Get Out with Geocaching: by Sara Kohorst https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut Engaging Technology for the Social Studies Classroom en-us 2021-02-13 01:47:34 UTC 2021-02-13 02:51:55 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f1fa-1f1f2.png What is Geocaching? sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198681005 Geocaching is a “highly technological, world-spanning game, similar to a treasure hunt, in which a person hides a cache (item) for others to find” using clues through the app’s GPS tracking. Sample cache items can be key chains, trinkets, etc...]]> 2021-02-13 01:49:38 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198681005 What Is It Used For? sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198682236 Originally created as an activity geared toward outdoor enthusiasts and treasure seekers, it has now reached the classroom. Teachers are implementing this technology into their course curriculum to take their students outdoors, promote new learning connected to prior knowledge, stimulate students to think critically, promote technology skills, and allow for collaboration and authentic learning.]]> 2021-02-13 01:51:06 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198682236 Geocaching sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198691108 Reference: 
Matherson, L., Bryant, P.W., Wright, V.H., Inman, C.T., & Wilson, E.K. (2008).Get Up, Get Out with Geocaching: Engaging Technology for the Social Studies Classroom. Social Studies Research and Practice, 3(3), 80-85.
]]> 2021-02-13 02:01:44 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198691108 How Can This Be Use In The Classroom? sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198693017 The rationale for employing Geocaching in the classroom is based on Constructivist theory, specifically that Geocaching offers a new way to implement pedagogical activities that promote critical thinking and collaboration among students.

Innovations of Geocaching have been created, in which individuals can hide items with multi-caching coordinates, which direct Geocachers to one hiding area that will contain a written clue or problem to solve in order to get to the next cache with another clue. 

This opens up various opportunities to have students engage in problem-solving, critical-thinking, and collaborative group work while they connect the activity to prior knowledge.]]> 2021-02-13 02:04:02 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198693017 Case Study: War of 1812 sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198694980 The teacher in this study explored the uses of geocaching in a secondary social studies classroom with a lesson on the War of 1812. In place of a typical lecture and worksheet analysis, the teacher split her US History class into 5 different groups, each assigned a different topic relating to the War of 1812. 

Each group researched their respective topics to prepare for the actual geocaching, wrote their own questions and clues for finding their cache, planned the hiding places with latitude and longitude coordinates, and then hid their cache for their fellow classmates to find. Allowing the students to write their own clues gave them the freedom to be as creative and engaged in the learning as they wanted, and they could make them as easy or as hard as they wanted to for the other groups. 

Since the teacher did not have to write the clues herself, she said that she was able to be more active in the classroom/group discussions and thinking processes as the groups worked through the clues instead of having to worry about writing them all herself. The geocaching activity actively engaged the students, encouraged problem-solving skills, multitasking, and teamwork.


]]> 2021-02-13 02:06:31 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198694980 Areas For Improvement: Part 1 sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198722517 In reflecting on the activity, students suggested that more time be allotted to the activity to allow for full enjoyment and effectiveness of the activity. 
Thus, it seems that one critique of this would be that it takes time and is not something that can be done easily in one class period.

I would suggest that teachers think about how extensive they want this activity to be and plan for it to span at least two full class periods. This is especially important because the first day should be devoted to demonstrating how the tool is used and how a geocaching “hunt” is conducted, along with examples of clues and hiding places to ensure that students are fully prepared and understand what is expected of them.]]> 2021-02-13 02:37:47 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198722517 Areas For Improvement: Part 2 sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198723628 Another suggestion would be to include select rules and regulations for students in regard to where they choose to hide clues. Some of the students in this study complained that some groups hid their clues in “absurd places,” with mediocre clues that did not help much. Perhaps setting guidelines for hiding areas and the details required in clues would be a helpful addition when implementing this in the classroom.


]]> 2021-02-13 02:39:21 UTC https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198723628 Ideas For My Own Classroom: sarakohorst31 https://padlet.com/sarakohorst31/l0o0eyjzt9xt09ut/wish/1198727831 Because of the area we live in, I could even use Geocaching as an activity on field trips to historical landmarks in our vicinity (DC, Annapolis, St. Mary’s, Baltimore, etc…). For example, if we were to go on a field trip to DC, I could use a geocaching activity with students to have  them locate important landmarks/memorials and then have them notify me by answering a question based on that landmark.

On a more every day basis, I could set up activities similar to the one in the article. For example, I could implement a similar group activity to explore the Roaring 20s. Groups could be divided up into different cultural developments of the 1920s (Flappers, Invention of the Automobile, Rise of Entertainment Industry, Science vs. Religion, Immigration, etc...). Each group could research their own topic, create an item to hide they think would represent that cultural development, as well as their own clues about that item and its hiding spot. This would involve group collaboration, research, critical-thinking, creativity, and problem-solving from the beginning of the process to the end.


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