Creating a course

On the left-hand side of the depicted screen shot in Figure 5.1 you can see a Google Map with a school displayed on it. The little orange house indicates where home base is. On the right hand side are some expandable menus (by clicking on the triangle). These are the menus:

• Course name - Give the course a descriptive name, e.g. ''Long course near the lake'' or ''Short - 5th Grade''
• Choose base - If your subscription allows for multiple bases, select your school here.
• Location assignment – Location assignments are not compulsory, but do enable you to create tasks which relate to specific waypoints.
• Routes – This is where you add routes to your course. A maximum of 8 teams can take part in a single game of DJEEO Education and each team will have a route to follow for each half of the game (both the first and second). This means that a course should always consist of 16 routes (thus allowing for 8 teams).


Tips

• Flags (waypoints) can easily be moved around the map. Simply click and drag the waypoint you want to move. You can remove the last waypoint added, by clicking just below the picture.
• To zoom in or out, use the magnifying glass tool just below the picture. Uncheck the ”Auto zoom” box and click on the “+”or “-“ symbols to navigate. Alternatively double-click on the map to zoom. Left double-click to zoom in, right double-click to zoom out. Double click will not work if you click on the icons.
• Note that a distance scale is shown at the bottom of the map. You can choose between the various views (Satellite image, Map or Hybrid) by clicking the desired tab just above the image.

Now click the “Create new route” link again and repeat the procedure until all 16 routes have been created (8 for each half). You will see that the team which got the green route in the first half also gets the green route in the second half. If the map becomes too cluttered, you can hide routes by unchecking the ''Show'' box. Once you are finished creating routes, click the ”Approve course ” button at the bottom of your screen.

Location assignments

Although one does not need to have Location assignments included in a DJEEO game, doing so will provide the benefit of using your local surroundings to create specific tasks where students must see, touch and explore their environment. These are all elements that can aid the learning process in additional ways. A Location assignment could include questions such as:

• What type of architecture does a building have?
• What's the circumference or area of a football field, the goal box, the centre circle etc.
• How high is the church tower?
• What types of trees are there at a specific location?

To create a Location assignment you must select the menu item called ''Location assignments '' and click the ''Add Location assignment'' button. Then you select a spot on the map for the task. A flag with a cross (+) marking will appear. Now click the ”Edit” button (on the right-hand side below the ''Location assignments'' link). In this section you create a Location assignments in the same way as you created the other assignments in the subject pack.

When creating routes, it is necessary to assign the Location task flag as a waypoint for ALL teams in one half.

Click the ''Save changes'' button, followed by the ''Back'' button.


Advice on setting up courses

Practice makes perfect. In this section we have put together a collection of tips which may assist you in creating successful, well thought out courses. Listed below are some of the considerations you might include in the planning process:

• Start by getting an overview of the area.
• Explore if there are any exciting places you want to send students to.
• Consider possible Location assignments (statues, plaques, football goals, streams, lakes, buildings, etc.)
• Consider what areas might best be avoided or require special attention (busy roads, etc.)
• Try visualizing two areas – one for each half of the game.

Below you will find a list of general advice

• Place waypoints in a circle around the Control Centre, so that the learners are not criss-crossing their own tracks and remain reasonably close to the base in case time runs out. This also creates a greater impression of having gone far.
• Give the teams slightly varied routes, but ensure that they cross one another so that students can see each other at times. Place waypoints so that students are not able to just follow each other, but remember to ensure that all routes are more or less the same length.
• If there are any busy roads that must be crossed, it is wise to place a waypoint near a bridge or traffic light.
• The first waypoint should be close to the base (no further than 150 to 200 meters) so that students are encouraged by the early success.
• The rest of the waypoints should be between 100 to 500 meters away, depending on game purpose and team capabilities.
• Create the final waypoint quite close (e.g. within 300 meters) to the base to avoid students becoming bored on their way back to the finish line. The final waypoint can be placed as a minor detour on the way back to base.
• For first-time players, keep the route length for the first half between 1 to 1.3 km. (for 20-30 mins.), and in the second half, once they know the game a bit better, increase the distance to around 1,5 km. The full length of the routes can be increased to suit the age of the students participating. Distances covered should be a reflection of the different capabilities of 6th Grade and 9-10th Grade learners. If necessary, the size of course can even be made smaller than suggested in this list.
• Adjust covered distances of the routes to suit the learners physical abilities, their experience level with the DJEEO educational game and the purpose of the game. Where the assignments are more difficult, it might be an advantage for participants to create shorter routes.