Progress

Health: Sorry I didn't post yesterday, pushed myself too much with geocaching/biking and got exhausted. I'm feeling a lot better overall, but I learned I still can't be active for a full day.

Anyways, progress. Bit text heavy, key points in red.
Yesterday:

• Geocaching was very useful. 
• I have a much better feel of the level of problem solving that geocachers will go through for solving multi-caches. A lot of these mutli-caches are very crude/clunky and people still seemed to enjoy them. Heck, I enjoyed them! This makes me hopeful for how these can be used to train.
• I also learned about technological interaction in multicaching. Many multicaches use geochecker to verify GPS coordinates from a multi-cache. This makes it so people don't spend a ton of time going to the wrong spot.
• I went to the Cantos Music Museum with part of the Communications Department. Discussed my research with Sally Wyatt, this year's Killam Scholar. She was very interested in what I was doing. She seems to be focused in using technology to educate the public about health, I need to look a bit more. Don't know where this will lead, but it seems like a good possibility for someone to bounce ideas with.

Today:

• Right now I am breaking down real citizen science projects into how they would use a multi-cache. Some of these projects aren't trivial and I would never be able to do, but its important I think about more difficult cases as well.
• I have a plan for a training multi-cache based around collecting tree information. 
• First part: Tree type
• Take geocacher to GPS location with tree type that is being taught
• Provide brief identification information that can be explored through looking at the tree
• To get to next part, geocacher needs to use something from the identification info
•  Second part: Tree Phase
• From second coordinate, geocacher will have to find nearest tree of same type as before
• Provide information about different tree phases, including photographs.
• Use current tree phases clue for next cache. This is a harder one to design, because the answer is changing.
• Third part: Tree Measuring
• Take the geocacher to a group of the plants, they have to find the cache hidden around them. 
• Inside the cache is a measuring tape. Video could be provided showing how to measure, but with the prototype it could be photographs.
• The measurement is used as numbers in a gps coordinate for the final stage.
• Final part
• Cache can be anywhere. No educational material provided, but the cache can inform you on what you have learned! This is the reward.
• Tomorrow: This still needs tuning for sure, going out and trying to set it up will help. I will be doing this tomorrow.
• I realize that it might be a bit hard to give advice if you aren't too familiar with multicaching. I could whip up a quick explanation along with the multi-cache I did yesterday. I took photos of the experience. Maybe this would be content for my thesis? 

Also, I am currently downloading the kindle version of GPS and Geocaching in Education. Can I expense it ($10)? I don't know how I can get this one into the library (Maybe I can print out a copy). It was a lot faster and cheaper to buy it for the kindle.