Teaching and learning with smartphones in tertiary outdoor studies programs

Abstract This inquiry investigates educators’ and students’ perspectives of and experiences with smartphones usage in tertiary outdoor studies programs. Based on a collective case study design undertaken at three Norwegian institutions, individual interviews with educators ( n = 12) and focus group interviews with students ( n = 27) were conducted. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and yielded two key themes: 1) smartphones have the potential to be valuable learning resources if they are used intentionally as resources, and 2) pedagogical considerations for using and managing smartphones. The findings and their implications for outdoor teaching and learning are interpreted with affordance theory and demonstrate that smartphones can enhance certain outdoor learning experiences by offering tools for accessing information, navigation, safety, documentation, and communication, and constrain other experiences, such as nature experience. The paper closes by offering pedagogical considerations for mitigating the challenges that emerge when smartphones are used in outdoor studies, through their balanced, intentional, and critical use and by creating space for dialogue about the use of these devices between students and educators.