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MrPKeirnan_PKK Key Stage 4 PE Class Blog

Physical Education Teacher in Nottingham, UK/ MSc Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy Final Year Student Researching Technologies in PE

Monday 18 April 2011

'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' Week 4 = The Results are in!! (Term 4)

Last Thursday was the fourth and final day of the 'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' and the weather was again perfect for the group.

On the final day, we decided to have 8 Geocaches available to the teams and the students had to collect a different coloured tag at each location (e.g. green, pink and blue). However, at each location the tags were worth points and they ranged from 50 points to 800 points. It was a timed event and it was a race to see which team could collect the most Geocaches the fastest. When that was completed the teams then had to find the location of me and handover the coloured tags that they had collected.

In addition, the team that came in first would gain bonus points and the points were as follows;

1st = 1000 BONUS
2nd = 750 BONUS
3rd = 500 BONUS
4th = 250 BONUS

With all these points up for grabs it was anyones competition and the current standings can be seen below;

1st = LANASUJOJA on 575pts
2nd = SIX LIONS on 485pts
3rd = BARBIE GIRLS on 375pts
4th = SPONGEBOB CIRCLE PANTS on 270pts
As we entered the Forest, I tweeted the starting positions for each team. When the pupils were at the locations, I then tweeted the locations of the 8 Geocaches. The Geocaches can be seen below;
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.

When the students started moving to their chosen Geocache, I then tweeted photo hints of each location (Which can be seen above). The students could choose which Geocache they would head to first and remembering that they needed to collect them in the quickest time. Remembering that the students dont know the value of the Geocache until they arrive at location.

Each team went off in different directions looking for the Geocaches and trying to not give away locations after retrieving a Geocache.

At 15.05pm I tweeted my location to the teams and all four teams started to make their way to the finish. All teams were running to the finish knowing the bonus points up for grabs but to claim the points all team members must be at the finish together.

First to arrive with only half of their team was Spongebob Circle Pants (Currently in 4th place) and then half of Six Lions arrived. Both teams encouraging their team mates to hurry up but it was Spongebob that had their whole team at the finish first claiming the 1000pts for 1st Place!

With all teams at the finish I collected in the Geocaches that the teams had found and the results were in!!

1st Place went to............
Six Lions are the winners with a massive 3335pts! just pipping the amazing performance on the final day from Spongebob Circle Pants who had 3220pts! Lanasujoja slipped into third place with 2025pts and Barbie Girls in 4th with 1425pts!

The final positions are;

It has been a excellent competition over the four weeks and the students have had a unique experience of Geocaching that isnt on any PE Curriculum. Each week the students techniques and skills improved using the GPS on their phones and it has provided them all with valuable skills that can be used outside of a PE lesson.

Well done to everyone and it has been a pleasure organising the activity!!

Have a good week!!

Mr P Keirnan
Physical Education

Tuesday 12 April 2011

We made it onto BBC East Midlands showcasing 'Geocaching'

A huge thank you to the girls that took part in the BBC interview yesterday morning on the Forest and it was aired last night on BBC East Midlands Tonight.

However, if you were too busy and missed it, here is the video;


Well done girls!!

Looking forward to the final day of the competition on Thursday!!

Mr P Keirnan
Physical Education

Friday 8 April 2011

'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' Week 3 (Term 4)

Yesterday was the third day of the 'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' and the weather was again perfect for the group.

On Day 3, we decided to have 3 Geocaches available to the teams and the students had to collect a different coloured tag at each location (e.g. green, pink and blue). It was a timed  event and it was a race to see which team could collect all three Geocaches the fastest. When that was completed the teams then had to find the location of me and handover the three coloured tags.

The scoring system is as follows;
- For each Geocache collected it is 50pts
- If you come first you collect 100 BONUS pts
- If you come second you collect 75 BONUS pts
- If you come third you collect 50 BONUS pts
- If you come fourth you collect 25 BONUS pts

As we entered the Forest, I tweeted the starting positions for each team. The starting points can be seen below;


When the pupils were at the locations, I then tweeted the locations of the 3 Geocaches. The Geocaches can be seen below;
A.

B.

C.

When the students started moving to their chosen Geocache, I then tweeted photo hints of each location (Which can be seen above). The students could choose which Geocache they would head to first and remembering that they needed to collect them in the quickest time.

While the groups were making their way to each location, I then added a little twist and then found my location which would be the finishing point for the teams. Below the location can be seen;


When I tweeted my location, all i had to do was sit and wait for the teams to arrive and see what order the teams would arrive in. With strong performances from Six Lions on Day 2 and Lanasujoja on Day 1, I thought that it would be close between these two teams.

Then after a few minutes of the tweet Lanasujoja were spotted running to my location to claim 1st Place. Below is a photo of 1st Place Lanasujoja;


After a few more minutes Six Lions arrived and claimed 2nd Place. It was now a race for 3rd Place and Spongebob Circle Pants were spotted at Geocache C but unable to find the tag. Time was running out for Spongebob Circle Pants and Barbie Girls, they came to the finishing point but without all the tags. I gave both teams more hints and members of Lanasujoja assisted members of Spongebob Circle Pants to find the Geocaches.

In the end, Spongebob Circle Pants came in 3rd Place and Barbie Girls took 4th Place. It was great to see the teamwork of all teams and different strategies used. A huge thankyou goes to Lanasujoja who assisted Spongebob Circle Pants towards the end for them to complete the race.

The afternoon ran perfectly and all the girls thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon!

The scores have counted and they can be accessed via google docs, here;
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkmDQB07QMSadHBxWWJhQ0Yxdm5IMzRNNnk0YnJiVGc&hl=en&authkey=CPD5k_0K

Next week is the final day of the competition and it will have a fun twist that will open the doors for all teams to challenge for 1st Spot!!

Well done and we will be looking forward to next weeks lesson!!

Mr P Keirnan
Physical Education

Wednesday 6 April 2011

'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' Week 2 (Term 4)

Last week was the second day of the 'Geocaching at Djanogly Competition' and the weather was again perfect.

On Day 2 we decided to have 8 Geocaches available to the groups and this week the groups had a task to complete at each location (e.g. Take a picture with two of your team members shaking hands). Shown below are the locations of the Geocaches.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Each photo taken by the teams equalled to 25 points and the teams had the choice of which ones they went to.

Each team went off in different directions and had a different strategy to which Geocache they went to first. It was great to see all teams competing and trying to find as many Geocaches before the end of the lesson. Six Lions produced a amazing performance finding six Geocaches (the highest total) with Lanasujoja coming in second with four.
Here are a few photos of the tasks;
Team Lanansujoja

Team Six Lions

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and we had a few technical hiccups (Pupils unable to see the GPS position on the map sent from my computer and I then retweeted all of the Geocaches with photo hints). Well done girls for carrying on despite the problems and tomorrow we will have a different task.

The scores have counted and they can be accessed via google docs, here;
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AkmDQB07QMSadDI3SjdTNzJJLUxpWHFDTGFndk9vaEE&hl=en&authkey=CK7s4q0P

Week 2 scores for Spongebob Circle Pants :) and Barbie girls are yet to be counted because their photos have not been sent to @MrPKeirnan_PKK. I need them asap!!

Well done and we will be looking forward to tomorrows lesson!!

Mr P Keirnan
Physical Education