Digital learning...outside?
What can digital add to learning experiences outside and what do we need to think about?
With the summer sunshine on the horizon, I've been thinking more about what digital can offer the outdoor learning experience. Obviously there are some different and maybe difficult challenges with integrating digital learning outside, but it can bring many benefits or additions for those of us with outdoor areas to our locations.
Why digital outdoor learning?
All the reasons for indoor digital learning, plus the added benefit of the great outdoors, what’s not to love?! Going digital outside also has some more advantages unique to its setting:
It’s quite unusual to see outside digital learning experiences, so it may have the benefit of being an extra attraction for your learners to get them engaged with your content. The popularity of Pokemon Go as a digital experience which got people outdoors shows this, even if it’s lighter on the learning, it really caught the public imagination!
It allows you to add layers to an experience, letting your learners engage on a level that’s right for them. Let people enjoy your outdoor space, or add more levels of information and activities on top.
Just as with indoor digital learning, you also have the advantage of being able to show things that might not always be visible to your learners at the time they visit your spaces. With the changing nature of outdoor spaces, recorded content can be a great advantage to support continuity of learning, for example RSPB use recordings of webcam footage when no ospreys are visible on their webcams at Loch Garten.
With the ever changing seasons, providing your outdoor learning in a digital format can make it easier to update your content to keep it relevant to what’s going on right now.
Get people outside! Being outside, particularly out in nature, can have great health benefits, which you can pass on to your learners. Have you seen our article on digital wellbeing as well?
Challenges of outdoor digital learning
Moving digital learning outside is not without it’s problems, which may be why it’s not so common to see. some issues to overcome might be:
Do you have the infrastructure outside needed to support digital learning? This includes access to power and internet connections.
If you are implementing a ‘bring your own device’ activity which asks your learners to interact using their own phones or tablets, you will need to think about connectivity in the area, as well as whether you need to provide access to charging points. You should also be mindful of how much data and storage you’re asking your learners to use on their personal devices, and consider inclusion for those who may not have access to smart devices.
The weather!! Digital learning implemented outside will need to be robust enough to be used come rain or shine.
Is it even right for your space? With the world becoming increasingly online and connected, might you better keeping your own outdoor engagement more in the moment and less on the screen?
A few examples
At Highland Wildlife Park, we have implemented a series of outdoor listening posts dotted around outdoor spaces around the whole park, allowing learners to select and hear stories from people involved in conservation and local communities in their own voices.
Runnymede Memorial has an excellent interactive trail around its mostly outdoor site telling the story of Noor Inayat Khan. You connect to a private network using your own phone, and parts of the story are delivered to you as you move around the space.
Outdoor learning charity Under The Trees held a brilliant outdoor learning trail using QR codes around the National Wallace Monument a few years ago, which bought a whole new audience to the site.
I’m always on the look out for more inspiration, so if you’ve seen any other examples of great outside digital learning, please share in the comments here, or over in our DLNET group on LinkedIn!