Week 10. Outdoor learning and QR codes!

“Outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime. Integrating learning and outdoor
experiences, whether through play in the immediate grounds or adventures further afield, provides
relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve indoors.” (curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning, 2010)

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In this weeks class we were focusing on the capabilities of outdoor learning and the implementation of QR codes. I was not able to attend this class…once again because of poorly children! The idea of taking teaching outside excites me as I know how much my children thrive being outdoors.

Outdoor learning can be a difficult thing to implement due to our particularly unfavourable Scottish weather! However the enhancing possibilities towards learning are truly rewarding. With the use of nature and technology, many areas of the curriculum for excellence can be combined and explored. In the curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning  document, it describes the many ways in which the outdoors is vital to enhancing and promoting interplay through each area of the curriculum. It provides information of how the use of outdoor learning can provide depth and other opportunities in which the classroom cannot offer. An idea to bring the outdoors and technology together, could be the use of QR codes.

QR simply means quick response and is an image based hypertext link. QR codes can also be described as a two-dimensional barcode and a standard barcode can hold up to 30 numbers! A QR code can link to many different things: text, audio, website, phone number, email address, map location or a calendar advent. A good activity could be the idea of a treasure hunt, or a shopping list. Incorporating the outdoors as an area to explore and find the things on the list or hunt. I feel this would be very appealing to children and bring excitement and maybe a sense of competitiveness. With a list of clues and puzzles to solve, children could work collaboratively in groups to try to interpret where the QR codes may be hidden.  Children could feel a great sense of pride and accomplishment when their “mission” was complete!

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The vision for outdoor learning in Scotland is that:

  • “all children and young people are participating in a range of progressive and creative outdoor learning experiences which are clearly part of the curriculum”
  • “schools and centres are providing regular, frequent, enjoyable and challenging opportunities for all children and young people to learn outdoors throughout their school career and beyond”
  • “teachers and educators embed outdoor learning in the curriculum so that learning in the outdoor environment becomes a reality for all children and young people.”  (curriculum for excellence through outdoor learning, 2010)

It is evident that the government are taking this area very seriously and quite rightly so. I think its even more important in the digital world that we live in today, as some children may not access outdoors as much as they used to…or should, so combining the two is dynamite!

Image may contain: 1 person, standing, shoes, tree, child, outdoor and nature

The use of materials in nature could be used for all kinds of activities, using imagination and creativity the possibilities are endless! Children could make use of camera functions on an iPad to take photos of materials outside to depict fractions or sums. Children could take pictures of whatever they want and then write a story surrounding their picture, using describing words etc to enhance their literacy skills.

The benefits of children just being outside in the fresh air has its very own health boosting positives! There are many things to explore in the outdoors, from weather to landscape, from investigating bugs to the local environment. Here are a few experiences and outcomes that can be explored with outdoor learning and with the help of technology, these activities could be packed with fun and lots of learning!

  • Using digital technologies responsibly I can access, retrieve and use information to support, enrich or extend learning in different contexts.
    TCH 1-02a
  • I can explore digital technologies and use what I learn to solve problems and share ideas and thoughts.
    TCH 0-01a
  • I explore and discover the interesting features of my local environment to develop an awareness of the world around me.
    SOC 0-07a
  • I explore and appreciate the wonder of nature within different environments and have played a part in caring for the environment.
    SOC 0-08a
  • While learning outdoors in differing weathers, I have described and recorded the weather, its effects and how it makes me feel and can relate my recordings to the seasons.
    SOC 0-12a
  • By using a range of instruments, I can measure and record the weather and can discuss how weather affects my life.
    SOC 1-12a
  • Having explored the landscape of my local area, I can describe the various ways in which land has been used.
    SOC 1-13a
  • By exploring a natural environment different from my own, I can discover how the physical features influence the variety of living things.
    SOC 1-13b

It is evident that the outdoors, combined with technologies such as QR codes, have many benefits to enhancing childrens learning. It is full of adventure, wonder and endless possibilities!

 

References

  • Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010). Curriculum for Excellence through outdoor learning.
  • Education Scotland. (n.d.) Curriculum for Excellence.[Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf [Accessed: 27 March 2019]

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