Bringing the classroom into the world: three Australian cases of designing mobile technology to support blended learning for the built and landscaped environment

We describe and reflect on three case studies of developing fieldwork for tertiary students of architectural history, landscape history and urban design. In each case, the potential of blended learning was explored through the use of mobile technology to explore designated sites as extensions of class-based learning. Two studies involved the development of apps that worked as guides for students to explore places of significance in Melbourne, while one study invited students to develop a design for a mobile app that could communicate the influence of urban design thinkers on a particular place in Sydney. We describe how these three exercises provide insights into the way that mobile technology, both real and imagined, can provide a conduit between classroom and field learning. Equally significant, we reflect on how the process of designing the apps became one of extended co-creation between student, tutors and teaching staff, also with consequence for learning.