The Station: A Model for Content Co-Design with Rural Youth

Abstract

We describe the design, modification, implementation, and preliminary research of a place-based serious AR (augmented reality) application in a rural school setting. The Station is a collaboratively designed iPhone app that allows players to explore the world around them through educational quests. It links the virtual gameplay to real-world locations and discovery via GPS. The quest content is user generated through a companion editor, a web-based platform that allows anyone to design and author their own quest. When used in a student context, the editor allows student users to move from passive consumers of game content to active creators. We follow a group of ninth-grade students from rural western Maine who worked to create content for The Station in collaboration with Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, who facilitated and researched the project. Youth participants were able to create game content for a real-world location that combined historical, geographical, and scientific knowledge while also learning the importance of storytelling. During our observations of the pilot deployment of this program, key elements emerged that should be incorporated as part of the co-design process for users to successfully create content for The Station. Our model can be useful in engaging youth as place-based content creators in both informal and formal education settings.