Abstract:

In the Rio+20 Conference 2012, the United Nations agreed to set Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN, 2017). Consequently, the 17 Goals are set, including Quality Education (G4); Sustainable Cities and Communities (G11); Responsible Consumption and Production (G12); Life on Land (G15) (UN, 2017). In Thailand, it is quite challenging to teach sustainability principles and practice. Not many people understand its deep meaning in relation to their ways of living (Author 2, 2015). Learning environmental topics in many educational institutions is conducted in a formal classroom setting (Roy, 2005). This setting restricts learner’s curiosity and exploration, whereas learning activities outside the classroom can inspire and enable learners for a deeper understanding and change of attitude towards responsible ways of living (Roy, 2005). The authors believe that ‘Learning takes place throughout life in many places and spaces. From birth through their careers, learners need a broad range of experiences that develop their skills, dispositions and abilities to succeed. A strong foundation for success is rooted in learning that happens in and out of school’ (P21, 2007). Eco-tourism in Thailand entails the conservative mindset of local communities and their ways of living, which contributes to the environmental aspect of sustainability (Pierre, 2011), e.g. handicraft traditions (Author 2, 2015). The authors identified the Elephant POOPOOPAPER Park in Chiang Mai as a place for fostering teaching and learning sustainability principles and practice. It is an outdoor museum park, founded by the Alternative Enterprises Company Limited. The company commits to pursuing with care for balancing the significance of the natural environment, the local communities and society, and of the commercial pursuits (The Park, 2017). The Park introduces the history and culture of traditional paper-making, offers learning experience in ecologically responsible production of the Elephant POOPOOPAPER. The Park is an example of eco-tourism destination. The Park owner anticipated that the use of a digital game in the Park could help attract people to come to the Park, i.e. primary students and teachers from local schools, children and tourists. The young generation is growing up with Information and Communication and Technology (ICT) embedded in daily life (Norizan, 2010). Their lives are driven by personal, portable, wirelessly networked technologies, e.g. the use of mobile games in education, which learners can access through the Internet from anywhere at any time (Jantina, 2009; Norizan, 2010). The digital game could enable teaching and learning environment towards a playful and memorable experience and enhance learner’s understanding of the relationships between traditional paper-making and sustainability. But, the use of a digital game should not be dominant or distracting the learners from learning. The digital game design and development is carried out and is reviewed by the Park owner. It will be installed for testing with visitors in the Park and a survey on its contents, usability, stability and interface. The survey will be conducted for two weeks with 60-150 visitors/users. The data will be gathered, analyzed and synthesized. Anticipated outcomes includes: 1) the Elephant Poop mobile game; 2) methods and tools for testing the game with visitors/users and for data collection; 3) the survey results and recommendations for further refinements of the game.

Keywords:

School children, mobile game, active learning, handmade papers, sustainability, eco-tourism, elephant poop fibers.