Rethinking Education for Sustainability : A Mobile Learning Approach

This chapter presents a pedagogical model and a technological platform consisting of web and mobile technologies designed to support a mix of formal and informal, indoor and outdoor learning experiences. In particular, the platform is a reconfigurable system that can be adapted to support different kinds of learning formats. Two case studies will be presented to describe how the proposed pedagogical model and the technological platform can be adapted to address different contexts and learning objectives. The first case study – H2Flow – has been carried out in an high-school in Trento (north Italy) as an extension of the school curricula; the second one – Youth Mapping – has been deployed in underserved areas in Rio De Janeiro as part of a community-driven initiative led by UNICEF. In the conclusion, we discuss educational challenges and design opportunities concerning the use of mobile technologies in the context of education on sustainable development.