By Christa Craats
Open Minds Coordinator, Tanjong Katong Campus
Unique to this year’s Canadian International School (CIS) grade 4 open minds experience was the inclusion of iPads as a perfect way to integrate technology into the Open Minds programme. The Open Minds Coordinator worked closely with Mr. Norman, the IT Integration Educator at CIS Tanjong Katong, to create an educational Geocache for the Mangroves and a QR Code scavenger hunt for Sungei Buloh.
Geocaching
Geocaching is “a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at a location”.
QR Codes
Used by businesses and organizations around the world, QR Codes are, essentially, barcodes – that when scanned, allow access to specific content.
Our Grade 4 team created QR Codes for a scavenger hunt at Sungei Buloh. Students were given a clue about a plant or animal that they had to locate. Once located, the students used iPads and iPhones to scan the code, which linked them to information that was read and discussed.
Technology, when used properly, can play a powerful role in making student learning meaningful and purposeful.
“Using the iPads and phones makes our learning go beyond. It makes it less limited instead of using just our journals. It lets us and the teachers learn more.The Geocaching is fun and it lets you learn along the way, and it’s not just for us kids, it’s for everybody” - Ben
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