The Eco pods
is a TUI-controlled system that mimics the growth of a plant and allows
children to keep track of their class garden and learn how the
different natural elements influence it, and each other, over time.
One pod represents the wind, another the sun’s heat, a third one the
light and the last one represents the rain. Each pod can be manipulated
with a movement or action characteristic of the natural element it
represents. If you blow on the “wind” pod, you’ll see on the computer
screen the effect wind can have on a flower, if you pour water onto the
“rain” pod, the flower will be watered as well, etc.
The Eco Pod keeps track of daily changes in the plant environment,
by employing environmental sensors, they monitor the water level in the
soil, the amount of light, the temperature, and the wind. The system
also captures daily images of the plant.Every now and then, the child can take the Eco-Pods to the
information retrieval system and transfer the data to the “plant diary”
software. This way, the kid can see the changes of the different
elements over time, draw conclusions about their impact on the growth
of the plant, but also internalize Systems Thinking concepts, such as
feedback loops, stocks and flows, and changes over time.
[Via we-make-money-not-art]
