Use of ICT in Orienteering PE Lessons

The app IOrienteering is a free to use one meant to plan and execute an orienteering race. There are 2 ways to use this app. The first way is to use it to plan a traditional orienteering course with physical checkpoints. The second way is to use the location services (GPS) function in smart phones to log a participant reaching a checkpoint.

Each orienteering course can be planned at the application’s website at https://www.iorienteering.com/. The teacher will need to register an account (free) and then you can start designing an orienteering course. There are some setting parameters to decide on as shown in the picture.

The map used is google map based and editing is a simple matter of drag and drop. At the edit course page you can decide on:

The course being GPS based or using QR codes for students to scan to log arrival at a checkpoint
The course being run in a linear fashion or not
The GPS detection radius (5/10/15/ 20 m)

You can then add as many checkpoints as you want to your course. Below shows a completed course map (GPS) which can be done in a really short time.

In GPS mode, the student will access the map and start point via a QR code or course code provided by the teacher. The student will need to navigate to the start point using the app which will provide a compass direction and distance to the start point as shown in the picture.

Once the student has reached the start point, the app will start a timer and show the student the course map, check points and the finish point. The app will auto log when a student has reached a checkpoint and alert the student to move to the next one and all the way to the finish point. Thereafter the student can access the leaderboard to see how they have done in terms of timing compared to others.

The app saves the teacher a lot of time in GPS mode in needing to plant and retrieve checkpoints, to confirm the student has visited the checkpoint via a punch card or otherwise and to log the timing in which the student has completed the course. All this is done by the app.

To run a more traditional orienteering lesson, a teacher may opt for the QR code option in the app. Once a course is created by the teacher, the QR codes will need to be printed out and planted as checkpoints at the location marked on the map by the teacher. The interface for such an orienteering course will be similar to the GPS mode, the difference being that there will be no location marker for students to know where they are in relation to the map. The picture below shows the map as seen by a student in this mode.

In the QR code mode, the students will use the camera function on their smart devices to scan the QR code at each checkpoint to log that they have visited the checkpoint. The app will automatically log the timing similar to the GPS mode.

Having tried out both modes in orienteering lessons within the school compound, I prefer the GPS mode although there is a small element of students learning to navigate on a traditional map without GPS aid. It is very time consuming to set up and take down checkpoints in the traditional manner and there is a chance that checkpoints would go missing with mischievous students. For the GPS mode however, the school buildings in general pose a challenge in terms of accuracy of the GPS and phone signal coverage. As such for areas with dense building coverage, setting the GPS radius to a more generous 10m will yield better results in terms of running the event. The timing element to it makes it exciting for students to try and outdo each other and increases motivation.

I’ve yet to try the app in a more open spaced environment like a park but would like to do so in the coming years as maybe a school event.

Article Contributed by:

Ho Wei Kwok Alvin (Subject Head PE, Dunearn Secondary School).

Do contact him at ho_wei_kwok_alvin@schools.gov.sg.

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