Technology for an outdoor learning environment

I may not be a teaching practitioner at this time, however, I still consider myself an educator invested in high quality practices the provide students with innovative ways to explore the world they live in and expand their thinking.  

ADVANCEMENT FOR LEARNING

Technology in the classroom is a debated topic since while students are early adopters, often knowing how to connect, how to process and how to learn new technology skill rapidly, some educational providers struggle to know how to integrate advanced technologies into the learning at a level that is engaging and relevant to the level of proficiency that students already possess. But perhaps teachers do not have to have mastered technology to the same degree as their students.  It would be terrific if we could see this as a resource or tool problem to be solved together.  We can think in terms of the outcomes from learning that we desire students to master, and then involve them in finding the apps and tools to solve the problem.  Apple Education often showcase incredible and innovative uses of their devices for learning.  Yes, these videos are for promotional value for Apple, but it is so wonderful to see the vast way that technology can be used to make learning real world, and rigorous.  In this promotional video, you will see the way that students in Singapore are using an iPad to predict, measure and graph results: Apple Stories: Nanyung Girls' School, Singapore.

TECHNOLOGY USE OUTDOORS

In Isleboro, Maine, a school district has thought very hard about how to bring students out of the walled classroom to engage in the natural world, bringing the 21st century tools they enjoy using with them.  They say that the art of authentic technological integration is to get them doing,  Teachers bridge their teaching with technology so that students make their own connections.  We know enough about the brain to know that this is required to develop higher order thinking. Students collaborate to create a resource that becomes a document available to the community and the world.  Teachers say that students don't see the writing and drafting and re-writing as a chore when there is a purpose. Video: Using Technology to Connect Students and the Environment. 

This video was featured on the User Generated Education blog, which is a terrific resource for teachers to expand their awareness of the possibilities that technology can provide for their students.  It features top Apps used in the classroom, website links to other resources, and also some very practical theory to assist schools in developing a common language to support the growth of technology integration.

For example: the blog also presents the SAMR model, developed by Dr Ruben Puentendura:

Here is a chart that presents the model of technology integration developed by Dr Puentendura: