Long before "digital" and "native" were words that could reasonably fit into the same sentence, kids had adventures in the great outdoors-the sort of nature-filled adventures filmmaker Paul Ward experienced as a child growing up on a farm.
"Unfortunately, children today don't have the same exposure to nature," says the father of Estella, nine, and Sylvie, seven. "Instead, these digital natives are often glued to their screens."
Wanting to reconnect this young generation with the outside world-via a medium that they're familiar with-Ward teamed up with film producer Vicky Pope to create Wild Eyes, a website that uses technology to help children to get in touch with nature.
Ward and Pope spent two years developing Wild Eyes, which requires users to complete interesting tasks in nature, such as setting up camp or finding a certain kind of bird. Once a challenge is complete, the player uploads a photo to the website to earn online encouragement and "likes" from other players.
"It's all about interacting with kids on their own terms," says Ward.
Ward, who spent almost two years working as a producer for the Discovery Channel in Los Angeles, says the response so far has been positive. "We've had more than 15, 000 site visitors to date, which is really encouraging."
Both Ward and Pope are working hard to ensure all the tasks are affordable and adaptable for both the home and classroom. They believe there's also a future benefit to turning square eyes into wild eyes.
"As David Attenborough says, people will only protect what they care about and they'll only care about what they've experienced," he says. "Given so much of our lives are lived online, if we care about looking after our natural world, it's important we provide attractive digital experiences that engage young kids with nature."
【小题1】How was Ward's childhood different from his children's?| A．He did a lot of outdoor activities. | B．His vocabulary was limited. |
| C．He seldom played in the wild. | D．He had no computer or TV set. |
| A．Expand their knowledge about nature. | B．Complete their tasks given by the website. |
| C．Share their outdoor activities with others. | D．Participate in activities organized by the website. |
| A．An activity that requires hard work. | B．An activity that is affordable and adaptable. |
| C．A person spending a lot of time in nature. | D．A person spending too much time on the screen. |
| A．Experiencing the Great Outdoors | B．Keeping away from the Screen |
| C．Combining the Screen with Nature | D．Looking after the Natural World |
