Storytelling Through Outdoor Exploration supported by Digital Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted student learning in various ways such as intensifying the connected society where most of our lives are lived online, documented, and uploaded in the digital world. The ways that young learners access information and consume media, raises important concerns. Evidence indicates that this screen time leads to students spending less time outside even though outdoor learning is shown to improve learning and overall well-being. This paper discusses if and how teachers could support students in their outdoor learning projects by using the tools offered through distance online learning. I examine how students are affected by online learning, particularly regarding emotional well-being and mental health. The research questions are: How can teachers support students in their outdoor learning projects through storytelling with the use of online learning tools? What are the implications for student emotional well-being? The methods are 1) a review of relevant literatures to determine gaps and themes, and 2) my field notes based on my observations of student learning and written work. My personal observations clarify and engage with the literature themes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I was teaching 20 children in grades 7-10 over 9 months. They completed various written pieces such as end of year projects, journal entries, and reflection questions. The findings from both the literature and my observations highlight a need for better integration of technology as a tool to support learning and teaching practices. The findings suggest that this generation of children has perpetuated an evolution of self-expression through online platforms. The observations provided a snapshot of the students can arise anxiety, depression, and other challenges can arise. Implications for online learning that supports student well-being are presented; the reflections and observations suggest that students were able to gain a sense of identity through telling their story and sharing it with others. However, the importance of the ways in which students interact with each other while learning has often been missed or overlooked in the literature. The educator’s role is constantly changing. Both literature and observations suggest that teachers can use online tools to support the outdoor learning projects of students if they attend to practices that allow for autonomy. A flexible timeline in which students could organize their projects, including a due date that suits their schedule and/or scheduling extra or optional help sessions afterschool would help students to take initiative of their own learning. To help facilitate the observations around distance learning and student wellbeing, an in depth examination of the current literature is offered to contextualize my findings.