GPS in the Classroom

KyleLichtenwald

May 26, 2009

Saskatchewan Outdoor and

Environmental Educators

Association

http://soeea.sk.ca/

Introduction to GPS & Geocaching

Possibilities for learning

Questions & Brainstorm

30 Satellites thanks to American Security

specially coded satellite signals that can be processed in a GPS receiver, enabling the receiver to compute position, velocity, and time.

GPS is used in forestry, biology, fishing, law enforcement, hunting, boating, racing, and many other fields

GPS

over 800,000 caches worldwide

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb1epq/548186689/

GeocachingAdventure Sport

Large Vibrant Community

Geocaching.com

Hiding & Seeking

Trackables

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewandsarah/196515184/

1. Take something from the cache 2. Leave something in the cache 3. Write about it in the logbook4. Do not move the cache5. Don’t leave food or dangerous items in cache

Guidelines

http://www.geocreed.info/

Geocaching ConcernsGeo-Trash

Bushwhacking

Batteries & General Consumption

Too much attention on GPS

Trespassing

What did we do wrong?

- Jason Hubbard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordon_mckinlay/3518119511/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/actionatadistance/536349746/in/set-72157600323866931/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_evil_one/3410699492/sizes/o/in/pool-618878@N22/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamgerhard/224788034/

My First Cache

Turning an everyday lesson into a techno treasure hunt adds critcal thinking, teamwork,

and physical activity.

Education

Some Obvious Outcomes

longitude & latitude, distance estimation,

map skills,orienteering,measurement

Promotes spatial awareness

Provides visualizations to solve problems

Students get a better idea of local area and global connections

Thrill of the hunt

Exploratory & Intergrative

teamwork, problem solving, decision making, critical thinking

Learning Outcomes & Project Ideas

Jen Deyenberg’s Class Video

Geometry

Geometry

Geometry

Tree Identification

1. Problem Solving Caches Students find a cache with a problem inside & solve together

2. Puzzle Caches Solve a Math or Logic (Sudoku) Puzzle to get the co-ordinates to find the cache

3. On Average Each cache has a different object of the same type (all pencils). Students record each length and find the average of all of the caches

4. Play Money Caches Each cache has a math puzzle on the lid and they have to find the answer and bring back the correct amount of change

5. Find the Clues Each cache has a clue to an ultimate problem. Students collect clues to solve a mystery

6. Kickball Challenge Students waypoint a series of kicks and then graph them to see who kicked the farthest. Great for distance and measurement

7. PerimeterWaypoint the corners of a space or structure and record the distance between each waypoint to find the perimeter

8. Possible Outcomes Have three caches, one with three shirts, one with three pairs of pants, one with three accessories and they have to create a tree diagram of all of the possible outcomes

9. Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins A story about the first man to try and piece together dinosaur fossils. After reading the book, in each cache would be "dinosaur bones" to put together in strange and interesting ways

10. Name that Triangle Mark waypoints and have students stake out different shapes of triangles and have them identify the geometric shape

11. work with community Firefighters to mark fire hydrants

12. Town Tours

13. Historic Sites

14. Follow the Railroad

15. Trackables -- Flat Stanley Type Project

16. Design a themed cache

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kb1epq/548186689/

Art of hiding a Cache

Cache Design

Search Skills

Geocaching Vocabulary

More to Think About

Thanks to these people

Jen Deyenberg

Diane MainJason HubbardDean Shareski

OlemazKovDav

http://geocachewithkyle.wikispaces.com/

http://delicious.com/thekyleguy/geocaching