that they were able to describe details of natural objects and make adequate comparisons based on careful observations. Moreover, we found that they evaluated this learning activity positively. These results demonstrate that the clippicKids system using mobile phones can serve as an effective tool for nature observation.
