AI and Technology

Audience

EE Professional

Topic

E-STEM

This collection examines how digital technologies—from augmented reality and AI tools to international professional development programs—can enhance environmental education when implemented thoughtfully and critically. The research consistently emphasizes that technology should complement rather than replace direct nature experiences, requiring educators to adopt case-by-case evaluation approaches that prioritize both student engagement and authentic environmental connections.

For more, read the eePRO blog post: Technology and Environmental Education: What the Research Actually Says

Isobel Talks

Environmental educators should adopt a critical, case-by-case approach to digital technology integration that recognizes both transformative potential and significant challenges while ensuring technological solutions don't replace essential direct experiences with nature.

Digital technologies and environmental education

This article examines the complex relationship between digital technologies and environmental education through a special issue that brought together diverse perspectives from over thirty contributors across various sociocultural, geographical, and disciplinary backgrounds. The research identified several key themes in digital environmental education and revealed how technology can both support and undermine environmental education goals.

Posted: 05/29/25

Isobel Talks

Augmented reality offers powerful opportunities to enhance student engagement and environmental literacy, particularly for primary school students, but requires careful attention to content selection and pedagogical design for maximum effectiveness.

Augmented reality in environmental education: A systematic review

This systematic review examines the use of augmented reality technology in environmental education by analyzing 20 studies published primarily after 2017. The research addresses the growing interest in AR applications for environmental education across all educational levels, with particular attention to learning outcomes, student engagement, and environmental literacy development.

Posted: 05/29/25

Isobel Talks

Intensive hands-on professional development programs for educators create significant multiplier effects, with relatively modest training investments reaching thousands of students and transforming renewable energy education capacity nationwide.

Preparing the future sustainable energy workforce and the Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education

This study documents the impact of intensive faculty professional development on creating multiplier effects that transform renewable energy education nationwide. The research revealed how intensive professional development creates sustainable change through multiple pathways.

Posted: 05/29/25

Isobel Talks

STEM educators should integrate renewable energy into core programs rather than creating specialty degrees while building strong industry partnerships and advocating for stable national energy policies that support consistent educational investment.

International approaches to renewable energy education – A faculty professional development case study with recommended practices for STEM educators

This case study examines the impact of international learning exchanges that took 14 U.S. renewable energy educators to Australia/New Zealand and Germany/Denmark to study renewable energy education approaches and their applications to American STEM education. The research involved structured visits to technical institutions, industry sites, and policy organizations, with follow-up assessment conducted three years after the initial exchanges to measure lasting impacts on teaching practices, curriculum development, and professional knowledge.

Posted: 05/29/25

Isobel Talks

AI tools can successfully develop students' 21st century skills through creative environmental storytelling when combined with teacher support and eco-humanistic values that emphasize collaborative problem-solving over simple knowledge transmission.

Artificial intelligence tools in environmental education: Facilitating creative learning about complex interaction in nature

This study examined how elementary students experience using AI tools in environmental education, specifically focusing on creating comic strips about the survival struggle between native Lesser Kestrels and invasive Myna birds. The research took place at a certified green school in northern Israel that has been running a Lesser Kestrel conservation program since 1996, where students observed firsthand the ecological conflict as Mynas began displacing kestrels from nesting boxes.

Posted: 05/29/25

Isobel Talks

Digital tools can enhance rather than compete with environmental education when used thoughtfully to extend learning beyond the classroom, but educators must carefully balance technology use with preserving authentic nature experiences and private learning moments.

Digital Technology in Outdoor and Environmental Education: Affects, Assemblages and Curriculum-Making

Students today live in a world where digital tools and natural environments are both part of their daily reality. This article examines how skilled outdoor educators might use smartphone cameras and video-making in their teaching. The study was conducted at the Dunedin Nature School in New Zealand, where students spend one day per week learning outdoors instead of in traditional classrooms.

Posted: 05/29/25