Tech:nature Literacy

Sue Thomaswww.suethomas.net

@suethomas#technobiophilia

18 November 2013Metaliteracy MOOC

University of Albany / SUNY Empire State College

Do you use nature images as screensavers or wallpapers?

Map your relationship with technology and nature

Twitter roof garden

Apple Campus 2

Images (c) Carolyn Black 2013

Biophilia The innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes E.O.

Wilson 1984

Attention Restoration Theory (ART)R&S Kaplan, The Experience of Nature, 1989

Nearby Nature Restorative Settings• Being away - setting is physically or

conceptually different from one’s usual environment

• Extent - a setting sufficiently rich and coherent that it engages the mind and promotes exploration

• Fascination (soft & hard) - content or mental processes that engage attention effortlessly & allow you to rest your mind.

• Compatibility - good fit between your inclinations and the kinds of activities supported by the setting.

Nearby Nature: Room With a View, Dorset County Hospital, UK

How ART works in our connected lives

Being Away Extent

How ART works in our connected lives

Soft Fascination Compatibility

TechnobiophiliaThe innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike

processes as they appear in technology

Kahaulani-South, Second Life

‘Digital Break’, Paris

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/218/8/0/yaoi__world_of_warcraft_by_yuhsukechiohara-d45m7re.jpg

Virtual nature

Practical experiments to try

What you can do indoors

1. Pay attention to the view from your window

2. Use indoor plants to your advantage

3. Connect with animals4. Treat yourself to

biophilic computer kit

What you can do outdoors

1. Go outside!2. Create an outdoor

office3. Grow stuff4. Use your smartphone

to enhance your outdoor experience

What you can do online

1. Visit a virtual world2. Play a video game3. Sample some next

nature4. Add biophilic design to

your online spaces

Tech:nature literacy The ability to interpret experiential information

generated by a synthesis of nature and technology.

Project Wild ThingGreat Chapparal by Adam Thwaites (by

permission of the artist)

Transliteracy/MetaliteracyTransliteracy

(Thomas et al)

The ability to read, write and interact across a range of

platforms, tools and media from signing and orality

through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital

social networks.

Metaliteracy(Mackey and Jacobson)

Metaliteracy promotes critical thinking and collaboration in a digital age, providing a comprehensive framework to effectively participate in

social media and online communities. It is a unified construct that supports the acquisition, production, and

sharing of knowledge in collaborative online

communities.

Tech:nature reminds us of the organic dimension to online life and can...

• Combat digital dualism (cf Nathan Jurgenson)

• Inform reflective learning

• Connect experiential learning and research

• Encourage strategies for well-being through tech:nature balance

• Support lifelong learning

Looking ahead

Biophilic design Second Life teaching space

Class Activity

Map out your own relationships with technology and nature. Do they overlap or are they kept

separate? Can you see ways to integrate them which would contribute to your digital well-

being?