Research and development of an environmental education mobile APP with accessibility resources for places of learning

• Grant number: 18/18694-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: May 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Education - Specific topics in Education
• Agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal Investigator: Flávia Torreão Corrêa da Silva Thiemann
• Grantee: Flávia Torreão Corrêa da Silva Thiemann
• Company: Fubá Educação Ambiental e Criatividade Ltda. - ME
• CNAE: Desenvolvimento e licenciamento de programas de computador customizáveis ; Atividades de ensino não especificadas anteriormente ; Atividades de jardins botânicos, zoológicos, parques nacionais, reservas ecológicas e áreas de proteção ambiental
• City: São Carlos
• Pesquisadores principais: Mayla Willik Valenti Roese
• Associated researchers: Andréia Nasser Figueiredo ; Ariane Di Tullio
• Associated research grant: 17/08149-4 - Technical-scientific feasibility study of a mobile application for environmental education in zoos, AP.PIPE
• Associated research grant(s): 21/06523-1 - Scalability and commercial development of an educational and inclusive mobile app for sustainable tourism, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 21/01119-8 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 20/11512-6 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 20/09423-5 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; + associated scholarships 19/15233-7 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/15355-5 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/18077-6 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/17691-2 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/15136-1 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/13695-3 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/13705-9 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile app with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.TT; 19/13537-9 - Research and development of an environmental education mobile APP with accessibility resources for places of learning, BP.PIPE - associated scholarships

Abstract

The present research is justified by the need to educationally qualify visits in zoos and other places of learning aimed at the conservation of biodiversity. The main objective of this research is to identify, test and evaluate technical and educational resources for the development of a mobile application accessible to various users including people with disabilities, in order to allow the interaction of visitors with the environment and its elements. The research of educational content and methodologies, development and testing of the application will be carried out at the municipal zoo Parque Ecológico de São Carlos, a reference in the ex-situ conservation of wild animals of the South American fauna in the State of São Paulo and Brazil. Through participatory methodologies, we aim to attain collaboration between researchers and research subjects in the study of reality, with the objective of proposing interventions in the same. The development of the application requires a close interaction between Environmental Education, Accessibility, Design and Programming. The Scrum framework will be used as a methodologycal path, applying the methodology Ágil adapted to small and multi-disciplinary teams. In addition, we anticipate activities such as optimizing the production of the application through the creation of a specific software, training course, and development of additional physical materials for better educational immersion in space. National and international applications in current use do not reach a satisfactory level of technical or pedagogical quality. In this way, they do not solve the demand of these locales for qualifying the spontaneous visits, making them educational. In addition, the presence of accessibility features will be a great differential of the product, allowing places of learning to increase access of people with disabilities. With this, there is a clear business opportunity in this industry as we develop an innovative, low-cost and inclusive solution. Finally, the desired result is a product whose educational bases are anchored in the principles of environmental education and universal design. (AU)