Thank you for visiting and learning more about our NSF-funded project called ParkApps (NSF AISL #1422764).  We have completed our build and are in the process of collecting data.  If you haven't had a chance to download the app, it is free and available for both iOS and Android at: http://parkapps.kent.edu.  We welcome all viewer comments and questions!  We encourage viewers to help us think through important topics including but not limited to: a) broadening participation; b) disseminating and engaging with others during and after our grant cycle; and c) the challenges and best practices of collecting data in informal learning environments.  

Hi Richard! This app looks really well-designed with lots of different opportunities for engagement. I'm curious how your team has gotten word out about the app to encourage people to use it.

Lots of features on this app! The pop-up question feature seemed especially engaging for hikers. As I watched, I wondered if the questions are geared for a particular reading level--say high schoolers or adults? Do you have any data about how families are using the app yet? 

     Thanks for your comment, Carol!  One of our first adventure tracks was near ledges.  We quickly realized the value of "pop-up" questions.  We didn't want people staring at their phone and walking off cliffs!  So, the pop-up feature lets people put their phones away and only pull them out near an area of interest---either an area we have designated OR an area they mark.  

     Your question about readability is key.  Most of our content is aimed at a 4th-5th grade reading level.  However, we also know the need to reach younger audiences through content in addition to reading level.  As such, we created some adventure tracks specifically aimed at parents/families taking kids on hikes (e.g. Youth Fall Colors).  It helps that many of our project members are parents of young children!  

     In that same token, we wanted to reach advanced users, too.  Some of our citizen science projects actually require advanced training by users.  The app lets advanced users take training; once they get a badge, a data collection project opens up.  We're never going to be able to reach all audiences perfectly, but we're doing our best to provide as many tools and opportunities as possible (e.g. a journal for both beginner and advanced users, a map creation tool, citizen science projects, etc.).  

     Your last question about data is our toughest challenge.  In addition to having different visitors every day, we also have strict limitations (from the parks or from our own internal research bureau) about what data we can and cannot collect.  We are collecting and analyzing lots of data now but we look forward to input from others on their best practices in collecting data in such environments.  Thanks!  Rick

 Really enjoyed this presentation. Hope you connect with Martha Merson (see http://stemforall2017.videohall.com/presentatio...) who is also working on educating visitors to the National Parks. I like that the app both gives information and has parts that encourages exploration, which of course is essential in the National Park. But having something to look for... must really help. How do visitors get encouraged to use the app? Is the app park specific? How many parks are included? Did you work with park rangers in the development of the app? Great work. Thanks for this video!!

As a Delaware resident, I was especially gratified by the inclusion of Blue Hen Falls in the video.  Great work!

This is great work, team! I can absolutely envision using this app with teachers, pre-service teachers, youth, and my own family. I was especially intrigued by all the different features of the app. My favorite aspect of the app may be the emphasis on history of place, which is incredibly important and so often overlooked. Which features of the app do you think function best? If you could make one (or more) tweaks, what might they be?

Great questions, Heidi!  Our app was funded to promote informal science learning; we've enjoyed having parents and families (particularly of young children) use and learn from and with this app.  Having said that, teachers have been some of our biggest advocates (three of our grant project members are teacher educators).  We find that teachers want to take their students outside to promote out-of-class learning and even to encourage a love of nature.  However, they may not know how and we believe this provides a great educational scaffold for teachers and learners.

     There are six features.  I know it's not fair to say that I'm excited about all of them!  Let me, therefore, say that I really love four of them.  :)   The adventure tracks provide a guided educational experience that is missing for park visitors who don't have the chance to spend time with a ranger or interpreter.  The citizen science projects provide a way for scientists to learn from visitors instead of just disseminating information to them.  The identify feature links to iNaturalist so that park visitors can get help identifying things--potentially increasing their interest in learning more about science.  Finally, MyParkApps lets users create their own experience by building a map of favorite places (a tool they could use around the world) and a notebook of their experiences (mimicking what a scientist would do).  I think these four work together to create an innovative experience in our parks.

     It doesn't mean I don't like our other two features.  :) However, the map feature is pretty typical of what you would expect to see in other apps for parks.  I feel like the team did a great job in supplementing this map with cultural, historical, and scientific information.  Sometimes it's just hard to tell a comprehensive story by only looking at one point.  Said differently, the map feature works and works well and is arguably necessary for navigational purposes.  The challenge is to put enough teasers in the map points to get visitors to try out an adventure track or citizen science project.

     The other feature that really needs tweaking is the "Learn As You Go."  The idea here was to create mini-adventure tracks that were like Easter Eggs (hidden things) in the parks.  They would "pop-up" when you walked and we hoped people would use this as a way to continually learn.  People who couldn't find the hidden objects could use our social media posts (or others) as ways to find them.  The feature technologically works, but most of our energy has been put into cultivating the scientific explorations of adventure tracks and citizen science projects.  The feature needs some rethinking to make it work properly.  

     Thanks again for your questions!  Best, Rick

Great presentation! I'd love to have an app like this for virtual tours at our field station. I was wondering if there is a built-in mechanism for gathering user feedback and if so, what sorts of things you've been learning from users. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks, Sarah!  Happy to chat more with you about how our app could be adapted to fit your field station.  As I shared in my response to Joni, we've built it in such a way that it is essentially web-driven to update app content.  We did that for purpose of easy dissemination and updating long after the grant is over.  

     To answer your question, there are multiple mechanisms for gathering user feedback.  If feedback is "data", users input answers based on adventure tracks, citizen science projects, and even identification.  That information is helping us analyze what they're thinking about, what they're learning, and what they find interesting.  Data also consists of app-based information that can help us analyze what locations and what app features are popular.  Data is still being collected and we hope to have some research-based answers and practical implications this summer.  

     Feedback could also simply mean user feedback about the app (e.g. do they like our app, find it interesting, etc.).  We do have that ability through our app (again, data analyses forthcoming).  However, we also added a feature to our app and to our website for people to provide feedback, suggestions, recommendations, etc.  

     I'd love to be writing to share 10,000 pages of what we've learned.  We have a lot of anecdotal evidence on it's positive implementation, but we're not quite ready to share what we've learned without some more data this summer.  How's that for piquing interest?  :)  Thanks for the question.  Best, Rick

Well done! I didn't realize you were designing in a way that could be easily adapted to other parks. The park system has such diverse landscapes, cultural and natural resources, that figuring out ways to be relevant to all park units is a real challenge. What would you say the investment is for a new park to customize for their site -- I mean in terms of staff time for content, expertise, design, etc.

Great app! Richard, I found your comment that social media has been a good friend very interesting. Have you found that users want to engage with you in many different ways, or have you mostly used Facebook and Twitter to spread word about the app?

Thanks, Elizabeth!  There are a variety of users who might be interested in using our app.  Some of them who may not already be connected to the parks may find us through social media or may use social media to connect and engage.  However, there are already longstanding groups (e.g. volunteer, community partners, etc.) associated with both parks.  Said differently, some may engage directly through us while others engage through our collaborators.  Finally, because our app features, we also see traffic and engagement through our citizen science projects and communities like iNaturalist.  That's a really long way of saying there are lots of inroads to try to engage visitors!  Best, Rick