What can Global Warning do?

Global Warning is an interactive bin that will be located within classrooms at school. The device is made up of three main parts, A recycle bin, A rubbish bin, and a globe located between the two. As students put rubbish into each of the bins, the globe in the middle will slowly change colours between red and green. The more rubbish you put into the rubbish bin, the globe will slowly change to towards a darker red colour, as you place recycling into the recycle bin, the globe will gradually change towards a green colour. These colours were implemented to show the positive and negative effects of everyday waste management. The final feature is that when the globe transitions to a very bright green, the globe will start producing a mist that has a nice naturistic smell. It is the combination of these two interaction methods that I use to leave a profound impression on the children.

Extra Intended Features

If I had access to unlimited resources and time, there are several features that I believe could improve the device a great deal. Firstly, and probably the biggest drawback to Global Warning is that it has no way to distinguish between rubbish and recycling. This means that if students put rubbish into the recycle bin there are no consequences. In my original proposal pitch I wanted to implement a system where the students are punished when using the bins incorrectly. Secondly, I would also like to incorporate some sort of feedback system such as a lcd screen with each of the classes scores on them. Another big change I would make is to udpate the globe in the middle and the bins on either side to be a more polished design, this would allow the students to comperhend the intentions of the device easier. This could turn the devices into a competition between each of the classes within school further enticing the users to interact with the device. Finally I would like to add interaction with more of the users senses such as the device emitting different sounds as the globe goes either red or green.

What do the users think?

“I think the device is very cool. It would go good in our school classrooms. I really like the way it makes a smell and you can see some smoke coming out the top when you put enough recycling into the bin.” – Frances, Grade 5.
Frances gave an average score of 8.5/10. She really liked the idea that the globe made a smell, however she says it doesn’t look enough like a globe yet.

“The bin is a really smart way of teaching kids about global warming. Last year in grade 4 I went to a recycling place and they tried to teach us about recycling. I think it would be really good to go in the classrooms as we can use it everyday. Its really cool that it can tell when you put rubbish in.” – Lauren, grade 5.
Lauren gave an average score of 8/10. She really thought that it was a different way of interacting with the class. She says that she can get bored in class but with the bin its like we are tricking her into learning.

“I think it’s very cool. If you could make it so that there is also a bad smell when lots of rubbish goes in the bin that would be super funny. I think it could go good in my class at school." – George, grade 4.
George gave an average score of 7/10 he thought the idea was smart but thinks some of his classmates could cheat and put rubbish in the wrong bins. He says if this could be fixed he would give it a 10/10.