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How technology affects recreation
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The creation of the computer and the Internet has significantly furthered and revolutionized Parks and Recreation Districts across the country. Parks and Recreation Management is a profession that has been able to prosper with the Internet and personal computers today. Recreation in the present day is becoming especially popular due to a general decrease in working hours because of the economy. With many people having more free time, more demands are put on the Parks and Recreation districts. Also with the many national, state, and private parks in the United States, it is crucial for the park systems to have a systematic approach to dealing with these new demands. The computer and Internet has become the answer to this problem. The State and National Parks System have constructed a database computer system that makes the registration process more efficient and expeditious than ever before. An employee is now able to effortlessly type in the name of a registrant and the computer neatly and accurately prints out the registration slip in seconds. This new computer system replaces the need for slowly filling out multiple registration slips by hand one at a time. With the utilization of the Internet, campers are now able to reserve a camping site from the convenience of their own homes. The new computer system is also helpful in keeping the files up to date. The computer database automatically revises previously recorded information with every new reservation made by a camper or employee. This improvement in speed and accuracy allows the park rangers more time to enforce laws and regulations. The rangers are now able to be out in the park with the visitors. This permits more personal communication between the park ranger... ... middle of paper ... ... and audio streaming technologies, children in classrooms around the world are capable of taking virtual tours of The Grand Canyon, Sequoia National Park, or Yellowstone Park just to name a few. Window Into Wonderland is an award-winning example of these electronic field trips. These specific e-trips are designed for fifth grade to eighth grade children. They are approximately an hour long and can feature famous voices to narrate as the children watch. New innovative technologies in computer science and graphics have allowed Park and Recreation Districts to high definition display images of some of the more attractive spots in the parks. Computers and the Internet have made it possible for all of these to things to come into being. I think computers have unlocked many minds about the possibilities of going to see the extensive range of parks that are in the Uni
still needs to be addressed. This needs to happen at all parks and regardless if
Industrial Tourism has taken over the countries national parks. With millions of visitors a year, they have become polar opposite of their intended purpose. When the National Park Service was created in 1916, the founders could not have imagined how popular the national parks have become. One man who experienced this growth personally was Edward Abbey. During the 1950’s Abbey worked three summers as a park ranger in Arches National Park. While he saw a large increase in the visitation, but today however, the number of people visiting the parks is decresing. He wrote in journals which were turned into the compilation now called Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. This was before paved roads and buildings were created throughout the
We are so fortunate to live in California and have access to so many of the properties operated by the National Park Service. There are thirteen national parks in California and I have been to seven of them. Enjoying the outdoors is something that is innate to our family. Even before our children could walk they were enjoying hikes through Yosemite in backpacks. This is an amazing fact that I learned from the map given to me in Sequoia National Park; “The only place Giant Sequoias grow now is on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. The 75 distinct groves are found within a narrow band about 260 miles long and 15 miles wide, at its widest point.” (Sequoia National Park, 2012). Without the National Park Service protecting and maintaining parks like Sequoia National Park, there may not be any place like this for my children to learn about this beautiful country that we live
People from all around the world travel to the U.S. only to experience the great American national parks. According to the NPS 2015 Annual Visitation Summary Report, a total of 480,307,933 people visited national parks in the United States during 2015 both for recreational and non-recreational purposes. Ecotourism, an economic model that combines tourism with commerce, contributes to the maintenance of national parks and allows isolated small towns surrounding national parks to thrive. According to Frye and Nuest, in addition to the views, “these wonders of the Earth provide ample opportunities for visitors to hike, bicycle, climb, swim, horseback ride, and paddle” (PAGE NUMBER). Such activities contribute to the visitors’ experience and have resulted in great customer satisfaction (Roemer and Vasek 46). All of these activities, along with other further services such as lodging and dining, create income for national parks and local businesses, as well, as more employment opportunities for the people, working for both local business and at the national parks. The NPS website claimed that they employed approximately 22,000 permanent, temporary, and seasonal professionals. However, when the idea of commerce comes into play with the preservation of natural and historic sites, the danger to lose
Every year, over nine million hikers and adventure seekers travel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park making it the most visited national park in the United States. There are abundant reasons for this, but many popular reasons include over 150 hiking trails extending over 850 miles, a large portion of the Appalachian Trail, sightseeing, fishing, horseback riding, and bicycling. The park houses roughly ten thousand species of plants and animals with an estimated 90,000 undocumented species likely possible to be present. It is clear why there was a pressing interest in making all this land into a national park. My research was started by asking the question; how did the transformation of tourism due to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park affect surrounding cities such as Gatlinburg and Sevier County, and in return, its effect on the popularity of the park?
According to Bob MacKinnon there are over eight thousand private campgrounds in the United States as of 2009 (Klein). It is...
In a day and age where hightech commodities take up the majority of the population’s interest, the thought of going outside to spend time away from busy city streets and the nearest cell tower does not appeal to many millennials. However, the NPS has found a way to market to this demographic: embracing technology. The NPS “embraces technology” not by putting internet access or the likes in their parks, but by advertising them using multiple platforms to reach their target demographic. This can be achieved in many ways: “using a constantly updated website, extensive social media outreach, and temporary kiosks in..cities...where users can take a brief virtual tour of every national park” (Egan). Additionally, wellknown artists or actors
National parks have always been viewed as important places that should be accessible to all Americans. To keep these significant sites in good upkeep for future generations, State parks across the country have incorporated many methods to try to increase revenue, such as hotels, lodges, ski resorts, and golf courses. However, to be able to fund maintenance projects, The National Park Service is considering selling corporate sponsorships, which in turn may stray them away from further protection of park resources and their goals to bring new experiences to the visitors and the workers. Other reform options that are up in the air for the Park Service are very risky; anything too significant such as possibly removing the NPS altogether may cause public backlash and the infrastructure to crumble completely. In John Freemuth and William Lowrys’ article “Corporate Sponsors at Yosemite? The Case Against Privatizing National Parks” from the August 25, 2016 issue of The Conversation, they effectively use logos and pathos to show that privatizing national parks is not a good idea.
Basic Information on the Organization The organization that I choose to write my Organizational Paper on is the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). The IPRA is a professional association that represents over 50,000 members. The members include everyone from directors, agency superintendents, and volunteers. The IPRA also works with a large group of professional partners.
Computers can also capture and hold a child’s interest like no other learning tool. Consider, for example, NASA’s recent Mars landing and exploration. It is now possible for an elementary classroom to log on and follow events like these as they unfold - they are witnessing and experiencing a national event as it is occurring. There is no doubt that without technology, an event such as this would not be nearly as interesting or appealing as say, following it in the newspaper.
In recent years this separation from the natural world has become a major concern for the National Park Service since a large portion of their conservation efforts depend upon funding from visitors. Therefore, in attempt to aid this problem, the National Park Service has recently launched a series of campaigns to bring people to national parks across America such as the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative. This project is further explained in the article “Americans think national parks are worth US $92 billion, but we don’t fund them accordingly” as “ [ a program] which aims to bring every fourth grader in the United States to a national park” (Bilmes and Loomis). The program gives students the opportunity to disconnect from technology and experience nature. But, though this may be true, the children are often too concerned with their cell phones or other electronic devices to truly appreciate the natural world around them. As explained by Casey in the article “Can the Selfie Generation Unplug and Get Into Parks?,” “The selfie sticks were everywhere” (qtd. in Egan and Egan). Today’s generation has become so invested in technology that it is simply impossible for one to disconnect from it. A person can not even step outside without feeling the urge to take a selfie and capture the moment. Instead, these people need to put down the phones, breathe in the fresh
Garcia, J. M. (1993) The development of the electronic field trip to strengthen and enrich existing K-12 curriculum. Doctoral dissertation, Oklahoma State University.
When people go on vacation they generally have a common goal, which includes relaxation, adventure, and escape from the stress of their everyday life. They often want to spend quality time with their family without distractions. Camping is an exciting and affordable way to get all of those things. For a relatively low price you can pitch a tent at a State Park and “get back to nature”-- at least that’s how it used to be. Unfortunately times are rapidly changing, and camping, as it was intended, seems to be a thing of the past.
What are virtual field trips? According to Kirchen (2011) “A virtual field trip (VFT) is a technology-based experience that allows children to take an educational journey without leaving the classroom" (p.22). VFTs can take students all over the world. Teachers have the opportunity to create VFTs that connect to the curriculum. While teachers are able to create their own VFT, there are also trips available for free online. VFTs can be used in any classroom, including early childhood classrooms (grades pre-k to 2nd). Technology does not need to be the most advanced for teachers to be able to implement VFT into their classroom. Lukes (2014) mentioned that VFT can be used using “a relatively low-techs solution that would work on any computer
Recreation and Leisure activities are in a high critical dimension of quality of life for everyone, including people with developmental disabilities. Sadly, many of those who are disabled are still limited to segregated recreation and leisure choices for any reason or another. Some people will confine themselves to opportunities which include trying a new variety of activities in different settings with different people; here some of the factors that can be affecting: Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, Racial and Ethnic identity, and Socioeconomic status.