“Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo

Although location-based augmented reality helps students explore and learn, they spend the vast majority of the activity interacting with the screen, to the detriment of direct interaction with nature. This interferes with the pedagogical objective of immersion in nature, which would foster the form...

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Main Authors: Julien Mercier, Olivier Ertz, Erwan Bocher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Computers in Human Behavior Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000296
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author Julien Mercier
Olivier Ertz
Erwan Bocher
author_facet Julien Mercier
Olivier Ertz
Erwan Bocher
author_sort Julien Mercier
collection DOAJ
description Although location-based augmented reality helps students explore and learn, they spend the vast majority of the activity interacting with the screen, to the detriment of direct interaction with nature. This interferes with the pedagogical objective of immersion in nature, which would foster the formation of environmental affects, an essential mediator for transforming knowledge into pro-environmental behaviors. As people interact with screens more and more, concerns have risen and so have interventions to mitigate excessive screen use. Using a nudge can positively influence the way the tablet is interacted with. The goal of this experimental study is to observe how framing the activity can impact screen interaction behavior. We gave participants different verbal instructions before a learning activity on biodiversity with location-based augmented reality. Their gaze was recorded using mobile eye tracking glasses to measure screen time. We found that a nudge reduced screen time, suggesting that the strategy is effective in influencing short-term behavior. The control group, however, reported better usability. We found no evidence of an impact on the other indicators. These results have theoretical implications for optimizing the role of technology in mobile learning, as well as practical ones on how to design nudge-based scenarios.
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spelling doaj-art-303bb7917750400a99d97a48dc523d6d2025-08-20T03:22:04ZengElsevierComputers in Human Behavior Reports2451-95882025-05-011810061410.1016/j.chbr.2025.100614“Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodoJulien Mercier0Olivier Ertz1Erwan Bocher2Media Engineering Institute (MEI), School of Engineering and Management Vaud, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Avenue des Sports 20, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland; Lab-STICC, UMR 6285, CNRS, Université Bretagne Sud, Rue Montaigne 8, 56017 Vannes, France; Corresponding author at: Media Engineering Institute (MEI), School of Engineering and Management Vaud, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Avenue des Sports 20, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland.Media Engineering Institute (MEI), School of Engineering and Management Vaud, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Avenue des Sports 20, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, SwitzerlandLab-STICC, UMR 6285, CNRS, Université Bretagne Sud, Rue Montaigne 8, 56017 Vannes, FranceAlthough location-based augmented reality helps students explore and learn, they spend the vast majority of the activity interacting with the screen, to the detriment of direct interaction with nature. This interferes with the pedagogical objective of immersion in nature, which would foster the formation of environmental affects, an essential mediator for transforming knowledge into pro-environmental behaviors. As people interact with screens more and more, concerns have risen and so have interventions to mitigate excessive screen use. Using a nudge can positively influence the way the tablet is interacted with. The goal of this experimental study is to observe how framing the activity can impact screen interaction behavior. We gave participants different verbal instructions before a learning activity on biodiversity with location-based augmented reality. Their gaze was recorded using mobile eye tracking glasses to measure screen time. We found that a nudge reduced screen time, suggesting that the strategy is effective in influencing short-term behavior. The control group, however, reported better usability. We found no evidence of an impact on the other indicators. These results have theoretical implications for optimizing the role of technology in mobile learning, as well as practical ones on how to design nudge-based scenarios.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000296Screen timeNudgeBiodiversity learningAugmented realityMobile eye trackingMobile learning
spellingShingle Julien Mercier
Olivier Ertz
Erwan Bocher
“Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
Computers in Human Behavior Reports
Screen time
Nudge
Biodiversity learning
Augmented reality
Mobile eye tracking
Mobile learning
title “Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
title_full “Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
title_fullStr “Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
title_full_unstemmed “Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
title_short “Look at the trees”: A verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityZenodo
title_sort look at the trees a verbal nudge to reduce screen time when learning biodiversity with augmented realityzenodo
topic Screen time
Nudge
Biodiversity learning
Augmented reality
Mobile eye tracking
Mobile learning
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451958825000296
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