Going Places with Signal GPS MiniGrant

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Place-Based Learning with Geocaching, GPS and
Google Earth 
Ridge View High School Donna Teuber,
Instructional Technology Specialist
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What is GPS?

• The Global Positioning System tells you where you
  are on Earth.
• In space, orbiting around the earth are
  satellites. They help us to use GPS tracking by
  allowing us to connect with them. They can then
  tell us where we are going or where we are. It
  happens instantly and is capable of reaching
  destinations around the world.
• What is a GPS device?
• A GPS unit is an electronic device that can
  determine your approximate location on the
  planet. Coordinates are normally given in
  Longitude and Latitude. You can use the unit to
  navigate from your current location to another
  location. Some units have their own maps,
  built-in electronic compasses, voice navigation,
  depending on the complexity of the device.

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Using a GPS Receiver

• 3-4 satellites needed for accuracy
• DOP number determines signal strength
• Less than 2 DOP gives accuracy to 15 meters (90
  of the time)
• 4-6 DOP gives accuracy to 100 meters
• Receivers also determine elevation (not as
  accurate)

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Longitude

• Longitude lines (meridians) are vertical and
  measure east/west coordinates
• The prime meridian begins in Greenwich, England
  at 0
• Lines wrap around the earth east and west to 180

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Latitude

• Latitude lines are horizontal and measure
  north/south coordinates
• The equator is the center line
• Everything above the equator is measured as north
  and everything below the equator is south

Nova Find Your Latitude and Longitude
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Reading Coordinate Addresses

• Full Address Degrees, Minutes, Seconds
• HDDD MM SS.S
• N 43 41 58.9 W 122 49 10.7
• Decimal Minutes (eliminates seconds)
• HDDD MM.MMM
• N 43 41.982 W 122 49.178
• Decimal Degrees (eliminates minutes and seconds)
• HDDD.DDDDD
• N 43.69970 W 122.81963

1 60 (69.05 statute miles) 1 60 (1
nautical mile) 1 100 feet
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Compass Reading

• Declination difference between true north and
  magnetic north
• Each bearing on a compass is 1

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GPS Technology

• Global Positioning Satellite technology to
  determine location using latitude and longitude
  coordinates
• 12 satellites visible at a time (network of 24
  satellites)
• Before May 2000, accuracy to 91 meters
• Since 2000, increased accuracy with GPS receiver
  to 15 meters (49 feet)
• Possibility of accuracy to less than 3 meters
  with WAAS (wide-area augmentation system)

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Geocaching

• Create a cache with a logbook and items for
  trading
• Hide the cache in a location
• Find the coordinates of the cache using your GPS
• Go to http//www.geocaching.com to log the
  location (waypoints) of your cache
• Others find your cache, take an item in the
  cache, leave a different item, and log their
  visit in the logbook and on the website
• The first Geocache video

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Game Variations

• Letterboxing follow clues to find box. Reward
  is a stamp.
• http//www.letterboxing.org
• Geodashing race to be the first to reach all
  posted locations
• Searching for and logging benchmarks
• Virtual caches find landmarks or historical
  places using the coordinates to locate the places
  on a map
• Multi-stage caches Clues at each cache lead to
  a final cache
• Mystery or puzzle caches solve a puzzle to find
  the coordinates to a location
• Minute War capture the flag game

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Book Crossing

• A book-lovers activity!
• bookcrossing n. the practice of leaving a book
  in a public place to be picked up and read by
  others, who then do likewise. (added to the
  Concise Oxford English Dictionary in August 2004)
  
• Books are registered with a BC ID number and left
  somewhere
• Finders read the book, write a journal entry, and
  release the book again
• April 20-22, North American Book Crossing
  Convention in Charleston, SC
• http//www.bookcrossing.com

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Degree Confluence Project

• Geotagging project
• Photographing latitude and longitude
  intersections around the world (13,539 left to
  find)
• http//www.confluence.org

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GeoMystery Project

• What is unique about where you live?What is
  unique about a place?
• Choose ONE unique place(It could be where you
  live or a place of study.)Brainstorm and web
  your ideas. Draw pictures, take digital photos,
  or regular camera photosof the uniqueness of
  places within that ONE unique place.Write
  captions for each picture.
• http//www.hawaii.edu/hga/GEOMystery/geomys.html

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Global Positioning of History Project

• This project was designed to teach students about
  the history of the area that they live in. They
  also learn how to use a GPS and mapping software.
  These web pages are the results of this project.
• http//sites.arnold.k12.ne.us/gswingle/stories/sto
  ryReader4

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Exploring Benchmarks and Waymarks

• A benchmark is a point whose position is known to
  a high degree of accuracy and is normally marked
  in some way.
• Benchmarks are created by the National Geodetic
  Survey - http//www.geocaching.com/mark/
• Waymarking is a way to mark unique locations on
  the planet and record interesting information
  about those locations - http//www.waymarking.com

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Travel Bugs and Hitchhikers

• Hitchhikers are any items that are moved from
  cache to cache
• Travel Bugs are metal tags with unique tracking
  numbers for lookup at Geocaching.com
• Geocoins are collectible coins that move from
  cache to cache
• Travel Bugs are usually attached to a hitchhiker
  and the online log provides information about
  where the owner wants the travel bug to go
• Finders move the hitchhiker and bug to new
  locations and log the new location on the website

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Fun Stuff

• Canonball Run was a travel bug race held in 2003.
  Awards were given for most mileage and the most
  number of caches.
• http//members.localnet.com/linsal/CBRStats.html
  
• Darth Vader travelled around the world and
  covered 17,534.64 miles by Oct. of 2003

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Geo-Lingo

• Waypoint saved point of interest
• Benchmark NGS sites marked around the world
• Muggle people around a geocache who are not
  geocaching!
• Geotagging A process of tagging photos or other
  items with GPS coordinates

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How Does GPS Technology Fit into the Curriculum?

• Collaboration
• Students will work in teams to use the GPS
  receivers to find caches, solve mysteries, or use
  maps to locate waypoints.
• Technology-Infused Lesson Plans
• GPS receivers can be used in all subject areas as
  well as for interdisciplinary projects.
• Place-based Learning
• In place-based learning, classrooms are viewed as
  dynamic learning sites where students and
  teachers work as partners. The focus is on
  authentic learning as well as placed-based
  approaches including cultural and historical
  studies, nature exploration, and real-world
  problem solving. (Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson)
• Conservation Cache In Trash Out
• Classes participating in activities will be asked
  to participate in the Cache In Trash Out project
  and take trash away from cache sites.

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Educational Applications

• Latitude Longitude
• Compasses and directions
• Geography Landforms, maps and map skills,
  history
• Math Decimals , grids, ordered pairs of
  numbers, addition, subtraction, estimating, time,
  distance, measurement
• Earth Science - rocks, plants, environmental
  features
• Language Arts, writing in logs, written
  descriptions of events, descriptive writing,
  poetry
• Technology GPS device, digital camera,
  presentation software, tape recorder
• Reading Informational reading of logs,
  directions, and clues
• Problem Solving, Teamwork, Perseverance,
  Cooperation

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Elementary School Uses

• Elementary students will learn about latitude and
  longitude using the GPS receivers and Google
  Earth and will track travel bugs around the
  country. Students in 3rd grade studying South
  Carolina could request that their travel bug
  visit several sites in South Carolina.

• Students will work in groups and use GPS
  receivers to solve a mystery (historical,
  literary, scientific, etc.). The treasure hunt
  will lead students from one cache to another as
  they gather clues. This activity integrates math
  skills with a variety of subjects.

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Middle School Uses

• Teams locate on-site caches hidden by their
  teacher. Map reading skills as well as compass
  reading can be included in the lesson.
• Students write historical fiction stories after
  researching important locations around the
  country (Lewis and Clark, Trail of Tears,
  Underground Railroad). Students can use the
  geocaching website to identify important
  landmarks.
• Plant a travel bug in a cache with instructions
  to travel to the historical locations.
• In Math, Geometry students can use the
  receivers to measure distances and
  determine slope.
• Have groups visit locations on campus
  and make observations about plants
  in those areas.

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6th Grade Plant Observations

• Groups visit 4 locations on campus and make
  observations about plants in that area

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High School Uses

• Determining Coordinate Positions and Distance
  with a GPS Handheld Receiver In this activity,
  students investigate the minimal number of
  satellite signals needed to determine a
  2-dimensional position (latitude and longitude)
  on the earth. 
• Students in technology or law education classes
  research the use of new GPS technologies for
  tracking people.
• JROTC students use GPS receivers to mark
• areas of a trail.
• Students photograph areas in the community
• and use geotagging to post photos to
• Google Earth.

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Determine Slope

• Students used the GPS receivers to determine the
  slope of a hill behind Ridge View High School.

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DISCUS Research Hunt

• Students hunted for research questions and DISCUS
  clues for a unit on the Odyssey.

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Staff Development

• Have groups of teachers participate in team
  building activities.

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GPS Instructional Kit

• Garmin ETrex Legend GPS handhelds with cases
• Garmin MapSource software
• Geocoins, travel bugs, and other items to place
  in caches
• Cache boxes and box labels
• Log books for caches, cache
  stickers
• Digital camera for
  photographing the finds
• MapSource Demo

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Lessons Learned

• Have one GPS receiver for every two or three
  students.
• Schedule a backup date in case of bad weather.
• If youre programming the coordinates, use
  several receivers to get an accurate reading.
• Try out your course ahead of time to make sure
  that there are no problems.
• Carry extra batteries with you.
• Take photos to document the activity.
• If an entire class is going out, divide the class
  up into three or four groups. Have parents or
  other school personnel go with groups.

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More Lessons Learned

• Show the students the basic operations before
  going outside.
• Clarify rules before going outside no running,
  watch for traffic, etc.
• Meet outside and wait while receivers acquire
  satellites.
• If this is a multistage activity, make sure the
  groups dont run into each other. Three groups
  with three locations works well.
• When planting a geocache or travel bug, make sure
  that you leave the items in a safe location.
• Start early in the school year if youre planning
  to follow the travels of a travel bug.
• HAVE FUN!

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Resources

• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Geocaching
  (Paperback)
• Geocaching - http//www.geocaching.com
• BookCrossing http//www.bookcrossing.com
• Groundspeak - http//www.groundspeak.com
• Nova Find Your Latitude and Longitude -
  http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/shackletonexped/navig
  ate/find.html
• GeoMystery Project - http//www.hawaii.edu/hga/GEO
  Mystery/geomys.html
• Science Spot Learning with GPS
  http//www.sciencespot.net/Pages/classgpslsn.html
  
• Waymarking http//www.waymarking.com
• Letterboxing for Kids - http//www.letterboxing.or
  g/kids
• GPS at the Smithsonian - http//www.nasm.si.edu/ex
  hibitions/gps/si.html
• Global Positioning of History Lessons -
  http//sites.arnold.k12.ne.us/gswingle/stories/sto
  ryReader4
• Why Teach GPS - http//www.rcas.org/tsd/tsdclasses
  .3.htm
• Garmin ETrex Handout - http//opd.mpls.k12.mn.us/s
  ites/daf1e7b3-5a92-4df1-9b5c-67189b22643f/uploads/
  eTrexBasic.pdf