From the Ground Up: Children's Experiences of Connecting With Nature Through Technology

Abstract

The benefits of children engaging with and in nature have been well documented in past research. However, many children today are increasingly engaging with digital technologies. Interestingly, technologies have been suggested for children to engage with and explore nature, though little research includes the ideas and insights of young children. To fill this gap in research, this study utilized a secondary data analysis approach. Data ascertained from an ongoing project that explores children‟s engagement in ecological curriculum and research was used to examine how children use technology to explore nearby nature. Prevalent themes of this study acknowledge that many children have experiences with digital technologies, digital technologies supported children in their ecological and nature based research, and digital technologies supported children‟s connections with nature. The results of this study have implications for how educators can incorporate technology into their pedagogy and for future researchers who may explore this nature-technology discourse.