Outdoor learning

Outdoor learning is a vital element in a young person's development and educational experience. It is a wide term that includes such things as outdoor play in the early years, environmental education, expeditions, field trips, and so on.

Outdoor learning is about releasing teaching and learning from the constraints of the classroom walls. ICT can be of real assistance by providing highly mobile and easy-to-use ways of exploring, recording, and reviewing outdoor learning.

Environment
How can technology enhance and enrich outdoor environments?

Mobility & flexibility
What part can technology play in giving access to the same quality of learning resources that are available inside the classroom?

Community
What are the opportunities for ICT to extend learning experiences and to engage with wider audiences?

Organisation & management
Organising learning activity outside the classroom is, in essence, no different from planning any other kind of learning but it raises different issues. So we ask the question, 'How can technology support the management of pupils and learning in outside spaces?'

Safety
Concern about health and safety issues is often a barrier to outdoor learning. But that needn't be the case and it's possible that ICT can help to manage some of these issues.