Going Global: Utilizing Instructional Geocaching to Enhance Students' Global Competency

Abstract

Within contemporary society, technology has taken on an integral role in the way we come to know and understand the world. In recognition of that reality, an increasing number of educators have begun to utilize an emerging technology resource, GPS devices, and a GPS-based activity, geocaching, to help enhance students' global competency. The following article illustrates the use of instructional geocaching to carry out a multiphase project in which students of a recreation studies Trends and Issues course were both the creator and consumer of a geocache event. Students' involvement in the project revolved around investigating a global trend or issue related to the recreation and leisure field, applying what they learned to create a geocache based on that same trend or issue, and then participating in an instructional geocaching game based on the geocaches developed by all students.

KEYWORDS:

• Global competency
• trends and issues
• instructional geocaching