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A new event at the 2011 TECA Eastern Regional Conference is the
Geocaching Challenge, which will be held on Sunday night.
Geocaching is a hobby in which GPS coordinates are used to find hidden treasures.
On Sunday night, all students will be joining in on an outdoor
geocaching scavenger hunt around the conference hotel.
We'll have a party with music and prizes afterward.
Each team of up to 8 students needs to be prepared to do two things:
follow and track GPS coordinates,
and read QR barcodes.
Let's talk about how to get your team ready to do these two things.
Geocaching requires the use of longitude and latitude coordinates to
determine position.
Most car GPS receivers can display GPS coordinates, if you know where to look.
You can also view GPS coordinates with your smartphone,
using freely available apps.
For example, in the Android Market, you can find a free app called GPS Status & Toolbox.
In the iPhone App Store, and app called GPS Location Free will perform the same functions.
The next thing your team needs to be able to do
is read Quick Response, or QR, barcodes.
A QR code like this one
encodes information in a way that can be quickly and accurately read by a
barcode scanner.
A variety of apps for reading QR codes can be downloaded to your smartphone.
Your team will use the QR code reader app to follow clues along the geocaching trail.
So that's what you need to know to get your team ready for the TECAeast Geocaching Challenge.
Remember, all students will be participating, and each team needs to have at least one device
for reading GPS coordinates and QR codes. Good luck, and see you in Virginia Beach!