MarcoPolo Weather

MarcoPolo weather is an easy to use interactive application that allows young children (aged 3-7) to observe, alter and explore the effects of weather conditions. It is available in both Google Play and App Store.  It belongs to the digital sandbox genre of games. This category of games present users with an open-ended game-like environment  which is free from game rules and structures and allows them to choose what to do and how to do it. The app is available in multiple languages such as Spanish, French, and Chinese.  

 

The app hosts three different characters: Piper the little bear, Willow the clever rabbit, and Gorbie the goofy hippo. Information about the characters can be found in the parents’ link inside the app. The characters react according to the given weather condition. For example, in hot weather they are sweating when dressed up with warm clothes. The app places the characters in a natural landscape surrounded by a set of interactive objects. These objects help children experiment with various weather conditions and observe changes based on the choices they make. Children can experiment with nine different weather conditions ranging from very warm to very cold temperatures, four wind speeds, an adjustable thermometer and the choice to swap between daytime and night. Each specific weather condition is accompanied by narration explaining what the condition is about. Narration helps children familiarise themselves with weather-related vocabulary and potentially build a better understanding of weather phenomena. In addition, children can experiment with items such as a basket with food, a kite, flowers, a snowman, an igloo and a tent. These objects alter their behaviour in light of a specific weather condition. For example, when snowing, biscuits and a warm drink come out of the basket and a snowman appears in the available set of items. 

 

The app encourages children to explore weather conditions, identify cause and effect relationships and answer questions such as under what conditions do rainbows appear? When does a snowman melt? Learning is self-directed; it is initiated and controlled by children and motivated by their own curiosity. The app benefits from a detailed guide in the parents’ link explaining the weather controls, app characters and philosophy behind the design of the app. The app could scaffold self-directed learning further if it offered a set of assessment activities through which children could check their understanding of the weather conditions. These activities could take the form of a quiz to identify the right answer or screenshots from the game to identify the odd one out. Also, it could benefit from giving to the children the option to create their own profile page by selecting their character, customizing it and gearing it up with specific items to survive in diverse weather conditions.