Harry Green, Becca Brielmaier, Luke Thompson
Through
the ARIS application on our iPhone’s, we found a game entitled H20; Help 2
Others. This particular game was centered around visiting different
destinations around Madison as a water ecologist to virtually come up with a
plan for the UN to address global water issues. Specifically, one place we
visited was the Lakeshore path and Lake Mendota where we had to come up with
ways to limit pollution in the natural resource we were standing by. This part
of the process was cool because it made us think about ways to preserve
something we take for granted and all think that our daily actions don’t affect
the lake in any negative way. Furthermore, collectively as a group, we talked
about the act of ice fishing during the winter being only permitted in a small region
of the lake to limit the amount of animals being taken out of their natural
habitat. Overall, this part of our game was all about balancing human want and
pleasure from Lake Mendota with the natural beauty that it provides, including
implementing boating laws when the weather is nice and laws to regulate
activity that harms animals during the colder months.
The
other body of water that we visited near campus was Lake Monona. Here we talked
about pollution in the water that was hurting the wildlife. During the summer
there is many boats for recreational purposes on the lake. Whether it be
waterskiing or fishing, they are polluting the lake while killing fish and
vegetation. We talked about ways to improve this such as having stricter
guidelines on boats that can go on the lake. We decided that you would have to
get a specific license to go out on the lake and in order to get it, your boat
had to be checked to make sure it was not leaking gas or oil. We realized that
this will cost the state money but decided it was worth it to keep Madison’s
lakes as pollution free as we can.
This app
was really interesting because it forced us to go out into the community and
interact with technology at the same time. This game showed the versatility of
technology and how it can be used for educational purposes too. Overall, it was
an interesting assignment that was unlike anything we had ever done before.
First, I'm surprised and impressed you guys made the effort to travel outside into the cold for the game, instead of taking the quick route. I think the game you decided to choose has a very real and practical use in our society today and I think more games like this could make the world a better place. I agree the pollution in water hurts the wildlife, and more work should be done to limit pollution. I think technologythat helps us interact with society is better than the norm. For example, when the Wii system first came out, I thought it would be great for society because it allowed people to be active instead of locked in on a game console. Similarly, these ARIS games allow people to be active, however I think people may be too complacent already and not have as much success. Just like the Wii console compared to other majors systems.
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