Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Modern Education

Technology today seems to be moving at the speed of light. Fifteen years ago, I loved all the new technology and being "up" on everything. Twelve years ago, I got married to a man who absolutely loves technology. I became very lazy after that. I would let him do things, because he really enjoyed it. Fast forward to today, I have really lost touch with technology and am a little behind. I hate to admit that there are even times I have had to ask my 11 year old for tech assistance. That being said, I appreciate the importance of familiarizing my kids with up-to-date technology in order to keep them successful in the highly competitive market of the future. The question is, "How do I integrate modern technology into my child's education?"

Educaching GPS Based Curriculum for Teachers is one answer. Allow me to explain. Geocaching is a fast growing outdoor hobby involving a handheld GPS device. Geocachers are on a treasure hunt of sorts. High tech hide-and-seek would be another name. A similar hobby that is very popular in our local homeschool community is letterboxing. A box is hidden somewhere with a logbook inside. You "sign" the logbook with your stamp, and there is usually a stamp in the box to "sign" your personal book to show that you were there. Educaching effectively combines those two hobbies to make a high tech educational experience.

The Educaching curriculum is 128 pages of resources for how to get started. The first section is teacher training. Even if you know nothing about how to use a handheld GPS device, you will be able to learn from and use this curriculum. Next, there are 20 lesson plans for you to follow with your children or class full of children. There are lessons on averages, money, collecting and organizing data, cause and effect, chemical or physical change, paleontology, nature, and more. My kids like the treasure/scavenger hunt idea so much, they don't even realize they're learning. Also included are printable worksheets to go along with the lessons. Though the book is well laid out, it is not the kind of curriculum that you can just hand to your kids and say "go for it". It does involve teacher planning and preparation. It is not difficult, however. I just want to to be prepared.

The curriculum is available in two formats. There is the electronic (PDF) format available for $32. If you prefer, you can get it already printed in a 3-ring binder with CD for printing worksheets. This is also $32, but you must add $6.95 for shipping and handling.

For more information, please visit the Educaching website.

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