HR: 0800h
AN: ED51A-0120    [Abstracts]
TI: EarthCaching. Training teachers to use a GPS based field experience in their classroom.
AU: * Lewis, G
EM: glewis@geosociety.org
AF: Geological Society of America, 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, CO 80301, United States
AB: EarthCaching is an educational section of the highly success game of Geocaching. EarthCaching is unique in as much as it provides teachers with the opportunity to combine web-based research, technology use (GPS) and field experiences to expose their students to Earth science. The Geological Society of America (GSA), the developers of EarthCaching, in partnership with the National Geographic Society's Education Foundation and Groundspeak Inc, has developed an Educators Guide to EarthCaching and is currently training teachers via a ‘train-the-trainer' approach, to introduce Earthcaching to students across the nation. While the training itself is an interesting process, the introduction of EarthCaching into schools and beyond can provide some insights into how technology, field experiences and Earth science can combine to make a real impact. Currently there are over 1300 EarthCache sites around the world and these have been visited by over 60,000 visitors. As the program grows, the potential impact of this program is huge. The Educator Guide is available for free from the www.earthcache.org web portal.
UR: http://www.earthcache.org
DE: 0805 Elementary and secondary education
DE: 0815 Informal education
DE: 0830 Teacher training
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting