After learning about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, students will consider the idea of creating a digital ecosystem for the environment by designing an app for global good.

Grades 4 – 8

In this digital lesson module, students in Grades 4–8 will design an app for global good. After learning
about the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the difficulties the UN is experiencing as
they measure the progress of these goals, students will consider the idea of creating a digital ecosystem
for the environment and the role that citizen scientists could play in such an ecosystem. They will then
be challenged to create an app concept that could help communities around the world work toward
Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production by focusing on water, food,
waste, and energy use. After creating app designs that encourage and facilitate data collection and
inspire environmentally-friendly action, student groups will help each other improve their designs as they
consider how to optimize their apps for use by communities around the world.
The accompanying presentation was created with PowerPoint so that it can be used in a variety of
classrooms. If you are using a laptop with a projector, simply progress through the PowerPoint by clicking
to advance. All of the interactive aspects of the presentation are set to occur on click. This includes
images, text boxes, and links which will appear in your web browser. If you are using an interactive
whiteboard, tap on each slide with your finger or stylus to activate the interactive aspects of the
presentation. There will be information on how to proceed in the notes section for each slide.