Travel Bugs are Released

In January, I released four travel bugs created by my 2nd grade classes. A travel bug is a trackable tag that you attach to an item. The item can then be tracked on Geocaching.com as it moves from cache to cache (or person to person) in the real world.

Creating the Travel Bug:
Many people attach their trackable tags to items such as keychains, stuffed toys, or other small objects. I wanted my kids to make their own trackable item but couldn't figure out what we could make that would be durable enough to last through caching adventures. Besides durability, I also had to figure out a way to have every child in the class be part of creating the bug. Finally, I decided to use my SmartBoard and the drawing program Early Learning Toolkit to create the bugs. Using the SmartBoard, each child in the class drew one part of the bug, adding on to what was drawn before them. Next, each class voted on a name for their bug as well as writing the goal for their bugs. The kids were very creative!

Mr. Frecklehead would like to travel to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower.
Nugget would like to travel around the world and see as many places as he can.
Boogler wants to reach Alaska and see the Iditarod.
Lightning Bug wants to reach Hollywood to star in her own television show.

Releasing the Travel Bugs
Before releasing the bugs, I had them laminated as luggage tags. I then added the trackable tags that I purchased from Groundspeak. Three of the bugs were sent to an acquaintance in Michigan who will release the bugs in different caches as she travels for work. One of the bugs stayed back and was placed in a local cache.

Tracking the Travel Bugs
As travel bugs are retrieved from and dropped off in caches, their movements are logged on the Geocaching.com website. I have set my account to send me email notifications anytime a bug is moved. I have also created a Google Map to keep track of each bug's movements. Finally, I have a large map in my classroom where the students will place pins when the bugs are moved.

Searching for Jazz Caches

Today was a great day! I finally introduced the concept of caching to my 4th grade students. I say caching instead of geocaching because we didn't use hand-held GPS. For this first lesson, the students used maps and compasses.

The 4th grade students will be performing a play, We Haz Jazz, for students and parents in January. The play highlights 25 influential jazz musicians, composers, and bandleaders, lending itself nicely for a research project. To kick off the unit, I hid eight caches across our Lower Division campus. Each cache held note cards with clues about the people they would be studying. Working with partners, students were to locate one cache, extract four cards, and return back to the classroom to figure out their clues. (An extensive web site at an age-appropriate level was created for the students to use for research.)

Before the hunt, students were introduced to compasses and learned how to orienteer. We discussed how to rotate the compass housing until the orienting arrow and compass needle lined up, verified north on our maps, located our final destination with the travel arrow, and followed the direction of the travel arrow to locate our cache. After a bit of practice, they were off.

The students really enjoyed this activity, but were disappointed they only had the opportunity to find one cache today. They thought the activity was "super cool" and wanted to search more. Once they got back to the lab, however, they delved into their research task of figuring out their clue cards.

Geocaching Begins at SPS

Well, I am happy to report that my plans to start geocaching at my school are under way! I spent the summer purchasing supplies - tubs, labels, GPS, compasses, etc. and have plans for my first activity this week.

After practice reading and making maps, both in my computer lab and in their classrooms, my second graders will be going on their first treasure hunt. Armed with maps of our campus, student will search for clues in hopes of finding a treasure.
This first lesson will lay the groundwork for future activities. And, even though we aren't actually going to use the handheld GPS devices yet, understanding the concepts of direction, relative location, and absolute location are basic skills they need to have.

I still haven't figure out exactly what they will be searching for yet, but I'm sure something will come to be soon.

A Travel Bug Plan

I recently received my order for four travel bugs from Geocaching.com. I thought it would be neat to start them off with my 2nd grade class this year, as we could follow them along together for the next few years, but I hadn't figured how I was going to do it yet. Fortunately, I stumbled across this blog post about a Webquest introducing Travel Bugs on a colleague's blog. It is a great starting point for me. I will have to modify the quest for my use, as I will have four travel bugs, one for each class, rather than one for each student (although that is a neat idea too, maybe for next year). There are some great resources on the site as well. I found links to both a Power Point introducing geocaching as well as forum for using GPS in education with lesson plan links. HOORAY! I know what I will be doing this summer!

Thanks to my partners in crime this Spring, Jessica, Sue, and Emily, for your encouraging words through my discovery of GPS and geocaching in education. Although my blog posts will probably be less frequent once this class is over, I have every intention of keeping it up - not only as a journal documenting my learning but as a tool for other teachers interested in getting started. I'm glad you will continue following.

Blog Source: Langwiches: Geocaching in Education retrieved on April 20, 2008 from http://langwitches.org/blog/2007/08/20/geocaching-in-elementary-school/.

Image Source: http://www.castlecoinsandpins.com/shop/images/travelbug_large.jpg

Which is the Best GPS to Buy?

Now that I have the money to actually purchase some GPS equipment (approximately $150/unit), I thought it would be a good idea to investigate what equipment is available, what features each unit has, and what ratings (if any) I could find about them. While there are many brands, the most popular are from Garmin and Magellan. Prices range from $70 to $400.

I began my search for the "perfect" unit through my network on Twitter. I heard back from six teachers using handheld units with their students. Garmin came out as the preferred brand with the Legend and Vista as the more popular models. The results of my mini (unscientific) survey are below:

ddraper: Garmin Vista (said simple to use, nice color screen)
chrischampion: Garmin Vista (said simple to use, works with Mac and MacCaching)
cnansen: Garmin eTrex Legend and Magellan Triton 200
roswellgirl: Magellan Explorist 300 (good basic unit, about $100)
wssmith: Garmin eTrex Legend (easy to use; uses with elementary students)
wdrexler: Garmin eTrex Legend

As I only had six responses, I felt I needed more information before I could make an educated decision. I remembered that Dr. Christie (I blogged about her before) had a pretty nice site about GPS equipment. Sure enough she had a comparison chart comparing the different brands and models and advises educators "to consider price AND available features that match curricular objectives". Her comparison chart highlights features such as price, screen type/size, accuracy range, internal memory, battery life, and weight. She also looks to see if the units have a built in compass.

On a 5-point scale, her highest marks (4.5/5) went to the Garmin eTrex H for its reasonable price. The Legend and Vista only got 3 stars each, and while their ratings were lower, they have added features I like. Both the Legend and Vista have better accuracy than the eTrex H (within 10 feet vs. 20 feet), and the Vista has a built in electronic compass. Another factor I must consider is compatability - many of the units have a serial interface. I need a USB interface to work with a Mac. I think I'll retweet my colleagues and ask what platform they use as it would help in making this decision.

So for now, I am leaning toward the eTrex but am not sure of the model yet. A colleague has lent me a Legend that I hope to explore this weekend. If anyone has any recommendations, I'd be most appreciative!


Christie, Alice. (2007). Dr. Alice Christie's GPS Comparison Chart. Retrieved on April 18, 2008 from http://www.alicechristie.org/geocaching/compare/gps_comp.html.

What Exactly Does a Cache Look Like?

This blog is in response to my colleague, Emily, who commented last week "do you have a picture of a cache? I guess I'm still having a hard time imagining what this looks like and how you could hide it."


A cache is defined as something that stores information (or objects) that will be used in the future.

In geocaching, a traditional cache is usually a container of some kind, ranging in size from a small photo canister to a larger plastic container (i.e. Tupperware less that a cubic foot). It is usually plastic, preferably water tight, and should be labeled as to its purpose. Usually, they are hidden on public land or on private land with the permission of the land owner. The geocaches are hidden well enough that people who aren't looking for them usually won't find them.

A simple cache would include a logbook which contains information from the creator of the cache as well as notes or comments from other cache visitors. You would record your name and the date you found the cache in the log book. You might also leave some kind of information such as a riddle or joke for the next person who finds it.

Larger caches will contain the logbook along with treasures. A geocache can have almost anything inside of it, but usually the items are of minimal value. When you go geocaching, you take items to trade with the geocache. For example, you might find a geocache that has a CD, baseball cards, and a book. You might choose to take the book and leave a toy car in its place. The #1 geocaching rule is if you take something you must leave something in return. Some geocaches might even have a camera for you to take a picture of yourself. Of course geocachers know never to take the camera.

Some caches may not have any containers at all. For example, if I were to create a cache of native Florida plants and trees on my school's campus, the "logbook" might be the students using a digital camera to snap pictures of each specimen.

Here are some additional photos:







IMAGE SOURCES:
http://www.notla.com/images/journal2006/2006_geocache03.jpg
http://www.lakecountyfl.gov/hometown_highlights/images/geocaching/geocache.jpg
http://www.theheads.org/images/geocache.jpg
http://www.alicechristie.org/pubs/E6/index.html
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Geocache_CZ_02.JPG/800px-Geocache_CZ_02.JPG

Pondering the Media Equation

For this blog post, I will take a break from my usual topic to discuss an interesting theory that looks at how adults communicate with media. The Media Equation, theorized by Byron Reeves and Clifford Nass (1996), states “that individual’s interactions with computers, television, and new media are fundamentally social and natural, just like interactions in real life,” (p. 5). They propose that the human brain has not been able to keep up with the incredible advancements made in 21st century technologies. Essentially, the brain confuses mediated life and real life.

media = real life

Think about it this way. Have you or someone you know ever done the following: Smiled, made eye contact, and talked to someone you were watching on TV? Walked away or made faces at someone that said something on TV that you didn’t like? Given your laptop a “pet name” and spoken to it with words of encouragement? Talked back to a software program when it greeted you upon startup? Sat closer to a small television set or further away from a larger one? All of these examples, along with information gathered from 35 psychological studies, support Reeves and Nass’s theory that people interact and respond to media as if it were human. (Reeves and Nass, 1996).

The Media Equation theory was developed based on studies conducted on adults. If we are to assume that children respond to media the same ways in which adults do, then we must think about its implications in educational settings.

1. Teachers utilizing media in their classroom should consider how their students will react to it. Media that “conforms to social and natural rules” (Reeves and Nash, 1996, p.8) will be easier to use and enjoyed more. Teachers should be prepared to have discussions to help students assimilate the media into their schema.

2. Software developers should consider the types of social interactions they encourage through their programs. They should also note that the interactions of children will be different than those of adults. Their designs need to be geared to the specific needs of children.

The Media Equation was definitely worth reading about and provided insight into interpersonal communications between man and machine; however, as an educator of young children I would be very interested in seeing the original studies conducted on children today. Would the findings be the same? Considering children today are growing up with 21st century technologies – are their brains better able to separate media from real life?

That being asked, if I can be allowed one further ramble, I can't help but think about Webkinz at a time like this - those cute plush animals with which children interact in a virtual world. My 5-year old daughter is convinced that "Princess the Unicorn" will die if she doesn't visit the site each day to feed it. I wonder what Reeves and Nass would have to say about the virtual worlds in which young children and preteens are obsessed - Webkinz, Club Penguin, Littlest Pet Shop, Shining Starz, etc.

Reeves, B. and Nass, Clifford. (1996). The Media Equation. Cambridge University Press.
An excerpt from the book can be retrieved from http://www/uky.edu/~drlane/capstone/mass/equation.htm.