CLMOOC #6 Part 2. Virtual and open park: OpenForest is a portal for forest education.

 We have developed OpenForest portal in University of Eastern Finland Savonlinna Campus during last 5 years. OpenForest is an open portal for forest education. You can find and share forest-related scientific information, art, experiences, learning projects, geographic information and learning objects in OpenForest. You can include geographic information for the locations, so that they can be found on the map.
You can find a selection of Wiki articles in English (new November 2013!). Translating work has started and there is few contents in English. Welcome to visit our portal. Translating is going on and new contents will be publish soon.
The goal of the portal is to expand the learning environment beyond the classroom. The portal includes contents that are categorised under forest research, learning, culture and nature and are linked to material contributed by the participants in the “Forest as a Learning Environment” project. They introduce, for example, projects carried out in teacher training and basic education, research in the arboretum and the esker area, as well as the unique natural attractions at Punkaharju. The portal also offers a virtual trail in the arboretum and the esker area with 360° views (Flash is needed). The portal can also be accessed by mobile devices, and you can navigate to the locations provided with geographic information and view the contents related to them by, for example, using a mobile phone.

Read more  http://www.openmetsa.fi/wiki/index.php/OpenForest_portal?setlang=en


Related research paper:
THE OPENFOREST PORTAL AS AN OPEN LEARNING ECOSYSTEM: CO-DEVELOPING IN THE STUDY OF A MULTIDISCIPLINARY PHENOMENON IN A CULTURAL CONTEXT


Presentation ICEduTech 2014 New Taipei City Taiwan

OpenForest -portal and Case of Bark Bread from ALiljestrom

CLMOOC #6 Part 1: Multitasking in the forest

Today I with our dog had trip to the forest. This year we have so much berries and mushrooms, those healthy natural resources are waiting for pickers. I had map, compass, moblile phone with GPS and apps for moblie map, berry picker, couple pails and plastic bags and bottle of water.


 I have used to exercise and orienteering in the forest without trails with map and compass. We have lot of forests which are quite open.

But I noticed today - Firstly I put map, compass and mobile phone to the pocket. I could not use them, my eyes and thought had focused to find chantarelles, blueberries, wild strawberries and rasberries. It was still multitasking, when I thought blueberries, I saw cantarelles and on the contrary. Normally, I focus only one species at once, but now it was not possible.

I did not noticed how much time it took. I was 3 and half hour in my trip. At first my dog run around all the time, finaly she started to eat berries and lay on the ground. I ask her to find chantarelles for me through sense of smell, but she such eated berries.

This time I did not have any problems find back to the car - so I did not need map or mobile - or I could not manage too many task at the same time.

At home after two-three hours "cleaning" berries and chanttarelles I am waiting for my doughter made chantarelles souse and berry pie. Nam, nam...

In Finland we have quite wide everyman's rights, everyone may walk, ski or cycle freely in the countryside where this does not harm the natural environment or the landowner, except in gardens or in the immediate vicinity of people's homes (yards). Fields and plantations, which may easily be harmed, may usually not be crossed except in the winter. One may stay or set up camp temporarily in the countryside, a reasonable distance from homes, pick mineral samples, wild berries, mushrooms and flowers (as long as they are not protected species). One may fish with a rod and line (only still waters), row, sail or use a motorboat on waterways (with certain restrictions), and swim or bathe in both inland waters and the sea. One can walk, ski and ice fish on frozen lakes, rivers and the sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam#Finland

Make cycle #4 Learning (eco)system

What do you think about this kind of learning (eco)system? Is there something missing?

Teacher and students together design/ create their learning ecosystem what they need. They should share the phenomenon and open learning task (teacher can give it or they can decide it together), they can maybe work in small groups (like we do in our projects) and why not self-paced - but outcomes are usually unexpected and different. In our projects we have asked the students share the project digitally. And we have usually asked them to record video diary during the project, it helped them the reflect their learning.They can also make video of their learning - like storytelling their learning.  When this learning ecosystem is visible to all in learning community, it can emerges and is flexible and changes during the project if needed. If it is open learning task - the teacher does not know, which kind of learning space/ ecosystem/ environment the students need.

Example of learning in this kind of ecosystem - press cc (translated in English).

 

 How deep does the fish swim in the winter?

Research paper of this project: Liljeström, A. Enkenberg, E. & Pöllänen, S.( 2014)

The case of design-oriented pedagogy: What students’ digital video stories say about emerging learning ecosystems

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10639-013-9284-6 . If you are intersting about it and can't open it (it is not open access journal), please ask, I will send private link.

This learning (eco)system has lots of similairities with Connected learning model. That is the reason why I found CLOOC - it is happy to collaborate with you :)

Emerged learning ecosystem in this project (Liljeström et al 2014)

Applied instructional model of Design-Oriented Pedagogy

More about the Design-oriented pedagogy: Vartiainen, Liljeström & Enkenberg 2012: Design-Oriented Pedagogy for Technology-Enhanced Learning to Cross Over the Borders between Formal and Informal Environments

 http://www.jucs.org/jucs_18_15/design_oriented_pedagogy_for (open access)