iPods Enhance Field Trips
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- navigate on a field trip using global positioning units
- use iPods and digital cameras to document experiences
- participate in engaging activities to learn about historical landmarks in their town.
- create a storyboard using a Pages template
- use iPhoto and Garageband to create enhanced podcasts.
- edit and assemble photos in iPhoto to publish a book of their adventures.
Project Description
A high tech treasure hunt allows students to discover their heritage while investigating the rich history of a local city or town. Using a combination of technologies, such as global positioning units, iPods, and digital cameras, students are engaged in learning activities that lead to finding hidden treasures, known as caches! Caches are usually in a small, waterproof container or an weatherproof box and contain a logbook to record finders' visits and a few trinkets. A geocache could be hidden just about anywhere - a park, under a rock off a hiking trail. Geocaching is an outdoor adventure game, which uses the global position system, displaying latitude and longitude coordinates to find a hidden cache.
To enhance the geocaching experience, students used iPods to digitally journal historical information found on landmarks around this historical local town. They used waypoints to navigate to predestinated locations, such as a memorial, a museum, a statue, or any historical structure. Sample activity worksheets for this can be found in lesson three from "Connecting World Regions" GIS project to show the landmarks, geographical coordinates, and mathematical cryptic clues.
In preparation for their field trip, students became familiar with geographical coordinates, entering waypoints into gps units, and navigating around using the compass. They created walking sticks for reasons you can hear in their podcast. They researched information on local history and explored geocaching and safety tips.
The students used iPods in two ways; first, with ear pods to listen to clues/hints for their mystery location, second, with microphones to record facts they discovered in their search. This is a way to accommodate different learning styles. Some students recorded information on clipboards, while others used the iPod. Some students read the clues, while others listened to them on their iPods.
When they return from the trip, back in the classroom, the audio files were imported into iTunes and the digital photos were imported into iPhoto . This information was used, along with their digital photos, to create storyboards using Pages template. After assembling and editing photos, students published a book though iPhoto.
As a culminating project, students produced podcasts through Garageband , sharing them through the easy to use web page templates found in iWeb and publishing to the web through dotMac !
To access student created iWeb pages and listen to podcasts of this project go to HiTecHunt.
To enhance the geocaching experience, students used iPods to digitally journal historical information found on landmarks around this historical local town. They used waypoints to navigate to predestinated locations, such as a memorial, a museum, a statue, or any historical structure. Sample activity worksheets for this can be found in lesson three from "Connecting World Regions" GIS project to show the landmarks, geographical coordinates, and mathematical cryptic clues.
In preparation for their field trip, students became familiar with geographical coordinates, entering waypoints into gps units, and navigating around using the compass. They created walking sticks for reasons you can hear in their podcast. They researched information on local history and explored geocaching and safety tips.
The students used iPods in two ways; first, with ear pods to listen to clues/hints for their mystery location, second, with microphones to record facts they discovered in their search. This is a way to accommodate different learning styles. Some students recorded information on clipboards, while others used the iPod. Some students read the clues, while others listened to them on their iPods.
When they return from the trip, back in the classroom, the audio files were imported into iTunes and the digital photos were imported into iPhoto . This information was used, along with their digital photos, to create storyboards using Pages template. After assembling and editing photos, students published a book though iPhoto.
As a culminating project, students produced podcasts through Garageband , sharing them through the easy to use web page templates found in iWeb and publishing to the web through dotMac !
To access student created iWeb pages and listen to podcasts of this project go to HiTecHunt.
Students' Showcase
Share in our adventures by virtually finding our hidden cache and creating your own for us to find!
For another great companion project on GIS mapping, including detailed lessons and activity templates, go to "Connecting World Regions, Geospatially."
First published on Mar 22, 2007.
