WeBird: Mark Berres makes an AR Game to Teach Bird Identification

In Fall 2013, twelve Animal Science students at UW–Madison took iPhones into the forest to see who could identify the most birds. A dynamic mobile game, WeBird, let them document sightings, record bird calls, take photos and videos and share all this to their instructor and teammates. The purpose of the project was to test a number of social and gaming design elements for use in a design that will be used with over 100 students in a Spring version of the course.

Working with Mark Berres in Animal Science/Zoology during Fall 2013, the Mobile Learning Incubator (now Field Day Lab) investigated the effectiveness of integrating game mechanics — specifically quests and leaderboards — into a field research activity.

The students worked as co-researchers to fine-tune the design structure and technical performance of WeBird. You can check out the WeBird game yourself. Use the ARIS app to find the game. ARIS can be found in the Apple App Store.