Use of app to identify species helps students learn

A recently published bioCEED study has found that biology students using an app to identify sedges get more correct identifications than their peer using the traditional textbook method.

The results of the experiment with 70 biology students from the University of Bergen revealed that the students found identifying species more interesting and enjoyable when using a smartphone or tablet. The students also felt that they were more competent after using the app than when using the book. Being able to identify species is a key skill for biologists, but undergraduate students often find identifying species difficult and uninteresting. An important finding in this study, therefore, is that using modern technology could enhance students´ interest and learning in ways that perhaps are not possible when using a textbook. The study was published online in Computers & Education in December 2016 (see link further below).

The app used to identify sedges is also a bioCEED product. ArtsAPP was created when a biology student with information technology skills and a biology professor found that they had the same idea – to create an app for species identification. ArtsAPP became a project where students, professors, educational outreach and technical staff work together to create a tool that is useful both in university teaching, but also for schools and nature lovers.

Download Artsapp for Android from Google Play 

Reference

Lucas Jeno, John-Arvid Grytnes and Vigdis Vandvik published the article entitled “The effect of a mobile-application tool on biology students’ motivation and achievement in species identification: A Self-Determination Theory perspective” in the latest issue of the journal Computers & Education.