FINAL PITCH - FALL 2013
THE GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE EPIC SURVIVAL STORY PROJECT:
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE INTERACTIVE STORY APP
Designed by Kendall Digital Media Students with the help of Kenowa Hill's 8th grade science experts.
Students of Kendall College of Art and Design's Digital Media Program are creating a Global Climate Change Interactive Survival Story. These students–part of the Concept and Production Course taught by Susan Bonner–are partnering with Kenowa Hills Public School for curriculum advice and science content, created by Ms. Bush's team of 8th grade science experts.
Kendall Students also worked with the Kenowa Hills students to create assessments and quizzes based on each story, to test students on their comprehension and understanding of the material.
Presentation to Kenowa Hills Science Experts
room 709 Kendall College of Art and Design
The public is welcome to attend the presentation.
THE STORY: OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING...
In the near future of 2063 the polar ice caps are melting, causing increasing water levels and flooding throughout the world. Ocean currents are vanishing, plunging Europe into a new ice age. Cities are becoming bigger and more crowded. Famine, war, and disease run rampant as resources start to run out.
50 years in the future the over use of livestock and industry will produce enough methane gas to thicken the atmosphere and heat up our planet. The Greenland Ice sheet will be nearly gone. The sheer mass of this melted glacier is more than enough to flood the global coastlines, maybe even the entire state of Florida. Hundreds of thousands of people will be forced to evacuate their homes, and may be left with no place to go. Time is running out.
The world has become victim to Global Climate Change. The question is...How do we Survive, and what can we do to prevent this reality?
The students’ goal as concept and production artists and designers was to:
• Educate middle school students, ages 8-14 about Global Climate Change
• Use a narrative to make the story of Climate Change Effects impactful
• Give an action plan for how to effect change now
EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS ADDRESSED
NGSS - Practices for K-12 Science Classrooms
- Asking questions
- Constructing Explanations and designing solutions
- Engaging in argument from evidence
NGSS - Cross Cutting Concepts
- Cause and Effect
- Energy and Matter
- Stability and Change
NGSS - Disciplanary Core Ideas
- MS-ESS3 -2 Natural Hazards and Catostrophic Event
- MS-ESS3-3 Human Impact on the Environment
- MS-ESS3-4 Human Consumptions impact on Earth Systems
- MS-LS2-4 Changes to an ecosystem affect populations
- MS-LS2-5 Maintaining Biodiversity
- MS-LS21 Effects of resources on Organisms in an Ecosystem
Graphic User Interface:
The app's interface was created to be simple and minimalistic. The design is meant to feel like a futurist, high-tech, military “gizmo” that gives detailed information and instructions to the user.
The classroom environment tends to be very bright, even with the lights completely off. The black and white high-contrast design not only furthers the users perception of a futuristic design, but was also implemented to make elements of the design visible in any light setting.
The number one goal of interface design is to present the content to the user clearly, effectively, and efficiently. We designed the interface to be semi-formal, while retaining a slight edge. The formality aids in the organization of content, which then translates to ease-of-use. The edginess comes through in the bold, capitalized letters and high-contrast color, which demands attention. Graphical elements such as the Sea Level measurements add a sense of urgency and involvement – the user must act now.
GAN, THE MALDIVES by Matt Olack :
Global Climate Change Cause: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Vehicles Global Climate Change Effect: A Catastrophic Tsunami in the MaldivesSynopsis: Green House Gas Emissions from the over use of
Vehicles eventually causes a Tsunami in the Maldives,
resulting in new orphans having to take refuge in India.
Read More: In recent years, Air pollution in Male’ has nearly tripled.Much of this pollution can be attributed to the carbon
dioxide from vehicles that contribute greatly to the greenhouse effect. This
global warming can result in earthquakes, Tsunamis and more.
RONDONIA, BRAZIL by Natalie Budnick:
Global Climate Change Cause: Deforestation in the Amazon
Rain forestGlobal Climate Change Effect: The Amazon Rain forest is becoming a
Savannah.Synopsis: When all the trees surrounding a small village in the Amazon Rain forest, a young boy and his village are forced to relocate.
It is thought that over 90 indigenous tribes have disappeared from the Amazon regions, including Brazil, during the 20th century. Most of these tribes live in such harmony with their environments that the sudden and drastic changes caused by deforestation can disrupt their lives so much that their culture, and sometimes even lives are lost. People have even been forced to relocate so that their lands could be cleared.
NILE DELTA, EGYPT by Alante Carpenter:
Global Climate Change Cause: Pesticide runoff is seeping into the Nile Delta.Global Climate Change Effect: The Nile delta is becoming heavily pollutedSynopsis: A girl that lives near the Nile Delta ends up in the city with her family fighting for survival.
Read More: Even ancient Egypt's mighty pyramid builders were powerless in the face of the famine that helped bring down their civilization around 2180 BC.Now evidence gleaned from mud deposited by the River Nile suggests that a shift in climate, climate change, thousands of kilometers to the south was ultimately to blame - and the same or worse could happen today.
ECHO BAY, CANADA by Colin Winchell:
Global Climate Change Cause: Ships and Planes traveling through the ArcticGlobal Climate Change Effect: A war over resources when the ice melts.Synopsis: A family is torn apart when a war starts to claim oil in the arctic circle. Sivoy's brother is sent away to fight, and his ship comes under attack.Read More:
Cargo ships and Airlines generate 1.77 billion tons of Carbon Dioxide a year, and the UN expects that number to increase in the coming years. This CO2 is making a significant impact, especially in the arctic where temperatures are rising twice as fast as in the rest of the world. Even the mighty Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has broken in two.
Murray Basin, AUSTRAILA by Sean VandenBerge:
Global Climate Change Cause: Farmers not moderating the amount of water used for watering their crops.
Global Climate Change Effect: Farm land turning into to desert.Synopsis: A young adult named John is force to travel around the country looking for food and water.Read More: Currently in Australia, agriculture uses 52% of the country’s water. 90% of that goes to irrigation. That’s about 5 trillion gallons of water every day. Imagine how much water they’ll use by 2063! It’s unlikely they’ll reduce water use since agriculture brings in about 4.5 billion dollars a year. At their current rate, that’s 220 billion dollars by 2063. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of their ecosystem.
Miami, Florida, USA, Ed Kindsvater:
Global Climate Change Cause: Melting of the polar ice caps due to Methane.
Global Climate Change Effect: Flooding.
Synopsis: Adam finds himself driven out of his home due to severe flooding, and finds himself a refuge on the Georgia border.
Review Quiz: After the story, students will be quizzed on how to save the polar ice caps, and what they can do prevent Global Climate Change in the future.
The addition of a quiz and assessment involved a lot of thought about user experience and interactivity. The quiz was designed to be engaging in that the user absolutely has to answer all questions correctly to complete it. The user does not face a consequence for an incorrect answer, but has to re-answer until they give the correct answer. A simple animated graphic meters and encourages the users progress until completion.
The assessment however, needed to actually provide results of the users gained-knowledge from using Survive Global Climate Change. The assessment gives one opportunity for a correctly answered question and stores the users answer for each question. Upon completion, the results of the students assessment are tallied and a detailed score is sent to the teacher.
London, UK - Brenda Snell
Global Climate Change Cause: Melting polar ice leading to the disruption of the gulf current.
Global Climate Change Effect: An ice age across the northern hemisphere.
Synopsis: Amelia becomes trapped in the middle of a blizzard as her home of London, England is engulfed in a new ice age. Buildings not made to withstand the severe cold begin to collapse.
Review Quiz: After the story, students will be quizzed on the cause of this second ice age, and what can be done to prevent it.
BEIJING, CHINA - Josh Miller
Global Climate Change Cause: Industrial Air Pollution
Global Climate Change Effect: The air is unbreathable, and there is a war for resources.
Synopsis: Kang, a member of the Chinese military, comes across a single mother in dire need to the respirator that keeps him safe from the deadly pollution permeating the air.
Review Quiz: After the story, students will be quizzed on how to prevent pollution.
After going through all of the stories in the app, students can take an assessment to test how much knowledge on the subject was retained. The results will be emailed to the student's teacher.
The teacher will get a results email like this from KendallWeblab:
What is the cause of global climate change in Miami, USA?
People building more small businesses. (false)
Methane thickening the atmosphere, trapping heat and radiation. (true)
Too many people living in Miami. (false)
Invasive species migrating to Miami. (false)
Sample Student Answered: Methane thickening the atmosphere, trapping heat and radiation. (true)
What is the effect of global climate change in Miami, USA?
Drop in sea level, causing a drought. (false)
Rise in sea level, flooding crops and causing a famine. (false)
People fight over the leftover ice to use in their Diet Coke. (false)
Rise of sea level, causing flooding and evacuation of the city. (true)
Sample Student Answered: Rise of sea level, causing flooding and evacuation of the city. (true)
What choice can you make to prevent this horrible situation from happening in the future to someone like Adam?
Stop buying so much food. (false)
Take your dog for a walk. (false)
Plant a tree. (true)
Stop talking disrespectfully to your parents. (false)
Sample Student Answered: Plant a tree. (true)
What is the cause of global climate change in the story of London, UK?
Not enough people recycling. (false)
Factory pollution. (false)
A change in the ocean currents. (true)
A broken ice maker. (false)
Sample Student Answered: A change in the ocean currents. (true)
What is the effect of global climate change in the story of London, UK?
Another ice-age in western Europe. (true)
Colder winters and hotter summers. (false)
Plant a tree. (true)
An outbreak of Malaria. (false)
Sample Student Answered: Plant a tree. (true)
What choice can you make to prevent this horrible situation from happening in the future to someone like Amelia?
Get rid of all the environment damaging chemicals in your home. (false)
Recycle more to prevent Ozone layer damage and melting of icebergs. (true)
Don’t pollute by driving cars. (false)
Never drive over bridges. (false)
Sample Student Answered: Never drive over bridges. (false)
Sample Student correctly answered 5 out of 6 questions (83%).