Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies

John Buchanan; Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn; Damian Maher

doi:10.29333/ejmste/100639

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John Buchanan ¹, Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn ¹ ^* , Damian Maher ¹

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¹ University of Technology Sydney, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

As demands on the environment continue to intensify, it becomes increasingly urgent to act sustainably, responsibly and respectfully, to protect and restore environments. Digital technologies, including videoconferencing, mobile apps and virtual and augmented realities, can provide new ways of engaging students in environmental stewardship. Such technologies can pique student interest, while enabling them to capture experiences of local and distal environments, to collect data and share their findings with broader audiences. This article critically explores innovative, formal and informal learning practices in experiential environmental education approaches among schools, families and communities, such as citizen science projects. It draws on qualitative case study vignettes, as well as the authors’ previous work and broader literature, to consider the potential and limitations of such technologies and approaches. The key question concerns how existing and emerging technologies might serve as bridges or barriers to apprenticing young people into globally-minded, environmentally responsible and respectful behaviours.

Keywords

authentic pedagogies
citizen science
digital technologies
primary school environmental sustainability education
learner engagement and interest

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 15, Issue 2, February 2019, Article No: em1661

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

Publication date: 10 Dec 2018

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How to cite this article

APA

Buchanan, J., Pressick-Kilborn, K., & Maher, D. (2019). Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(2), em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

Vancouver

Buchanan J, Pressick-Kilborn K, Maher D. Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(2):em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

AMA

Buchanan J, Pressick-Kilborn K, Maher D. Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2019;15(2), em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

Chicago

Buchanan, John, Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, and Damian Maher. "Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2019 15 no. 2 (2019): em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

Harvard

Buchanan, J., Pressick-Kilborn, K., and Maher, D. (2019). Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 15(2), em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639

MLA

Buchanan, John et al. "Promoting Environmental Education for Primary School-aged Students Using Digital Technologies". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 15, no. 2, 2019, em1661. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/100639