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Multiple Literacies Gone Wild
Author(s) -
Jewett Pamela
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the reading teacher
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.642
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1936-2714
pISSN - 0034-0561
DOI - 10.1598/rt.64.5.4
Subject(s) - treasure , adventure , literacy , natural (archaeology) , cache , outdoor education , psychology , pedagogy , sociology , multimedia , world wide web , computer science , history , archaeology , operating system
Geocaching is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking, in which participants can place a cache anywhere in the world, pinpoint its location using global positioning system technology, and then share the geocache's existence and location online. This article describes the geocaching adventures the author took with three boys, ages 11, 8, and 6, and the holistic, organic, and authentic learning that occurred as they engaged in a treasure hunt of sorts in the natural world. This article also explores the multiple digital and print literacies in which geocachers engage and how these out‐of‐school literate experiences relate to what we know about in‐school literacy. Finally, the author discusses the implications of geocaching and other digital literacies for teachers, providing links for those who would like to learn more.