Practitioner Perspectives on the use of Technology in Fieldwork Teaching

Abstract

During the last decade, technological developments in computer hardware, software and networks, combined with increasing pressures on staff and students, have led to a proliferation of Communication and Information Technology (C&IT) within the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences (GEES) disciplines. This research investigates the role of C&IT within field courses, which in this paper are conceived of as a specific approach to teaching in the GEES disciplines. Through a national survey of field courses, the general level of usage of C&IT in the field was established. This was supplemented by an expert group analysis, which focused on the reasons behind the use of C&IT in the field. It was concluded that most use of C&IT in the field is driven by technological rather than pedagogic innovation.

Keywords:

• Fieldwork
• education
• pedagogy
• technology

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank LTSN-GEES who funded and helped coordinate this project as part of the ‘Enhancing Fieldwork Quality through Pedagogic Research Programme’ and all colleagues who completed the postal survey and/or presented at the Fieldwork Education and Technology workshop in May 2002. They would also like to thank Prof. Alan Jenkins for facilitating the Expert Group discussion and Karen Lawson for transcribing the associated expert and focus-group discussions. They also acknowledge the anonymous referees who provided helpful suggestions for improving an earlier draft of this paper.