Hoeben’s Blog

What better way to get students out of the classroom that through GPS drawing? The concept is actually quite simple: students are asked to design a shape on a map or open area and then given a GPS tracking device – imagine a hand-held TOM TOM. Using their shape as the guide, students then turn on their GPS tracking device, which traces their geographical position. In effect, they are able to draw by physically moving around with the device – otherwise referred to as a “geodetic pencil”. The results can be uploaded to a computer and transposed onto a map.

Click here to see case studies of GPS drawing projects in education.

What’s the educational value? Apart from burning off a few calories, it helps students develop a spatial awareness, explore the local area, translate concepts between different dimensions, think laterally, problem-solve and, hopefully, enjoy being away from the desk. It is also a great for cross-curricular collaboration between subjects such as art, geography and ICT.

Other possibilities include “geocaching”, more of which can be read about by clicking here.

This entry was posted on August 24, 2008 at 9:39 am and is filed under Fortismere, Haringey TTP, International, Projects, Visual.

Tags: collaboration, cross-curricular, geodetic, geotagging, GPS