GPS:
It’s
Elementary,
My Dear
Watson!
Lesliea Palmer and Amy Kincaid
Shiloh Elementary School
Hume, Illinois
Shiloh School District #1
• Hume, IL
• Rural District
• 227 sq. mi.
• 6 small
communities
• Ave. class size:
16 students
Follow along with us at www.shiloh1.us!
Enhancing Education Through Technology
• Also known as E2T2.
• Technology grant funded through federal technology
monies for elementary classrooms.
• Received over $350,000 for software, training, and
equipment.
• Teachers trained over 400 hours in 3 years.
• IL Tech classrooms
• 8-10 student computers, teachers computer station,
color printer, document camera, scanner, student
response system, SMARTboard with airliner, class set
of digital cameras, flip camera, camcorder, handheld
GPS, class set of jump drives, teacher laptop, teacher
digital camera, etc….
What is GPS?
1. GPS is a “Global Positioning System”.
2. GPS determines the position, the latitude
and longitude of landmarks or way points.
3. GPS is used to find landmarks or way
points when latitude and longitude are
given.
4. GPS allows you to work with tracks.
5. GPS answers the questions, “Where am I?”
GPS Satellites
Geocaching: the most fun you can have with 12
billion dollars of military hardware (without getting to
blow anything up.)
How does it work?
• satellites transmit signals
to equipment on the
ground
• passively receive satellite
signals; they do not
transmit
• Total of 44, 26 active, 2
backup
Standard GPS display window
What a difference 11 degrees from the
equator makes!
N39 47.232
W087 51.652
Elevation 791 ft
N 28 26.025
W 081 27.678
Elevation 105 ft.
Why use GPS in school?
• To create meaningful learning activities for K-12 students.
• To integrate GPS technology into science, math, industrial
arts, language arts and social studies.
• To provide problem-based learning with authentic
assessment.
• To have students learn GPS and mapping skills so they will
gain a set of highly desirable skills for the future
employment in business, industry and government.
Do you want students to…
• engage constantly in critical thinking?
• integrate knowledge from multiple
subjects?
• build a rich grasp of global topics?
• work on community-based
investigations?
• employ the same advanced technology
currently used by business and
government?
What Can GPS do?
1. Collect landmarks and
latitude and longitude as
well as other datum types.
2. Collect bread crumbs or
tracks between the
landmarks.
3. Record speed, direction
and time related to
activities.
WPA/CCC
Benchmark
Shiloh School and GPS
• GPS Easter Egg
Hunt
• GPS relay race
• Historical Marker
Scavenger Hut
• Tracking Santa’s
Sleigh
• Where am I?
Geometry Find
• WPA/CCC Bridge
and Highway
Infrastructure
GPS Easter Egg Hunt
• Teachers found
coordinates of
different locations on
school property.
• Grouped 3, 4, 5
graders together in
groups.
• Groups were given list
of coordinates and had
to retrieve token at
each site.
• Helped kids really
understand latitude
and longitude.
GPS Relay Race
• Each team of 5 students were given a group of
coordinates
• First team member took GPS and found the
first coordinate, took a token, returned to line.
• Next person went until all were finished
*Important to stagger coordintates so they aren’t
going to the same place at once.
Tracking Santa’s Sleigh
• Students in groups.
• Move about school
grounds to different
packages, recording
coordinates and
making waypoints
along the way.
• Use Google Earth to
make map of the route
Santa took.
Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt
• Information about
local historical
markers is obtained
• Students travel by
bus* to different
locations to gather
coordinates.
• Later, students input
information into
Google Earth to map
the local landmarks
• History can also be
tied in.
Where Am I? Geometry Find
• Divide kids into small
groups and give
geometry BINGO card
• Find examples of math
terms according the
card to make a BINGO
• When example is
found, picture is taken
and coordinates are
recorded.
• Can be done as race,
first to black out or
multiple BINGO’s.
WPA/CCC Highway and Bridge
Infrastructure
• Students study
Great
Depression/New
Deal
• Students went out
to area bridges
TIPS for successful GPS Activities
• Time is always short, so plan
well
• The more they use GPS
receivers, the easier it will
be.
• Takes time, but it’s worth it.
• Always plan alternate
activities in case of bad
weather.
• Check and recheck
coordinates—teacher error
may occur.
• Volunteers are helpful!
• Walkie Talkies are handy,
whistles too!
• Give concise instructions of
what they are to do and
hand in at the end.
• Remind students of
sharing…3 person groups
ideal.
• Review cardinal directions
before starting!
• Give GPS receiver time to
lock onto satelites…can
take up to 5 minutes.
Geocaching
• www.geocaching.com
• Need zip code or state
to get list of
benchmarks
• Benchmark gives
coordinates with
altitude
• Next few slides show
website.
This geocache is right here at the convention
center!
Logs from those you found the geocache.
Off to Find the Geocache!
• It was a long hike!
We followed the GPS unit, and followed, and
followed….
We asked these guys for help!
The coordinates showed it was
somewhere near the Westin.
We found the path!
And we followed
the coordinates!
This is what we found!
Yeah, there’s nothing there. Muggles must
have moved it, which is something that can
happen when geocaches.
GPS Resources
• Google Earth & GPS: Elementary Classroom
Activities by Jim Holland and Susan Anderson
• Google Earth & GPS: U.S. History/Geography
Classroom Activities Grades 5-8 by Jim Holland
and Susan Anderson
• Geocaching: Hike and Seek with Your GPS
(Technology in Action Series) by Erik Sherman
Any
Questions!