Fun and Frolics with Mobile Devices - by Gill Clough

A tag cloud is pretty easy to put into a blogger blog. This post explains very clearly how to go about it

http://phy3blog.googlepages.com/Beta-Blogger-Label-Cloud.html

My overall PhD title is "The uses of mobile devices in informal science learning", however I think Fun and Frolics with mobile devices is rather more descriptive of what I do. I am looking at how Geocachers engage with their physical and social contexts using their devices, and with each other through the active online community network.

Geocaching involves taking mobile devices with GPS (global positioning systems) out and using the technology to locate caches. Caches are like hidden treasure, hidden by other geocachers. Not all caches are physical objects; some are virtual caches, some are multi-caches where one cache leads to the next by enabling you to solve a piece of a riddle, some are "earthcaches" which have a strong learning focus. To bag an earthcache, you need to demonstrate that you have learned something about the geological processes that formed that part of the landscape, as specified by the person who set the cache. Geocaching attracts thousands of participants world wide, and their enthusiasm makes them ideal and very willing participants in my research.

To read more about Geocaching, check out this wiki
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Main_Page

Visit the main geocaching website at http://www.geocaching.com to see examples of how you locate caches near you, load the coordinates into your GPS device and head off out. You can also read about other people's experiences of caching.