Disruptive silence: deepening experiential learning in the absence of technology

Smith, Carol A.; Parks, Rodney; Parrish, Jesse; Swirski, Ryan

doi:10.1080/14729679.2016.1244646

Cited by 18 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…They caution that when technology becomes our primary way of experiencing the world, other ways of experiencing or understanding may disappear (Dreyfus and Spinoza 2003 ). These apprehensions towards technological determination also illustrate the concern of outdoor educators that technology may pose a barrier between learners and the natural world (Beames 2017 ; Hills and Thomas 2020 ; Smith et al 2016 ).…”

Section: Phenomenology and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the employment of mobile technologies in outdoor education has remained a debated and contested issue (Hills and Thomas 2021 ), as the use of such devices might conflict with the traditional objectives of outdoor education. In particular, concerns have been raised regarding how mobile technologies might influence human-nature and human–human interactions in the outdoors and stand in the way of a direct and sensory experience of the natural world (Greenwood and Hougham 2015 ; Smith et al 2016 ). It is not the aim of this paper to provide guidelines for how mobile technologies should be used in the outdoor classroom, but rather to provide a deeper, more theoretical understanding of these mediating influences in a way that has not been done before.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Theorizing Technological Mediation in the Outdoor Classroom

Kraalingen

2022

Postdigit Sci Educ

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Situated within the context of the changing nature of teaching and learning in a postdigital context, this paper aims to theorize the mediating impacts of mobile technologies on outdoor learning experiences. Technological mediation is arguably a vital, yet often neglected, aspect of pedagogical practices. Today, the increasing employment of mobile technologies is not only changing the practices of outdoor education, but also challenging the traditional values of the field. This paper calls the predominant view that technology places a barrier between learners and the environment into question and offers a novel theoretical perspective. Inspired by postphenomenological mediation theory, the paper proposes a tri-polar technological mediation and outdoor learning framework. The framework offers a deeper understanding of the different dimensions of the mediating impacts of mobile devices on the relations between learners, their peers, and the natural environment in the outdoor classroom.

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Section: Phenomenology and Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Theorizing Technological Mediation in the Outdoor Classroom

Kraalingen

2022

Postdigit Sci Educ

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“…Young people's mediatized lives and high levels of screentime were also discussed by Mutz et al (2019) who found how a 10-day outdoor programme with limited mobile signal positively influenced young people’s levels of stress as well as hedonic balance and life satisfaction. Addiction was also touched upon by Hills and Thomas (2021) who, discussing the work of Smith et al (2018), draw on work concerning addiction to mobile technologies (e.g., Eyal, 2014). Indeed, it has been suggested that disconnecting young people from technology in outdoor education removes “the persistent distraction of notifications and the compulsion to ‘check in’ using social media” (Smith et al, 2018, p. 11).…”

Section: The Present Literature: a Dichotomy In Theory And Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Addiction was also touched upon by Hills and Thomas (2021) who, discussing the work of Smith et al (2018), draw on work concerning addiction to mobile technologies (e.g., Eyal, 2014). Indeed, it has been suggested that disconnecting young people from technology in outdoor education removes “the persistent distraction of notifications and the compulsion to ‘check in’ using social media” (Smith et al, 2018, p. 11). Alongside purposeful disconnection, taking young people outdoors to address technology addiction is outlined in a therapeutic sense by McKain (2019), who demonstrates how getting young people outside and phone-free may encourage better relationships with mobile technologies.…”

Section: The Present Literature: a Dichotomy In Theory And Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Instructor Perspectives on Mobile Technologies and Social Media in Practice: Findings From the United Kingdom's Outward Bound Trust

Reed

2023

Journal of Experiential Education

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Background: The use or non-use of mobile technologies and social media in residential outdoor adventurous education (OAE) remains contested and generates an often-cited for-and-against argument in both theory and practice. Purpose: This qualitative study explored instructor perceptions of mobile technologies and social media in their practice as members of instructional staff at the United Kingdom's Outward Bound Trust. Methodology/Approach: Grounded within a multiple-case study design, 20 members of instructional staff were interviewed online from three Outward Bound Trust centers across Wales, England, and Scotland. Findings/Conclusions: Two major themes are shared as statements: (1) phone-free outdoor experiences are more impactful for young people in contemporary society; (2) social media is fake, outdoor adventurous education necessitates in-person and in-place interaction. These findings are presented within a postdigital conceptual lens which questions whether any residential outdoor experience can be truly “technology free.” Implications: The study consolidates perspectives on mobile technologies and social media in the practices of residential OAE instructors. These perspectives are considered important in the framing and delivery of contemporary OAE practice.

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“…Positioning technology as dissolving profound experiences with nature is also discussed by Louv (2005), who positions technology, amongst other things, as generating a barrier between young people and direct connection to nature, coining the term 'nature-deficit disorder'. Smith et al (2018) pick up on this and position engagement with technology in outdoor learning as a critical factor that threatens relationships between students and which limit connections to the natural world. Walter (2013) also suggests that the so-called net-generation needs to be 'greened' (e.g.…”

Section: The Nature-technology Binary In Outdoor and Environmental Ed...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Postdigital Outdoor and Environmental Education

Reed

2022

Postdigit Sci Educ

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Alongside this acknowledgement, the field of OEE must also consider how it is inescapably positioned within the networked spaces (e.g. social media and the technical architectures that sustain them) that very often characterise contemporary societies. Montgomery (2015) extends this, demonstrating how networked spaces have unpicked what were formerly stable social boundaries in the lives of young people. As 18-year-old Skyler told her Mum in research conducted by boyd (2014: 119), if you cannot engage with such spaces 'you don't exist'. Davidson and Goldberg (2010) build on this, positing that technology has inevitably altered how young people participate in civic society, whilst changing how people play, learn and socialise.In contemporary life, young people seamlessly inhabit and grow up in a world where distinguishing between so-called digital and non-digital spaces becomes increasingly difficult and probably impossible (Allaby and Shannon 2020; Kaplan-Berkley 2021). Positioning contemporary childhoods within this collapsed digital-non-digital binary may be positioned as a characteristic of the postdigital condition (Ryberg et al. 2021). As Jandrić et al. (2018 put forward, 'we are increasingly no longer in a world where digital technology and media is separate, virtual, "other" to a "natural" human and social life'. This adds yet more layers to the OEE endeavour and presents a messy and chaotic space from which young people may begin to make sense of their outdoor learning experiences. This raises the question: In a time of climate and ecological crisis, what impact might a postdigital reality have on the purposes and outcomes of OEE?Within this postdigital context, OEE must also account for the ongoing oppression and stigmatisation experienced by groups of diverse populations in outdoor learning. Whether it be issues of hegemonic masculinity (Kennedy and Russell 2020), racial equity and inclusion (Romero et al. 2022) or the marginalisation of gender variant students (Bren and Prince 2022), we must consider how the postdigital interacts with the foundational inequalities present in OEE. Making sense of the relationships between OEE, inequality, emancipation and the postdigital interacts with Jandrić and Ford's (2022) edited book Postdigital Ecopedagogies: Genealogies, Contradictions, and Possible Futures. Especially poignant is the chapter from Misiaszek et al. (2022), who present a case study on an ecopedagogical course which utilised TikTok to explore narratives of neocolonialism, ecoracism and anthropocentrism in Western constructions of nature and earth. They conclude that learners need 'to be also outside of digital spaces (e.g., offline, off-the-grid)' in order to understand and address issues of socio-environmental injustices and the climate and ecological crisis (Misiaszek et al. 2022: 140).What the above does is outline some of the complexities that are present when considering the role of the postdigital in OEE contexts. As I have discussed previously, 'in a postdigital world marked by the climate an...

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Disruptive silence: deepening experiential learning in the absence of technology

Cited by 18 publications

References 7 publications

Theorizing Technological Mediation in the Outdoor Classroom

Theorizing Technological Mediation in the Outdoor Classroom

Instructor Perspectives on Mobile Technologies and Social Media in Practice: Findings From the United Kingdom's Outward Bound Trust

Postdigital Outdoor and Environmental Education

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