ipad Orienteering with Klikaklu

Our Grade 2/3 classes (7 to 9 years old) have been looking at coordinates in Maths, so we have integrated with them by running some orienteering activities in PE. I started off in a similar manner to previous years. This has included marking out grids on our tiled areas so students could move around and work out which square they were in. This then progressed to looking at grid references on a simple map of the school.

Using the map, students went out in pairs and placed an orienteering card in one location before coming back and then finding another pairs card. The next stage has traditionally involved me going out and setting up a load of different course with control points for the students to follow. This year I have used the iphone app Klikaklu on class ipads to run these lessons.  

 Using Klikaklu the students choose a course to complete and scan the QR code on the poster to receive the clues. All of the clues were a grid reference on the school map. Off they go to the first location. When they are there they press reveal and they get a picture of an object in that location, which they have to go and photograph. If it is correct, then then get given the next clue.

The actual activity of taking a grid reference and working out where it is on a map and going to that location to find an object, are the same as in previous years. The benefits of using Klikaklu I found were from the management of the lesson side, as it once it was going there was less 'course administration' to do, allowing more time to help students master grid references.

It didn’t take me long to set up 7 different courses, with a variety of levels of difficultly. The students picked a course, scanned the poster and off they went. Once set up, the courses are were taken to be emptied during one of my classes!  This means no more setting out orienteering cards and collecting them in again, or having to go off to find cards which have been moved! As the app involves matching photos, there is no checking to ensure the students have been to the correct place and got the correct letter or punch stamp – if they don’t get the right location they don’t get the next clue!

I also upgraded my app, so that I could use Staggered Hunts. This means that several groups could all choose the same hunt at the same time, but they would each be given the clues in a different order, thus avoiding groups just following each other. Another option I will use in the future is the Scavenger Hunt, when the students are given all of the clues and then they have to work out the quickest way to get to all of the locations – a bit more like ‘real’ orienteering!

We had a few minor teething problems, with students holding the ipad at the right angle to match more complex images, but once they worked out the override button they were fine. 

I will leave the final word to one of our 8 year old boys who finds PE a bit of a challenge. He ran past me several times in the lesson shouting out that this is brilliant. At the end of the lesson he came up and gave me a big hug and thanked me for “the best lesson ever!” – Thank you Klikaklu

The power of demonstrations

Never underestimate the power of demonstrations as I found out in Gymnastics. I have something wrong with my wrist, which means it hurts to take my weight on my hand when my palm is flat on the mat, so sometimes I end up making my hand into a fist instead. I explain to students that thier hands need to be flat and not a fist, but.......... I have noticed a load of students also trying to do rolls and vaults with one hand in a fist as well!

ConnectPE workshop

This weekend I was fortunate enough to participate in a ConnectedPE workshop, lead by 'The PE Geek' Jarod Robinson. If you haven't already come across his website and apps and you are teaching PE it is time to have a look!

The 2 day workshop focused on mobile devices in PE and looking at some web2.0 tools and google apps. Some of the apps, such as QR codes and video playback I have been experimenting with already, but it was great to 'step back' and have look at the them again and think how they can be best utalised.

The first day back at school since the workshop, has seen me using google canned responses for email, especially useful as we had a swim meet today and lots of parents emailing in as their children were sick; wunderlist for creating todo lists; and finally I gave my ipad to a student who could participate in gym and asked them to record performances for student portfolios using 3rings. Three great ideas all from The PE Geek.