Geography crosses media: an approach for multi-skilling students in higher education

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the field of geography in higher education has increasingly embraced the integration of visual and audio-visual methods as it enables enhanced understanding, multimodal learning, and geospatial literacy. Therefore, there is ample opportunity to incorporate new techniques from various disciplines to improve modern education for students and emphasize attainable skills. This article presents an approach that demonstrates how various digital methods, including photography, videography, and social media, can interact in a crossed interplay and promote a wide skillset. In addition to embedding the current literature, I share the experiences of two fieldwork-based study projects supplemented by interviews with students and teachers. This allows for critical reflection on what has been learned and provides recommendations and impulses for the further development of new formats by integrating digital methods into higher education in geography.

KEYWORDS:

• Fieldwork
• pedagogy
• crossed media
• multi-skilling
• vocational training

Introduction

Doing things the way we have always done them is no longer an option if this gap is to be closed, and the delivery of field-based teaching should adopt appropriate technologies that meet the needs of today’s “digitally native” graduates.

(Fuller & France, 2016, p. 194)

Fuller and France (2016, p. 194), in the cited article, draw attention to a crucial gap between the expectations of universities and potential employers and the skills of geography students, which must be bridged through the “signature pedagogy” of geography – geographic fieldwork. Thus, they highlight a significant challenge in geographic higher education: providing a comprehensive academic curriculum that aligns with modern techniques, working methods, and modes of communication required by geographers in today’s society. Recently, the range of pedagogical approaches and the incorporation of digital techniques into higher education have significantly expanded, which is why this study aims to take a further step toward comprehensive education for human geography students. This refers to the personal development of students and, hence, a preparatory professional formation, as the work environment of geographers demands pronounced media literacy, extended communication formats and skills, and personal and social interaction skills.

In this paper, I would like to present and discuss the idea of a “crossed media approach” for higher education in which established approaches and methods are combined in innovative ways. The crossing of different digital-based methods, such as photography, video production, and social media, in geographic fieldwork with students provides previously untapped yet forward-looking opportunities to broadly educate and empower students in their professional futures. Interdisciplinarily-trained human geographers are often challenged when crossing interfaces in their daily work and can leverage the overlapping skills of the multidimensional discipline of science journalism to purposefully present their findings. The approach presented here introduces a novel didactical format for multi-skilling, where all required learnable skills are strategically bundled in a target-oriented manner. In my opinion, these skills are fundamental to higher education in human geography and to the holistic development of students.

The accessibility of today’s technological standards, coupled with daily exposure to media formats and products created by digital natives, has enabled the expansion of higher education in human geography. Despite the growing number of applications for audio-visual teaching formats, Speake (2017) stated the following: “However, what is perhaps surprising is the lack of published material on pedagogic facets of the development of students’ skills in field-based visual methods research” (p. 144). While Speake focuses on visual methods, her considerations can be applied to cross-linked audio-visual methods, which this study also explores. Drawing on my experience, with a focus on crossed media approaches and the multi-skilling they require, the objective of this article is to offer a detailed reappraisal.

To meet this demand, after a review of current research on audio-visual methods of geographical field research in higher education, I present the experiences from two master’s field study projects in which the newly developed approach was applied. The module structure of tourism geography-based field study projects in Barcelona (Spain) and Black Forest (Germany) as well as their relevance to the curriculum, implementation, and associated pedagogical approach will be explained. The students’ main tasks were to carry out, document, and communicate the topics they had structured and explored on their own, supported by technical equipment, such as cameras, microphones, and auxiliary devices. In addition to the ongoing use of Instagram, a website was created to document the final findings (e.g. Figure 1).

Figure 1. Website of the Barcelona field study project.¹

This article provides a basis for reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages, potential and challenges, learning effects, and possibilities for adaptation. Subsequently, these aspects were pointed out and embedded in interviews with students and teachers as well as in reports of experiences and further considerations. The crossed media approach presented in this study is intended to respond to Speake’s (2017) call to discuss the possibilities and challenges of skill development and provide recommendations and thought-provoking ideas based on experience and further thoughts. In doing so, educators in human geography and neighboring disciplines gain exposure to an additional methodological approach that can inspire fresh teaching formats and enhance the cross-linked education of future geographers.

Digital formats and methods in higher education in human geography

Recent developments in human geography higher education are influenced by the growing integration of digital teaching formats. This shift has been widely acknowledged and explored extensively in academic journals. The utilization of fundamental audio-visual methods, such as photography or filmmaking, has a longstanding tradition in geography as a whole and has experienced significant growth and upsurge, particularly since the 1990s (Adams & Craine, 2016; Garrett, 2011; Lukinbeal & Sharp, 2014; Rose, 2003, 2008). This change has certainly been advanced and partly influenced by the general spread of audio-visual research in the social sciences (Banks, 2001) and neighboring disciplines such as ethnography (Pink, 2021; Poole, 2005), anthropology (Loizos, 2000), and even beyond renewed and transdisciplinary working media sciences (Rusch, 2002). In human geography, increasing attention has been given to the publishing and scholarly discussion of audio-visual approaches in higher education formats, which has received rising attention in this regard since the late 2000s. When focusing on the integration of digital formats in geography higher education, three central methods can be identified: photography and audio-visual formats such as filmmaking, videos, and social media. However, most of these methods are considered separately.

These pedagogical tools can fully reveal their potential primarily in geographical field research. France and Haigh (2018, p. 1) highlight the importance of field studies for students: “Fieldwork is a signature pedagogy of geography. It is the place where geographers learn to connect classroom theory with the real world, where they learn to practice their geocapabilities and key geographical skills.” Dummer et al. (2008, p. 59) follow a similar approach and add that students have “the opportunity to test ideas and concepts from the literature against the ‘real world’ of the field and the possibilities to apply methods and techniques of data collection and observation, and to work effectively in groups with one’s peers and with staff” (ibid.). To access these potential and relevant skills, educators should “incorporate the use of technology into their fieldwork teaching strategies” (Welsh et al., 2013, p. 399).

Due to technological advances and the resulting broad application possibilities, as well as by nonprofessional users (e.g. via advanced smartphone cameras), photography is probably the strongest presence in higher education in geography (Van Melik & Ernste, 2019, p. 431). Thus, diverse approaches and teaching formats have been included (Davies et al., 2019; Hall, 2009, 2015; Latham & Mccormack, 2007; Pyyry, 2016, Sidaway, 2002; Van Melik & Ernste, 2019). For example, Van Melik and Ernste (2019) explored the use of photographic essays as a didactic tool, and Pyyry (2016) presented her approach to photo-walks as creative encounters. Both contributions highlight the importance of enchantments in which students are introduced to multisensory learning through photography (Pyyry, 2016; Van Melik & Ernste, 2019). In doing so, they foregrounded the high pedagogical value of sharpened spatial perceptions for geography students. With regard to using a camera, Van Melik and Ernste (2019) describe how “the embodied practice of looking through a lens, while simultaneously reflectively involving with the physical and social world around us, creating a lived experience and knowledge,” (p. 432) can be trained. Nevertheless, Pyyry (2016, p. 113) emphasizes that teachers should act with a critical eye when teaching is transferred to the everyday space of students, as they “can escape the adult gaze” there. Sanders (2007, p. 190) notes the justified criticism that photographs by “visual anthropologists and visual sociologists,” thus also human geographers, are “often used to capture the actions of individuals in concrete situations at particular times,” which in her view can be “voyeuristic and colonial.” Therefore, recordings of people and events were explicitly excluded (ibid.). I would underline these social interactions, as previously mentioned by other authors, as crucial and emphasize the focus on a broad reflection of the students’ own roles when working with a camera (cf. Jacobs, 2016b; Lukinbeal & Sharp, 2014) which, can also be difficult for students (Van Melik & Ernste, 2019, p. 447). Hence, the reflective use of these techniques is crucial for students to learn why and how to use (audio-)visual methods as instruments to produce knowledge.

These didactic and pedagogical insights from photographic approaches are largely echoed in video-and film-based teaching formats that have been applied (diPalma, 2009; Fuller & France, 2016; Mavroudi & Jöns, 2011; Watt & Wakefield, 2017). In their field-based teaching module on the island of Crete (Greece) Mavroudi and Jöns (2011) used the methodological tool of video documentation, which proved to be “developing students’ ways of “seeing,” “representing,” and “imagining” different aspects of rural Crete” (p. 594). In addition to these sensory skills, Fuller and France (2016) summarized a clear strengthening of media literacy and social skills: “Incorporating digital video into field-based experiments has fostered engagement, enjoyment, and interest among student groups” (p. 204). These contributions highlight the relevance they assigned to acquiring technical, social, and geographical skills. Mavroudi and Jöns (2011) state that, for students, “a broad set of skills is important for their employability and future success in an increasingly flexible job market” (p. 594). This confirms that several students strive to qualify for professional careers outside academia. Furthermore, Jacobs (2016a, p. 2), in reference to media literacy, points out: “[…] how can we expect our students to critically ‘read’ video and film if they cannot also actively produce and ‘write’ them?” As mentioned earlier, I would like to emphasize the transferability to other applied methods of photography and social media. Here, too, the act of “writing,” which involves producing various digital formats, is indispensable for a proper “reading” of these.

Through the digital transformation of communication tools and sharing of knowledge and information via social media, the pedagogical requirements of geography education are changing alongside these everyday practices (Halliwell, 2020, p. 108). Halliwell (2020.) Davies et al. (2019) and Fearnley (2020) highlighted the importance of social networks for the younger generation, referring to the consumption of knowledge and information, as well as social communication and interaction. This was confirmed by statistics on the use of social media, as seen in the European Union. For example, in 2020, approximately 87% of the population aged 16–24 years actively used social media networks (Eurostat, 2021, p. 101). Moreover, in Germany, social media serves as a source of information for 18- to 24-year-olds, with usage ranging from 69% to 100%² (Hasebrink et al., 2021, p. 47). In addition to the demand to transform teaching methods, pedagogical arguments have also emerged. Halliwell (2020) emphasizes the “[T]he role of social media applications in shaping daily life and how they produce alternative knowledge around digital embodiment, identity, and placemaking” (p. 111), which are central to higher education in geography. As most social media networks also serve as platforms for sharing digital content such as photos and videos, they can be linked to the methods and techniques listed above. For instance, Davies et al. (2019) integrated Instagram into fieldwork-based teaching in their project “Snapshots from Berlin.” In addition to its immediacy to students, the authors noted that this method is extremely effective “[to] generate active-learning through this visual medium” (Davies et al., 2019, p. 17). Simultaneously, they emphasize that Instagram should be used as part of a broader set of didactic methods.

Overall, Garrett (2013), expanding on the findings of Crang (1997), Kindon (2003) and Parr (2007), argues that research with cameras can reduce the distance and power relations between the “researcher and researched” (p. 138) – but that interaction (for consent) with the captured individuals and the choice of used techniques is crucial to achieve these outcomes. According to Oldrup and Carstensen’s (2012) considerations about a “performative perspective” (p. 235), using audio-visual methods does not guarantee a specific form of knowledge that brings us closer to everyday life. Instead, the knowledge produced depends on the chosen theoretical perspective, and highlights the importance of the researcher’s reflection. Therefore, by combining all the previously mentioned arguments, I promote the extensive use of various techniques in the field by students. As my colleagues have already emphasized, students’ reflections on their roles in the field, their interactions with subjects, how they can represent something, and the position they hold through the chosen representation are essential and should be considered in higher education teaching formats.

Crossed media approach and multi-skilling in higher education teaching

In this section, I will first explain my understanding of the crossed media approach. I then address the conglomerate of learnable skills to be combined in multi-skilling, which will be illustrated and explored in subsequent sections of this article.

The multilayered structure of crossed media enables the bundling of diverse and extensively elaborated methodological approaches to higher education in geography. In this context, “crossed media” can be defined as the crossing, integration, and networking of several dimensions of learning, research, and publication practices based on digital formats to be used in human geography. Here, I refer to crossed media as a form of media expression that can be articulated in written, visual, auditory, and audiovisual formats to address the different senses of researchers, students, and other recipients. This type of communication functions as an interplay between crossed media formats. The above examples illustrate that the approaches presented to digital teaching formats combine the production, publication, and communication of photographs, videos, and texts – interacting with each other – via websites and social media. Interdisciplinary crossings involving perspectives from other disciplines can expand this approach. A wide range of skills is necessary for this approach and can be acquired by students through the crossed media teaching format and accompanying field research. Many of these skills have been represented in previous explanations of the respective digital teaching methods. In this case, I emphasize that the crossed combination of these factors is profitable. The concept of multi-skilling originates from an initial approach in journalism (Erdal, 2011), which is extended here to human geography, whereby its basic skills for a crossed media teaching format, in combination with field research, show high potential for application. For example, Erdal (2011) highlights diverse functions ranging from “interviewing, shooting video, taking photos, writing up the story” to “editing audio and video” (p. 217). Detached from the approach used in journalism, I see parallels in the potential of field research-based coursework.

Consequently, students acquired technical skills in recording, editing, and communicating in digital formats. Additionally, new forms of social skills that require an adapted approach are necessary. In addition to altered collaboration such as with interview partners, internal collaboration within student groups is challenged by new tasks. From my perspective, this specifically promotes the skills described by Wall and Speake (2012) as “personal,” “such as leadership, team-work, collaborative work and organization” (p. 422). Through the integration of digital formats and the publication of these products via social media platforms such as Instagram, technological, personal, and social skills are expanded along with media literacy skills. This expansion occurs because individuals must engage intensively with the impacts and effects of these formats. Additionally, I emphasize the interactive nature of social media, where direct communication and discussion with users can occur through content sharing on these platforms, particularly through comment functions. These interactions enhance communication and media literacy.

Crossed media publication and the interplay of digital formats and different forms of presentation sharpen the communicability of scientific content. These various platforms create an opportunity to process human geographic research for a broad audience, which requires accessible forms of communication through the languages of image, sound, and text. Combining all the points, Figure 2 provides an overview of relevant skills and different ways of documenting and communicating knowledge.

Figure 2. Merging the established formats into the thoughts of multi-skilling and crossed media; own graphic.

This pedagogical approach and the associated didactic tools offer great potential for development. In addition to fostering human geographical, personal, social, technical, media literacy, and communication skills, it not only produces well-versed students but also promotes the possibility of unleashing creative potential. This can foster project-based approaches with the accompanying skills of using social media (Davies et al., 2019), photography, videography (Fuller & France, 2016; Mavroudi & Jöns, 2011; Pyyry, 2016; Van Melik & Ernste, 2019), and digital field diaries (Dummer et al., 2008) in crossed media interactions within human geography. Therefore, the pedagogic facets of this module facilitate complementary academic and non-academic training and professional preparation.

Application of the crossed media format to field study projects

The field study projects used here as examples – in Barcelona (Spain) in 2019 and in the Black Forest (Germany) in 2021—were offered to students in the Master’s program “Geography of Global Change” at the University of Freiburg. To ensure clarity and understanding of all stages involved in our field study projects, I will briefly explain the structural framework before delving into a more detailed reflection of the teaching format.

Formal aspects of the module

The “field study project” module is a central component of the Master’s program and, with 10 ECTS³ points, the most extensive module, aside from the final thesis. In addition to independently developing a project, the focus was on deepening the geographical content and working methods through a long-term project spanning two semesters. This approach encourages students to work autonomously over an extended period, following the common practices in Germany. This not only prepares them for their final thesis but also for their future careers after graduation. In the case of crossed media projects, the field study project extends over three overarching phases. The key elements of these phases are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Overview of the key aspects of the field study projects across the different phases.

Phase	Main components
Preparation (≈ 120 hours)	Subject matter and bibliographic preparation Media training—media design basics, journalistic interview approaches, etc. Individual and group preparation of the study sites
Fieldwork (≈ 90 hours)	Acclimatization and exploration of the study sites Elaboration of key points and relevant subjects Individual and plenary thematic development, as well as discussion sessions Instagram posts and digital field diaries Crossed media investigation and documentation as primary empirical part
Follow-up (≈ 90 hours)	Finalization of the thematic and crossed media publication concept Working out the textual, auditive, and audio-visual elements Publication on interactive websites

The assignment requirements for both field study projects included the submission of various products: one cover picture, six photographs for a mosaic format, two to three edited videos (two to three minutes each), two to three illustrated interviews (one to two minutes each), one large photograph; and 3000–4000 words of written text. The problem that Sanders (2007, p. 191) correctly addressed, namely that a high degree of subjectivity can occur in the evaluation of audio- visual formats, was attempted to be countered. In the final grading, the quality of the produced digital formats was only partially considered. However, the grading primarily focused on ethical considerations, conveyed and produced knowledge, and coherence of the content with the scientific text. Giving the students “carte blanche” (Van Melik & Ernste, 2019, p. 448) in relation to audio-visual content is something I feel promotes creativity – especially as the evaluation of the artistic is outside of our human geographic judgement.

Preparation and pedagogical approach on site

Both field study projects focused on developments related to tourism in different spaces.⁴ On the one hand, the project (field study project A) concentrated on the urban space of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. On the other hand, the project examined tourism development in the rural area of the Upper Black Forest, located in southern Germany (field study project B). Students were provided with a multi-day theoretical and site-specific introduction that allowed them to gain an initial understanding of their respective topics. This was crucial for subsequent crossed media preparation and adjustment to the field research area. This aligns with the arguments of Cotton (2009) and Cole-Hawthorne et al. (2017) that “a quicker transfer of knowledge” (p. 22) on site can be enabled through prepared background knowledge.

At the heart of the preparation, following the theoretical introduction, a 40-hour journalistic media training session took place. Therefore, an external journalist with experience in higher education in journalism was hired to support the module. Journalists conducted media training during the preparation period. The journalist also accompanied project studies on-site but only in an advisory role to answer the questions and ambiguities of the students in media and technology-related issues. Beyond the handling of technical devices, media design basics, such as the golden cut (Kamp, 2017), and the structure of different digital formats were practiced in a participatory learning process. Moreover, from an interdisciplinary journalistic perspective, students are offered central perspectives that complement established qualitative social research in a target-oriented manner. Bubela et al. (2009) also referred to the potential of integrating scientific journalistic working methods, especially regarding the communication of knowledge, describing this as indispensable in academic higher education. By strengthening the interpretation of videos and photographs beyond one’s own understanding of the technical side, access to the discussion of ethical questions is opened; that is, how are topics visualized? What aesthetic means do the producers use? What effect should visualized content have on recipients? What should and should not be depicted?

In addition to the technical, stylistic, and ethical basics, the research process for students is positively influenced by an extended reflexive perspective (Speake, 2017). Through these discussions during media training, journalist, teachers, and students discussed the possibilities and limitations of crossed media and defined the ethical aspects of field research. The technical aspect was complemented by professional insights and journalistic skills applicable to human geography or transferable in context. These include how interview situations are influenced by the presence of cameras or journalistic methods used for initiating and conducting interviews. This gave students a broader perspective on familiar methods of qualitative social research.

“A good fieldwork experience develops deeper understandings of the places visited […] because of its active engagement and deeper connection with the area studied. This is more easily achieved when there is direct engagement with local people” (France & Haigh, 2018, p. 10). Following France and Haigh’s (2018) approach, an advantageous connection between students and their study sites was achieved when they became part of the neighborhood or place for most of the field research time. By being permanently in situ and in direct contact with local people, the everyday practices of weekdays, daytime, and everyday life in a neighborhood or village become accessible and experienceable. France and Haigh (2018), referring to Kent et al. (1997), also noted that students prefer active learning to passive learning, highlighting the “need for more autonomy in fieldwork learning.” This need can be fulfilled by placing all students at their research sites and allowing them to work as autonomously as possible in small groups. Through online field diaries, an attempt was made to remain up-to-date with the students’ work and, simultaneously offer the students an opportunity for reflection. Throughout this period, there were individual meetings between lecturers and various groups as well as several plenary meetings to share, discuss, and collectively incorporate discoveries, emerging questions, new developments, and progress within the thematic framework.

In the following section, I present results from two crossed media field-study projects. Examples are incorporated within a general framework, highlighting the relevant aspects of higher education in human geography.

The field study projects: reflecting Barcelona tourism and living with tourism in the black forest

Based on the theoretical and site-specific research conducted in advance, the students went to the study areas equipped with cameras, tripods, microphones, and other auxiliary materials. The open work assignment allowed a lot of flexibility to encourage autonomous work, and only recommendations were made: first, get a feeling of being in the research fields with the technical equipment, seek conversations with people in the locations, and work on the stories – can the preliminary considerations be applied in a target-oriented manner? Are there new insights on-site that were not apparent before? How does tourism shape the everyday lives of the places and people studied? How can we audiovisualize thematic questions?

Instagram as a supplementary crossed media method during field research

The crossed media task of creating Instagram posts during field research encourages a broad range of multi-skilling in terms of media literacy and communication. This is achieved by choosing and discussing audiovisual presentations, text, and hashtags, both within the local and overall groups. On one hand, this includes the reflection and analysis of (social) media contributions; on the other hand, it involves a deeper examination of the effect and impact of audiovisual content.

Spatial construction is growing within social media through subjective opinions and user assigned significance. In this regard, hashtags play a particularly prominent role. […] Their use as an instrument for coordinating conversations, identifying themes, organising meetings in the real world, and substantiating certain emotions and impressions is becoming ever more relevant.(Reithmeier et al., 2016, p. 283)

Reithmeier et al. (2016) emphasized the relevance of hashtags in a geographical context because hashtags can highlight certain words and bundle-specific topics. From their perspective, they serve as meta-commentaries and are a new way of assigning and categorizing meaning (Bruns & Stieglitz, 2014; Reithmeier et al., 2016). In this way, the communicative skills of students are fostered through the extended communication of media content and knowledge, in addition to the further discussion of ethical questions. Because of the requirement to produce crossed media content on site, the students dealt with their collected qualitative data (image, sound, and text in the form of spoken words) during the field research stage, already reviewing and further processing them. Through photographic and videographic representations (Figure 3), the students were able to provide, in this case, an indirect quote from the mayor about the challenge of caravan tourism that was prevalent at the Feldberg study site and referred to the problem and the chosen control measures.

Figure 3. Instagram post to document caravan tourism in Feldberg, Black Forest.⁵

In terms of the overall research and general objective of publishing crossed media content via a web-based platform, this approach already serves as autodidactic training in the field. By producing mini-content, the students had already acquired a feeling for content-related and audio-visual compilation of human geographical knowledge in media formats during the research process, precisely related to the combination of the presentation forms of image, sound, and text. This also connects to the students’ lives (where the use of social media is common), which are now provided with scientific content and procedures. Furthermore, the described processes and the intensive engagement of the student groups with the qualitative data served to further develop the overarching research question and co-thinking of the final publications while researching.

Follow-up and publication

After the field research stay, the subsequent consultation of the content concept and design of digital formats with the lecturers opened the phase of independent processing and production of crossed media elaboration, consisting of digital formats and scientific text. The audiovisual formats, combined with academic texts, showed how the students were able to adapt to these brief training and practice phases. This is illustrated in an example from Field Study Project A shown in Figure 4. In the approximately 2-minute video, the students addressed the issue of residents’ protests against increasing touristification and gentrification in the neighborhood of Vila de Gràcia.

Figure 4. An image of the published website of the Vila de Gràcia group, in which the combination of illustrated interview and text is demonstrated.⁶

Reflecting on the main challenges and potentials of the format

Brief explanations of the two field study projects provided insights into the pedagogical possibilities of the crossed media approach. They now serve as a basis for critically analyzing the potential benefits and challenges. To consider relevant points from the perspectives of both students (S) and teachers (T),⁷ in addition to our own experiences, five qualitative interviews were conducted with the consent of participants from both field study projects. The interviews were open-ended, and participants were asked for explanations and experiences. Therefore, four thematic blocks were explored: (1) the integration and use of technology, (2) overall learning effects, (3) insights and experiences, and (4) opportunities and challenges of the entire study project. These interviews were not extensively analyzed, but were selectively used to illustrate the arguments regarding potentials, challenges, and critiques.

Starting in chronological order, there were differences in the preparations for the first field study project. While all students received media training during the second field study project, the Barcelona group was divided into two specializations: theoretical and media focused practical. A teacher expressed concern about this division, stating, “[…] I then found this not quite so ideal in practice, because those who specialized in the theoretical subjects had no opportunity to identify themselves or practically had hardly any opportunities to identify themselves more strongly with media in advance in the preparatory block” (T2). Since the experience of the thoroughly experimental-first approach showed that this separation was not profitable for the entire group of students, within the following project study in 2021, this was adjusted so that all students received media training. In this way, field research and follow-ups are distributed equally among all students, and all students can learn skills and implement them successfully, further strengthening the overall group balance.

After noting this structural adjustment, we must examine the involvement of journalists and the associated internal communication among all educators. In this study, I focus on the challenges faced by different working methods and approaches. Experience has shown that a clear demarcation of the distribution of tasks and the allocation of roles among teachers is essential in advance; otherwise, it can also influence lecturers’ external communication with students. “So, there was already a fraction, a fault line within the teachers who teach from geography and who approach science journalism.” (T2). This fracture refers to different methodological approaches, such as opening a topic, dealing with research locations and people, and, most importantly, the way in which knowledge is to be gained and documented. “And it is precisely these differences in methodological approaches in the two areas that have led to some irritation among the students” (T2). In these cases, there was a lack of fine-tuning with journalists regarding which roles and tasks would be communicated to the students and in what form. On the one hand, this ranged from which approach they should now use for their field research – purely scientific, purely journalistic, or where the difficulty lies to the exact line in between. It was also applied to questions regarding the grade distribution. One teacher continues: “There is no evaluation of results by the journalist from my point of view. First, journalists are impulse providers” (T2). These presents a significant challenge. However, they can be met with close and detailed coordination both in advance and during the program. In this way, the full potential of interdisciplinarity can be exploited, and the advantages of tension – that is, in the form of negotiation processes – can be used in a targeted manner.

Combining different perspectives also affected the overall openness of the teaching format. Active learning approaches (Davies et al., 2019; Kurtz & Wood, 2014; Van Melik & Ernste, 2019) are, in my opinion, always linked to open pedagogical approaches, as seen from the previous sections. However, openness is a challenge for the teachers, “because we brought in very different perspectives […] we actually had to sort ourselves out a bit and see how we could bring our different approaches and perspectives together and also value this openness” (T1). Hence, the key task was to convey an appreciation of openness to students. Initially, “the expectation was that it would somehow be more structured and more clearly defined, and this openness initially caused uncertainty. However, when we as teachers tried to absorb this and to see the process as something valuable, which is also part of field research, things improved.” (T1). Therefore, the openness of the entire process, which is most pronounced in the field-research phase, must always be present and clearly communicated internally and externally.

Simultaneously, one student voiced criticism regarding the multitude of diverse tasks during their fieldwork stay. “Still doing Instagram posts and writing the diary […]. I found it a bit difficult to multi-task all that” (S2). Davies et al. (2019) also point to this challenge and the associated danger for educators: “Educational practitioners tend to favor more familiar teacher-directed ‘content delivery’ models” (p. 4). Thus, the potential and ability to multi-task with crossed media poses a challenge to the pedagogical approach. However, from my insights, and moreover, if we look at it from the teaching perspective, keeping in mind that the field study project is the central module of the master’s degree in vocational preparation, more than one teacher was

[…] not at all dissatisfied with the large workload under great pressure, because I think that is simply part of this experience of project work. And, for the students to see how much room there actually is, if one is motivated and takes the individual hurdles, then also this field of tension. […] In my opinion, that is also a very important experience to balance the workload and the quality of the end product, to make one’s own decisions.(T2)

However, to counteract the dangers of the “content delivery model” noted by Davies et al. (2019) so that the learning effects can be further optimized, for example, it would be useful to combine the tools of the field diary and the Instagram posts. This could be achieved, for example, by having students use only Instagram posts, thus creating an adapted field diary in a modernized crossed media format. Therefore, there is also the possibility of communicating via the commentary function with educators and the public to enhance reflective and active learning instead of delivering content to teachers.

Central experiences and key findings on pedagogic skills

At this point, Speake’s (2017) introductory call can be considered so that the pedagogical facets of applicable and learnable skills are embedded in the overall picture. The integration and application of technology in the form of hardware and software is fundamental to the crossed media approach. The potential learning effects that arose from this were equally perceived by the students; as one student noted:

Well, that is what I always thought during the time, that I noticed that my geographical eye was very much trained by this. During the field study project, I dealt a lot with camera technology and filmed a lot, etc., and noticed that you walk through the space very attentively and discover details in the space that you do not always find in the [classical] scientific style.

(S1)

Moving around and investigating with cameras in the crossed media approach specifically and profitably promotes the students’ “geocapabilities and key geographical skills” (France & Haigh, 2018, p. 1). Through deep recognition and analysis of the surrounding space, it becomes clear that various aspects of geographic – scientific skills are strengthened in a transformative manner.

Although media training was conducted at the beginning of the event, different knowledge and technical skills became apparent, which could be a challenge. Despite the adaptation of the second field study project to offer media training for all students, one student cited this as a central point of criticism in her summary: “[…] which was of course very difficult if you do not’ have any previous technical knowledge, then it is still a completely new subject area where you probably have to familiarize yourself a lot more. […] If you did not’ have that, you had to fall back on people who already had it” (S2). However, students’ statements also show that collaboration among students can be promoted more widely, which further confirms the arguments of Wall and Speake (2012) regarding acquiring personal skills. Even if there was a group with technology-related problems right up to the end, in our experience, the students were able to learn the basic characteristics of negotiation processes within the group, so that regarding the overall project, “where their interest already lies and their strengths are also present, that we encourage them in this” (T1).

When we look at other aspects of personal and social skills, we must examine the central elements of the interviews in this format. In the experience of myself and other lecturers, there were initially “hesitations” (T2) on the part of the students and lecturers to implement the new approaches from journalism with the established approaches of qualitative social research in relation to interviewing. Regarding personal and social skills, one student stated,

[…] you also need empathy in such moments and that you see: how does the person react to it, are they camera shy? There were interview partners in our project who reacted very allergic to it at first, where you had to talk to them convincingly.

(S3)

Based on the preliminary considerations and this statement, two challenges become apparent: first, that access to people could be made more difficult by appearing with technical equipment, and second, that various social skills are also necessary for this, which can be pronounced with clear differences among students. The potential of these skills, explicitly described by the student as “empathy” and “feeling” for situations and the social environment, are, however, crucial social and personal skills that also advance the communicative education of future geographers.

Crossed media work strengthens students’ (science) communication and media literacy skills within the framework of this educational format. The pedagogical effects of practices in the field study projects described in the previous section were also internalized by students. On the one hand, this includes an understanding of media products, especially the design and construction of digital formats.

I notice the camera work more, the image selection, just the camera angle or the editing of the image. I think I tend to notice more things in social media, but maybe also on other media channels in general. […] I think I can better judge how a documentary is shot and what strikes me positively or negatively. That is something I would not have been able to judge before, or I would not have paid attention to it.(S3)

As this statement clarifies, through the crossed media approach, not only the understanding of one media channel but also the transfer to other digital formats can be brought closer. Through independent work, both in terms of the survey and follow-up, media literacy skills and the associated comprehension and reflection of digital formats are trained in a targeted manner, as mentioned in the section on field study projects and supporting the preliminary work of other researchers (Davies et al., 2019; Fearnley, 2020; Halliwell, 2020). On the other hand, one student explicitly noted the deepened science communication made possible by the expanded media literacy, the application of practical skills, and crossed media: “But I also found it exciting to get to know something new, that was also the reason why I took this special field study project, just to get something practical […]. Science communication is incredibly important, and I think it is something that gives you a tool for that.” (S3). The student’s chosen words of “being given a tool” introduce a central point of the educational spectrum. Reflecting on the field study project and being involved in subsequent professions, one student highlighted the knowledge gained during an internship in the field of science communication: “[…] I got a good feeling for where I can use pictures, for example, and where another media format makes more sense” (S2). Another student also noted the benefits of the crossed media approach in project management: different media formats are useful “to show the progress of projects, to talk to people on site, and to present that in short documentations or short articles on a project website, and not just: Project step one, step two, step three; this is happening in written form […]. Access is a huge aspect of the topic” (S1). In addition to the broad skillset, these two statements underline the relevance of qualifications for a “flexible job market” (Mavroudi & Jöns, 2011, p. 594) and the potential of crossed media working. By working with various digital formats and different publication channels, students gain a feeling about using the appropriate digital format in a specific context or topic and learn which content could be used for which audience. At this point, broad multi-skilling unfolds its full potential, as it promotes soft and secondary skills while profitably extending a wide range of geographical abilities.

This section clearly presents the skills teachers expect and consider, which can be trained and strengthened through this teaching format. The students’ statements and teachers’ experiences confirmed that the proposed theses on learnable skills were widely accepted and could be effectively applied. The crossed media approach promotes social and personal skills in the group’s internal and external negotiation processes in contact with teachers and people in the field throughout different phases such as fieldwork, preparation, and follow-up. Application of technical tools automatically promotes technical skills. The combination of methods, particularly in communication and media literacy, is supported by transfer potential. This skill set promotes geographical knowledge and strengthens scientific work, understanding and communication.

Positioning of the author

To enhance transparency, I will briefly share my background and stance on the topic. I actively participated in both field study projects, initially as a student and later in a teaching role. This dual involvement significantly influenced my perspective, and underscored the importance of critical reflection. This immersive experience allowed me to appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of both the academic viewpoints. As a student, I acquired valuable skills, including proficiency in audiovisual production and media competence, as well as insights into contemporary scientific work. Despite the heavy workload and need to adapt to non-disciplinary procedures, I found this module to be highly beneficial for my future career. Transitioning to a teaching role deepened my understanding of students’ challenges and enabled me to address them effectively by improving communication between journalists and the geography teaching staff. I aim to further enhance audio-visual methods in human geography, particularly in higher education. To maintain objectivity, I conducted additional interviews to provide diverse perspectives along with my personal experiences.

Conclusion

Several approaches mentioned in the Journal of Geography in Higher Education have highlighted the relevance of audiovisual methods in higher education. The combination of different digital methods during geographical fieldwork reinforces the link between and the transfer of diverse knowledge and formats, which enhances transfer thinking, connecting skills, and communication skills. Thus, the existing skills and knowledge of digital natives in their everyday lives can be specifically integrated into scientific and professional contexts.

The experience of the presented and experimentally piloted pedagogical crossed media approach to higher education yielded elementary insights, demonstrating that crossed media can ideally complement personal, academic, and professional education. The range of pedagogical tools promotes a broad set of further adapted considerations about multi-skilling that encompass students’ skills through active learning. Along with in-depth scientific training equipped with new perspectives, a space for creativity was also established. The strength of this approach lies in the effects of crossing when examining the vocational training of human geographers.

However, the major challenges of this approach lie in its fine details, which should be critically considered for further implementation. Discrepancies can arise not only at the internal communicative level among educators but also with respect to students. Various factors must be considered to ensure that scientific work is guaranteed within the framework of scientific education. Performativity and reflectivity are important in audio-visual methods; nevertheless, conveying them to students is important and challenging, and a careful integration must always be measured. In my experience, however, the tasks were well mastered by the students, and the previously mentioned obstacle of Pyyry (2016), the transfer of education into the everyday lives of the students, was largely perceived as something more enriched by the students.

Higher education in human geography must establish new pedagogical approaches to meet the demand for adequate education among digital natives. In this context, pedagogical approaches are indispensable to go beyond professional and scientific contexts and meet the general social demands of prospective geographers in the digitalized world. In this context, the use of technology is essential beyond handling and contextualization. Students must be provided tools to provide themselves and others, personally and professionally, with a reflective, informed, and contemporary view and voice of the digital world.

This article provides insights into the pedagogical facets of skills that students can acquire and the connection between adequate techniques and contemporary student education. These considerations can be applied to other related disciplines of human geography. As this pedagogical compilation brings together diverse considerations, working methods, and already proven approaches, there is still potential for optimization through further contributions and the integration of experiences and knowledge from the respective areas of expertise.

Take-away for educators

The findings from the two field study projects have shown that the challenges and opportunities of the crossed media approach are often regarded as interrelated. The two sides of the coin must always be present to both students and teachers so that the high potential of this pedagogical set can be profitably implemented. Therefore, in the following checklist (Table 2) for educators, I point out the key elements for exploiting full potential based on the experiences and considerations stated in this article.

Table 2. Checklist of general recommendations for educators.

	Recommendations for educators
Overall module	Integration of science journalistic perspective Precise coordination between educators and communication with students Regularly providing space for reflection Openness during the whole project process—for both students and teachers
Applied approach	Crossed Media: Integration of at least two digital formats, methods, and publication platforms Media training for all students Technical, interaction, and media design basics Ethical aspects, questions, and guidelines for the use of audio-visual methods
Field-work stay	Mostly autonomous work on site Groups directly located in the studied area Reflective documentation (i.e. Instagram as a field diary) Mini-content production on site for advanced training

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Website of the Barcelona study project: https://www.huge.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/projektstudien/barcelona2019/index_en.html (17.01.2023).

2. In their study, Hasebrink et al. (2021) divide young adults into four groups (social media as source of information in %): journalistic information-oriented (72%), low information-oriented (69%), broad information-oriented (95%), and non-journalistic information-oriented (100%).

3. In many EU countries, the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) is used for making studies and courses more transparent (European Commission, 2015). In Germany, 1 ECTS point usually corresponds to 30 working hours.

4. The field study projects focused on the central challenges and different negotiation processes of dealing with tourism and, for example, the economic, ecological and social impacts on the rural respectively urban study sites.

5. Own translation of the post: “Caravan tourism is booming on the Feldberg. Tourists are looking for accommodation that is close to nature and flexible. For some residents, the campers are a horror in white: overcrowded car parks, blocked streets, and trash. Mayor Albrecht says bans are useless. Instead, caravans have been paying parking fees since this year. The fees can be used to control tourism and ensure cleanliness.” Online available under: https://www.instagram.com/p/CU4SGi_KKVY/ (17.01.2023).

6. Available under: https://www.huge.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/projektstudien/barcelona2019/gracia.html (17.01.2023).

7. The original language of the interviews was German and was translated by the author.