Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Digital Pirates: Navigating the High Seas of Geocaching in Education

Arrrrr....you ready for an adventure? We certainly were at the eTech 2011conference in Columbus last month. The weather outside was frightful, but that didn't keep the participants from doing an indoor faux educaching hunt. The presentation can be viewed below. Before the conference, I wrestled with the idea of taking teachers outdoors in the freezing temperatures, much like I would if I were to take students out. I decided against it.  Instead, I created a video outdoors while in the Columbus cold to help show teachers some good hiding spots and help explain what Educaching is all about from my perspective.


A few weeks later, the weather took a turn for the better in northwest Ohio at the NWO Inquiry Series. I decided to take teachers outdoors for a lesson called Grand Slam! This lesson can be found in Educaching: GPS Based Curriculum for Teachers and incorporates math and physical education. It was a smash hit, no pun intended. Inclement weather can be tricky, but I learned a valuable lesson: If there is a break in the weather, go for it! The teachers and I were so excited to just get outside after being cooped up for a few months and enjoyed using the lesson as a unique way to capture statistical data like median, mode, mean, and range. So, if it's cold where you are, think about getting them out once or twice, even if you need to suit them up first...chances are, they'll love it and learn!

1 comment:

  1. geo caching is a great way to combine real math skills and hands on expeiece with just plain fun. Love the idea!

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