Using Technology to Study Landscapes Outdoors

In response to:  "Learning Landscape:  Kids Monitor Terrain with Technology."

http://www.edutopia.org/wetland-ecology-technology-video

This link connects you to a five minute video that describes a program that upper elementary school students in Minnesota are involved in for Science.  Students have been working outdoors in a open area of land that has many different types of plant and animal life.  Students are put into groups and are given a number of plants and animals that they need to research and monitor.  Each group becomes specialists/experts in their area of study and is expected to report to the class about their findings.  The area of land that they have to work with is large and most schools do not have programs set up like this for their students, but it is something that teachers could strive for in the future.  The elementary school in this post has gotten grants to buy new technology for their students to use in the field and the kids really respond well to the atmosphere of learning.  Using the technology allows students to collaborate and become life-long self-learners inside and outside of the classroom.