1. Marilyn Fenster
Elementary Teacher
Gail Hanss
Elementary Teacher
Robin Long
7-12 Biology Teacher
Kids Afield Team
With support from Dr.
Smith,
Lower School Division Head
Kids AfieldKids Afield
Robin Long – site manager
earthwalkertoo@gmail.com

2. Kids AfieldKids Afield Nature & Te chno lo g yNature & Te chno lo g y
•What
•Why
 originsorigins
 researchresearch
• How
 inside
 outside
•Learning
 children's
 teachers’
 sharing
Resources
& Extensions

3. Kid-Photographers explore the Earth

4. Camera Promotes
Empathy
With Photos
…see world through others’ eyes
…see world through self-selected
camera eye
bootleg@dschool.stanford.edu
Young Citizen Naturalists
Adult Environmentalists
Emerged from

5. • limits field of focus
• archives outdoor experiences for
indoor/online sharing
• employs “hybrid thinking”
• taps into intrinsic motivation
• empowers students

6. .
I believe that a central goal
of modern education should
be … — to stimulate both
ways of knowing in the
world: digital and direct
experience.
Richard Louv
The ideal
scientist thinks
like a poet and
works like a
bookkeeper.
E.O. Wilson
Technology + Natural World Experiences
Can = Deep Learning
Can = Environmental Awareness

7. 3 Key Resources
Time for exploring outdoors
Exposure to Adults that respect
• outdoor environmentts
• children’s ideas & feelings
2 Keys to Promoting Kids
Connections to Nature

8. 1. Kid-Cameras
2. Introduce w/focus
3. Agency
• fit kids’ hands
• tough!
• easy to use
• $ 30 – 35
• require batteries

9. 2. Introduce w/focus
3. Agency
Cameras as valued tools
Care of equipment
Care of one another
Care of space
Care of life sharing space
How Birds became a Class Focus
Valuing students’ interests

10. Authentic Assessment: Students
Explain why they took the picture…
pre-writers put the starting letter
of the word – later a teacher helps
transcribe

11. Birds – the kid-connection that stuck!
BENEFITS
Present all year
Global Connections via migration
Inquiry Learning arises naturally
Art, Music, Writing
Strong intrinsic attraction
Great Free online Resources

12. Jay Stetzer
..John Burroughs, “Knowledge without
love will not stick. But if love comes
first, knowledge is sure to follow.” It’s
our responsibility as parents and
teachers to make sure that love comes
first.
David Sobel, Orion Magazine,
July/August 2012
Imagination & Play The Discovery of Mouse Town

15. A Voicethread slide

16. A classroom discussion added to student Voicethreads

17. Student assessment of a bird feeding experiment added to Voicethread

19. Resource materials for Kids Afield are archived
At :
http://storify.com/earthwalker/kids-afield
woodswalkertoo@gmail.com
twitter.com/earthwalkertoo
connectchildrenntonature.wikispaces.com

20. PHOTOGRAPH CHANGES OVER TIME
PLANTS or areas of plants
SIGNS OF LIFE: leaf being consumed, animals prints,
decaying log, leaf litter, emerging buds, etc.
EROSION
TRACES of water flow
PATTERNS left by mud
SKY
MATERIALS left out for animals (bird food, fruit, etc)
A PUDDLE
SIGNS of human movement in and out of an area
SNOW melting
DATA - INQUIRY DRIVEN
Shadows - Plant growth - Leaf drop -
Color changes – Bird nest materials –
Bird feeder experiments – Trash –
Spider webs – Plant damage – Melting-
Visual changes with temperature or light
Photo scavenger hunt-
Identifying plants & ” bugs” –
Camouflage challenges – Story
or poetry starters – ‘favorites’-
Kid-generated Games/Activities

21. Photos from Student Generated
Nest Material Experiment

24. Grades 7 & 8
Nature Photo
Elective

25. An example of using students photos to promote deeper thinking…

27. Older students learn from one another as they share their work

28. Bringing attention to the natural world with
the aid of a bit of wire to suspend a deer
skeleton …