Environmental Education andInformation Technology
Yoshihiro Ugawa*Introduction
Why an environmental education course is in a university of education?
In order to keep good environment, personal activities on the basis of environmental knowledge play animportant role. Environmental education helps establishing such motivation. And I think it is importantthat knowledge and experience on environment have to be taught by teachers who had learned at anenvironmental education course.

What can be done while sitting in front of a computer?
In environmental education and environmental learning, actual experiences are the most important.
Information technology can not contribute directly to them. In fact, however, there are qualitative differences
between actual experiences and computer works.

Information technology may support environmental education
As a member of System Research of EEC, I provide web contents and biological and environmental-related
database for environmental education. The purposes of providing database are to share more information andto use them effectively. I think that database is a basic tool for an analysis on a huge amount of informationin environmental science.
Environmental problems, which sometimes are to worldwide, can not be discussed within a limited
region. Every student can not join in various actual nature activities. Although it is virtual, additional
experiences can be provided by using Web or new technologies. These information technologies might help
learning information and acknowledgment in environmental education. In this time I will introduce you someexamples that I had produced.

Example of support
Bulletin Board System for a school class, “Are fallen leaves garbage?”
It is just a season of fallen leaves. Sendai is called a city of forest. Fallen leaves from roadside trees coverroads and sidewalks so that many efforts have to be made for cleaning them. In this city, fallen leaves aregathered into plastic bags and finally burned. In a forest, on the other hand, fallen leaves are bearing animportant role to become a home of living things and to give nutrition for the next year.

* Associate Professor, Environmental Education Center, Miyagi University of Education, JAPAN－56 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

In 1999, a lesson program. “Are fallen leaves garbage?”, was proposed at an elementary school of Sendai.
This program aimed children to aware that fallen leaves might not be garbage where they could return to theearth, and to provide a chance to think about the natural environment.
In Japan, “an Integrated Course” was newly introduced, in which teachers could deal with a theme
without limited in a specific field. Some schools adopted that program on fallen leaves as an integratedcourse.
In 2000, another program, “Save fallen leaves”, was planned at another school. These two programs gavechildren a chance to study whether fallen leaves are garbage, to find their effective use, and to face to thenature.
For student classes of these programs, we proposed the use of computer networks to be able to ask
for responses of many other persons on their studying matters and opinions. At the time, a bulletin board
system was required for the expression and exchange of their opinions, at which EEC provided a server andtechnological support.
The BBS were produced through many tests from the stage of planning in order to enable the improved
exchanges of opinions by introducing the ideas of teachers who
actually need for their students.
At that time, Internet had just been introduced to the schools
and E-mail was rarely used for students.
The use of BBS on a Web browser, which can be used easierthan E-mail, enables students to have unusual experiences, suchas having responses from far countries and a message directlyfrom the Mayer of Sendai.
1. Explanation of a bulletin board
Ask for opinions about whether fallen leaves are garbage, and its reason.
In this figure, a question is proposed to ask for an opinion and its reason about whether fallen leaves aregarbage.
BBS is seemed to be easy to operate, however, it is hard for children to follow an opinion thread since
opinions written through the network are not led in time order.
It is difficult for school sites to maintain such BBS. However,we could contribute only in providing theserver for the program. Actually, we would not be able to maintain all Buss for increased number of schools
with different requests.
－57 －2. Result by graphics.
it is not garbage. 53.1%

3. Reason and comment can be seen at a same time.

It is not which, either. 30.6%
it is garbage 16.3%

Environmental Balance Sheet for KidsIn Japan, there is a program of environmental education, called “Environmental housekeeping book”(AnEnvironmental Balance Sheet). It consists of the estimation of CO2 gas emission from daily activities and thelearning of opportunities to reduce emission and to save energy and money.
To utilize the program, a spreadsheet software was needed in the former state,but it was difficult forchildren. Then we provided a Web site for children in which estimation can be used in a class.

After entering data into a box besides an icon, the data will be converted into the volume of CO2 gasemission. The volume is expressed not in liter but in the number of 20-liter tanks, which is a special idea
proposed by school teachers. I remember that children were surprised and shouted at the number of tanks.

－58 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

4. Graph can be produced on the basis of entered data.

5. Reference materials relating greenhouse effects are prepared.

Map system for environmental education
Cooperation of Survey on living thing in Sendai
Environmental education involves complicated study research fields. It is typical in a map information
which includes accumulated location data of different studies.
EEC has been cooperated with Sendai Science Museum in the surveys of some living things in Sendai.

－59 －Survey on Frogs in Sendai for Kids
Survey of a familiar animal, frogs encouraged kids in interests in environment. Results were shown
realtime. In 2000, the survey of frogs in Sendai had been performed on the basis of maps we produced.
In a series of this surveys there was a special advantage that never seen before. The former surveys
conducted by the government, the Ministry of Environment, are only paper based studies. When children
would return their survey paper back to its conducted organization, the results of these data would beannounced only in the next year. After so prolonged time, the children might graduate from their schools or
lose their interests in it. On the other hand, our survey can be displayed in real time through the Internet, sothat children can find their plots on the screen.
Besides, there is another profit, which indicates differences between town areas where no frog was found,town areas where several frogs were found and suburb areas where the nature remains, through the study of
two typical frog species, Bufo japonicus formosus (Eastern-Japanese Common Toad) that can live in a town
area and Buergeria buergeri (Kajika Frog) that can live only in a suburb area where the nature remains.

Survey map on living thing in JapanThe frog map covers the area of Sendai. We have a plan to extend the map coverage to all of Japan.
There is a survey map on bloom of cherry trees in Japan. Apart from the announcement by the Authorityof the Government, we intend to produce a bloom map which is made by children. The map would show thetransition of bloom points from the south area to the north. Besides, another survey is conducted on reddragonflies.

The first map consists of 80 Km mesh and the second consists of 10 Km. In 10 Km mesh map, data can beentered in 1 Km unit.

－60 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Map for field works
Besides, we produced a cyber-map of Aobayama-mountain,whichis located behind our University, as a map for surveys of living
things,environmental studies and fieldworks within a smaller area.
In this map, the smallest mesh is 50 m which can be grasped at aglance, various data including texts, pictures and moving images
can be stored.

Map for a school
We also produced sample maps for teaching programs inenvironmental class.
In corporation with Omose Elementary School in Kesennuma city, in later a member of this school willappear on the stage, we attempt to provide a regional map near the school. Apart from the former maps, thismap utilizes a simple clickable system for Web browser so that school teachers can edit by themselves. And
this map uses a link to BBS system of “network news” which can easily be used through a mail client such as
Outlook Express or Netscape Communicator.
The submission of a test message and anothermessage attached with images was succeeded.
This shows an editing process to produce a clickablemap by using a Web page editing software. URL of BBS
is written in a window which enables the operation of
map-linked BBS.

－61 －Submission by Becky Rosenberg and attached image are shown.

Taking records of activities on environmental education
In joined in the activities on environmental education, and in accompanied with the field works of EEC, I
attempt to leave these records on the web.
In the activities including friendship activity at Kinkasan-Island, exploration of Aobayama-mountain anddriving monkeys out of the west region of Sendai, the records and documents have been accumulated throughvideo and picture images and written texts.

Fieldwork of Kinkasan, Aobayama－62 －Ann. Rep. Env. Edu. MUE. Vol.5 No.2, 2003

Conclusion
What have performed
Improvement of the communication and sharing of information through computer network
Bulletin Board Systems, Map Systems, Environmental Balance Sheets
Creation of the Web based teaching materials which can be used easily
Environmental Balance Sheets, Map Systems

Evaluation and advice are required.
These activities have begun just a few years ago. I have had no evaluation on these systems about theirusefulness, and no opportunity to talk about them among EEC. In this time, I hope to know what evaluation
would be made for my activities by many specialists gathered from the world. In addition, I want to know
hints or opinions that guide me to more effective use of computer, network and information.

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