GAMIFICATION

Gamification – A Tool to Get Kids Outside

My oldest granddaughter, Audrey, who is studying for her Master's degree at Duke University, wrote the following for one of her class assignments. She generously gave me permission to publish it on my blog. You can see why I am so proud of her. She's a young woman after my own heart. A lover of nature and little children.

Peace,
Marilyn

"My dad is one of those intellects with accolades that just don’t stop. To paint a picture, he’s a radiologist M.D., with a PhD in physics and Masters in computer programming…you get the idea. Today, what really gets him excited is the “gamification” he is infusing in his lectures – oh did I forget to mention he is also a professor?


At first I thought he made up the term “gamification,” but apparently it’s a real thing with an actual definition. It is the application of game thinking and game elements to nongame problems, with the hopes of engaging users. This, well-seasoned with his dry sense of humor (I vaguely remember seeing a Batmobile photo somewhere on his website…), makes for a very student-satisfied and entertained class.

It’s not all that surprising that gamifying scenarios to younger generations is a successful technique. After all, most children today know how to unlock their parent’s iPad and navigate to the Angry Birds app. Speaking of birds--

I think that gamification, in the context of bird watching, would be a very useful tool in kindling children’s excitement and passion for nature. But before I get into my reasoning for this, I should provide some insight to what bird watching is all about.

While I have always enjoyed being outdoors, it wasn’t until about a year ago that I started developing an interest in bird watching. Over this course of time, my interest has grown to a full-blown passion, and now I proudly consider myself a total bird nerd. I’ve come across many people that seem skeptical of how birding can be as exciting as I make it out to be. These reactions got me thinking: “just what is it about birding that is so appealing to me?”

I’ve realized that the best way to put it is to explain birding as a special treasure hunt crafted by Mother Nature. In an abstract sort of way, this “gamifies” the whole concept of birding. The goal is to spot as many birds as possible, identify them, and if you’re lucky take a photo to add to your collection! This offers a tangible purpose for your outdoor excursions – a hike through the woods is no longer just a matter of getting from one end of the trail to the other. Instead, it is the potential for seeing something entirely novel – and not just birds! By nature, bird watching forces you to walk slowly and quietly, and really heighten your senses (especially hearing). If you do this, you will inevitably witness some fascinating details that you will otherwise surely miss. The picture to the right is of a whitetail deer fawn napping

quietly that I would have completely overlooked, if I weren’t keeping my eyes peeled for a scarlet tanager. As you can see, the treasure hunt for birds functions as a gateway for enriching your overall experience and interaction with nature – how great is that?!



Another common misconception about birding is that it’s something that mainly interests older people and certainly not children. Well this just isn’t the case. Last summer, I had the pleasure of taking my two younger cousins (photographed on the left) on a nature walk. I pointed out all the birds I could see, had them look at the birds through my binoculars, and mentioned many fun facts. I was thrilled when they started asking me questions about all sorts of things they thought were curiosities of nature. They sensed and reciprocated my excitement when we spotted a new bird and were very impressed that I could identify a bird just by hearing its call. Imagine their thrill when they realized they could do it too, with just a few tips! By the end of the trip, I knew there were two new birders in the world. This was confirmed when their mother called me a few days later to tell me that my cousin had been pointing out chickadees, cardinals, and mockingbirds outside their window ever since our little adventure. Apparently my little cousin also wanted to know if we would be going on a nature hike again soon.

I’ve gone on several other successful hikes like this one with children of all ages. After this nature walk, I received about a dozen blurry photos of a robin in a text message. I’ve realized what a great tool birding is for getting kids to step away from the TV and head outdoors, especially when you introduce it as an adventure."