Geographies of Blended Learning: Digital, Outdoor and Blended approaches to learning – experiences from Wales, the UK and Internationally.
A free in-person conference organised by Cardiff University.
Organisers:
Dr Thomas Aneurin Smith, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University: Smitht19@cardiff.ac.uk
Dr Matluba Khan, Lecturer in Urban Design, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University: KhanM52@cardiff.ac.uk
Rosie Havers, PhD Student, School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University
Date: Thursday 16th of February, 2023
Format and Location: In person. Council Chamber, Glamorgan Building, Cardiff University
Details:
How has blended learning changed the experiences of learning, and the spaces and places in which children and young people learn? Are there new opportunities for digital and outdoor learning, or doing digital learning outdoors? What opportunities are there to learn from national and international contexts about how blended approaches can enhance teaching and learning? This one-day conference will explore these questions, drawing on diverse experiences to better understand and enhance the spaces and places in which blended approaches to learning (a combination of technology-driven, online/remote and in-person classroom/outdoor learning) can happen.
We welcome presentations from practitioners, academics and policymakers, including educational specialists, those involved in curriculum design, and those who deliver both formal and informal education (e.g. teachers, and outdoor learning practitioners), as well as researchers. The conference aims to share knowledge and experiences of blended learning with a specific focus on combining digital technologies with in-person and outdoor teaching, and how we can learn from practices around the world, from the Global North and South. The conference will include presentations from Cardiff University researchers, drawing on their work on blended learning in international contexts (particularly Bangladesh) and in schools in Wales.
We invite presentations to contribute to the conference. The following topics can act as a guide for contributions:
· How blended learning may have changed the spaces and places of where learning happens.
· Examples of digital technologies used in outdoor settings for learning across the curriculum (e.g. past/recent experiences, in schools or other learning settings).
· Challenges of integrating digital and/or outdoor learning in the new Curriculum for Wales, and in other national curricula.
· How informal and non-formal educational settings can adopt digital and outdoor methods of teaching and learning.
· Experiences of ‘blended learning’ during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and lessons for future practice.
· How schools can assess their digital and outdoor learning environments, resources and capabilities.
Please submit an abstract of 150 words for your presentation proposal to Tom Smith via email: Smitht19@cardiff.ac.uk by 22nd December 2023.
The conference is free, and you are also welcome to participate as a non-presenting guest. Details will be circulated once the programme is finalised. Any informal enquiries please email Tom on the address above.