Imre van Kraalingen

• van Kraalingen, Imre & Beames, Simon (2024). Presence and (dis)connectedness – the influence of smartphones usage on human–nature and human–human interactions in outdoor studies. Frontiers in Education. ISSN 2504-284X. 9. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2024.1369591.
• Hills, David; van Kraalingen, Imre & Thomas, Glyn J. (2023). The Impact of Technology on Presence in Outdoor Education. Journal of Experiential Education (JEE). ISSN 1053-8259. doi: 10.1177/10538259231202452.
• van Kraalingen, Imre; Hills, Dave; Reed, Jack; Beames, Simon & Munge, Brendon (2022). Digital technology and networked spaces in outdoor education: reflections upon presenting at an international webinar. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. ISSN 1472-9679. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2022.2127112. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper draws on a webinar on digital technology and networked spaces in outdoor education, where three researchers presented their work through responses to two discussion statements: First, ‘the use of digital technology in outdoor education is fundamentally contrary to all its values.’ Second, ‘if we accept that digital technology is embedded in outdoor education, what do we know about its potential? And what are key areas to explore more deeply?.’ Despite there being no advance planning to produce a research output from the webinar, the organisers’ basic analysis of the webinar’s frontchannel and backchannel revealed areas of the conversation that may merit targeted empirical attention. Three principal themes emerged from participants' responses during the webinar: the need to move beyond binary thinking; the importance of considering digital technology in regard to specific learning objectives and contexts; and to inform oneself about the affordances of digital technology, while thinking critically about its applications.

• Beames, Simon; Høyem, Jannicke; van Kraalingen, Imre; Eriksen, Jørgen Weidemann; Vold, Thomas & Abelsen, Kristian [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2022). The Jacket: Making Sustainable Clothing Choices in Outdoor Education. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education (CJEE). ISSN 1205-5352. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Amidst a vast jungle of products, brands, materials, labels, and systems of global trade and production, it has become increasingly challenging to make consumption choices that may be considered “sustainable”. This inquiry examines the decision-making process of a team of university outdoor environmental educators, as they puzzled over the most appropriate shell jacket to purchase for their outdoor teaching. The project’s first aim was to determine the team’s most important features of sustainability with regard to clothing procurement, while the second was to interrogate these features in relation to germane literature and guidance. Driven by a practitioner inquiry approach, the team of eight interrogated their own beliefs, assumptions, and knowledge about outdoor clothing over seven months. Data were generated through four group discussions, where the content from each was thematically analyzed and then used as a platform for the following meeting. Ultimately, four factors emerged as central to informing their outdoor clothing purchases: (1) durability, (2) assurances of ecologically friendly production, (3) assurances of fair labour conditions, and (4) underlying socio-political motivators. Navigating the varied and shifting ground of eco-labels and certifications in relation to environmental sustainability and fair labour conditions is highlighted as a central challenge to making nature- and human-friendly purchases. Interrogating the drivers and surrounding information around material consumption is positioned as a valuable pedagogical enterprise in itself. Keywords: outdoor education; outdoor recreation; clothing; sustainability; eco-labels; practitioner inquiry

• van Kraalingen, Imre (2022). Theorizing Technological Mediation in the Outdoor Classroom. Postdigital Science and Education. ISSN 2524-485X. doi: 10.1007/s42438-022-00315-2. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Situated within the context of the changing nature of teaching and learning in a postdigital context, this paper aims to theorize the mediating impacts of mobile technologies on outdoor learning experiences. Technological mediation is arguably a vital, yet often neglected, aspect of pedagogical practices. Today, the increasing employment of mobile technologies is not only changing the practices of outdoor education, but also challenging the traditional values of the field. This paper calls the predominant view that technology places a barrier between learners and the environment into question and offers a novel theoretical perspective. Inspired by postphenomenological mediation theory, the paper proposes a tri-polar technological mediation and outdoor learning framework. The framework offers a deeper understanding of the different dimensions of the mediating impacts of mobile devices on the relations between learners, their peers, and the natural environment in the outdoor classroom.

• Reed, Jack; van Kraalingen, Imre & Hills, Dave (2022). Call for papers for special issue on digital technology and networked spaces in adventure education and outdoor learning. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. ISSN 1472-9679. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2022.2055587.
• van Kraalingen, Imre (2021). A systematized review of the use of mobile technology in outdoor learning. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. ISSN 1472-9679. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2021.1984963. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This inquiry reports the findings of a systematized review of recent studies concerning the affordances associated with implementing mobile technology in outdoor learning. The emergent employment of mobile technologies in education worldwide adds new layers of complexity to the field that require a better understanding. The review aims to summarize and critically interrogate peer-reviewed studies and identify gaps in current research. Taken collectively, the 33 reviewed articles mirror the dualism that is present within the field. Whilst some studies show that the portability and accessibility of mobile devices offer new opportunities, others point at issues of complexity, safety, and loss of experiential quality. The findings highlight three principal strategies that offer meaningful ways to manage the tensions between technology and outdoor learning: mitigation, intentionality, and adaptation. The review thus offers a deeper understanding of how outdoor learning programs can effectively integrate mobile technology to overcome the nature-technology dichotomy.

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• Reed, Jack; van Kraalingen, Imre & Hills, Dave (2024). Journal of adventure education and outdoor learning: special issue: digital technology and networked spaces in outdoor learning. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning. ISSN 1472-9679. 24(1), p. 1–6. doi: 10.1080/14729679.2024.2316444.
• Høyem, Jannicke; Beames, Simon; Eriksen, Jørgen Weidemann; Rosenberg, Axel; Vold, Thomas & van Kraalingen, Imre [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2022). Skall - skal ikke? www.utemagasinet.no.

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