About us
The issue of deforestation is a serious one that, despite substantial efforts to combat it, continues to be an environmental concern. In the short term, this not only affects the animals whose habitats are being destroyed, it also has worldwide consequences that will lead to long term, possibly irreparable damage.
Children are the future of the planet, so a large part of this will be in their hands. The priority should be that they are informed and educated on this crucual topic, because if they are unaware, nothing will change.
Interactive learning is more impactful, so this is a better way to educate children about these issues. Currently, research suggests a lack of platforms aimed at children where they can be informed on such topics. Consequently, this project seeks to address this gap and gives children an easily accessible source for knowledge on these important issues.
Research
Our research shows that using technology to educate children about the current environmental issues surrounding animals is a well supported technique.
The target audience is children between the ages of nine and ten years old.
The rationale behind the selected target audience includes:
- Higher attention span than children of a younger age.
- That older children can process more complex information.
- On the cusp of independent thinking and are more susceptible to understanding.
- Compared to a younger age demographics, 9–10-year-old children can absorb and retain information much better.
- More likely to have stronger technical literacy skills.
- Better capability to complete written feedback through the project’s primary user testing.
Deforestation
“From mammals to birds, insects, amphibians or plants, the forest is home to [a myriad of] rare and fragile species. 80% of the Earth’s land animals and plants live in forests.” However due to deforestation, their homes are threatened. Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world. “Greatly accelerated by human activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate” (Youmatter 2020).
Forests play many vital ecological roles. They help to mitigate climate change; they provide homes for many species of plants and animals. They also supply food, medicine and livelihoods for people around the globe. Rainforests are an essential ecological powerhouse that are irreplaceable and at risk.
Findings
The research which was conducted indicated that the target audience successfully learned from Replanimals This was measured through their completion of the quiz. The results revealed an average score 4/5, showing 80% of the information communicated had been retained. Moreover, the users were asked if they had learned anything new. The response received was "Sumatran elephants eat 130 kg of food per day and can weigh up to 6 tones. Planting more trees can remove carbon from the atmosphere. Deforestation can lead to animals becoming extinct". Thus, further demonstrating Replanimals can fulfill its research aims to educate.
Secondly, the name was perceived by the users to mean " to plant more trees to help animals", which is in line with the intended meaning of reforestation will help protect wild animals from endangerments. Furthermore, the feedback stated “the majority of the class like the name of the website. They feel it describes what the website is about.” Hence, the name was well-received by the target demographic.
Thirdly, a satisfactory interest in each area of the website was shown. A multiple-choice question was next posed asking the users for clarification on their favorite section. The options here were 'animations', 'facts section' and 'Quiz'. 15 of the children preferred the animations, while 8 children liked the facts section with 9 favoring the quiz. The animations were the most popular, attracting almost ½ of the overall votes. This suggests that animated content is engaging as a learning tool for 9-10-year-olds. Further backing this up is their response to what the users felt could improve the website, in which they indicated that they would like "more animations of different animals and more facts [to be] added." Additionally, the children highlighted a technical issue with the audio in the animations which was later amended.
Additionally, the users felt the palette used for the characters was "very colourful, charming and friendly" which supports the design choices as appropriate and engaging.
Finally, when queried how they would prefer to use Replanimals in the future, they stated that "learning at school" would be most preferred method. The other options in the survey to choose were 'to have fun at home' and 'I don't want to use it again'. Hence, this target audience would be satisfied to adopt Replanimals as part of their curriculum, which supports the team’s intensions for the project.
Overall, Replanimals appears to have satisfied the research aims through the objectives.
Our team
Stacey Gallagher
Stacey is the project manager of this group and the lead graphic designer. Highy skilled in creative areas such as graphic design and video editing to name a few, her eye for detail is invaluable in keeping this project at a high standard.
She cares immensely for animals so the Replanimals website was a project which was very close to her heart. She is a positive person who always looks for the good in any given situation.
Shane Doherty
Shane is the developer of website. Being knowledgeable in web authoring languages such as HTML and CSS have helped him build the website while his Photoshop skills have helped in some graphical elements. His positive 'can-do' attitude has benefitted the group hugely.
Shane feels that reforestation will be hugely beneficial to the endangered species of the world and being an animal lover is passionate about the project.
Matthew Bell
Matthew has the role of sound design artist on this project. His passion and knowledge for music and sound design meant he was perfect for this role. His expertise in Reaper, Soundly and other sound editing software helped him through this project.
Matthew is a tireless worker with a great attitude who cares deeply for the planet and the animals that live on it. He's an extremely focused individual who works effectively in a team.
Jason Hughes
Jason is the motion graphic editor for this project and voice over artist for Eason the Elephant. Jason excels in a group project environment and always makes himself available to work. He is passionate about creativity and always gives his all in his roles.
Jason cares deeply for all life and fully got behind the ideology of Replanimals and what it represents. He's always full of life and brings a smile to everyone's face.
About
What is Replanimals all about?
Replanimals is a website that will educate and inform children about the threats facing wild animals native to rainforests such as deforestation and poaching. On a positive note, there are steps being taken to improve this situation. Children will also learn about these plans such as reforestation. There will also be information about the animal species that are endangered and their habitats. In summary, here's the information that we have.
- Threats to rainforests and the species that live there
- Information on the species and ecosystems
- The steps being taken to help
We know how important it is for children to be kept safe while online. That's why we will never include dangerous links on our site. So please get in touch with us if you any:
- Concerns about your child or children using Replanimals
- Suggestions to improve our site
- Any comments regarding Replanimals
Please reach us at replanimals@gmail.com
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