Spot that Bird: A Location Based Bird Game

Abstract

In today's age of pervasive computing and social media people make extensive use of technology for communicating, sharing media and learning. Yet while in the outdoors, on a hike or a trail we find ourselves inept of information about the natural world surrounding us. In this paper I present in detail the design and technological considerations required to build a location based mobile application for learning about the avian taxonomy present in the user's surroundings. It is designed to be a game for better engagement and learning. The application makes suggestions for birds likely to be sighted in the vicinity of the user and requires the user to spot those birds and upload a photograph to the system. If spotted correctly the user scores points. I also discuss some design methods and evaluation approaches for the application.

Reconciling Nature-Technology-Child Connections: Smart Cities and the Necessity of a New Paradigm of Nature-Sensitive Technologies for Today’s Children

“…For example, learning resources can include habitats, landmarks, tourist information, and locations for animal sightings [73,[81][82][83]. Applications, such as The Audubon Bird Guide, BirdNet [75], iBird Plus Yard Guide [75,84], eBird by Cornell Lab [75,85], Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Labs [58,86], etc., can assist children to identify birds by location, colour, shape, habitat, and other characteristics. These technologies let children see the world in a different way by using digital information that's overlayed in their view.…”