Courtesy Photo | Master Sgt. Jill Reed, the base emergency engineer force's noncommissioned...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - The students at W.T. Sampson have been learning about GPS and the technology behind it, which presented the students a rare chance to join forces with JTF Troopers.
“We’re teaching the kids about satellites and Global Positioning Systems,” said Diedra Faulkner, a math and science teacher at W.T. Sampson Middle and High School. “They’re learning about longitude and latitude and learning how to map with coordinates.”
In honor of National Geographic Information Systems Day, Nov 18, Faulkner contacted the Prime BEEF Troopers to assist her in teaching her students about GPS.
Air Force Master Sgt. Jill Reed, the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of Prime BEEF’s engineering section, was responsible for preparing a lesson plan for the students.
“The BEEF has done stuff like this in the past, as far as going to the school and teaching students about equipment and how it works,” said Reed. “They called and ask us for support and since I’m the subject matter expert I taught the class.”
The lesson consisted of a brief power point presentation and discussion between Reed and the students.
“I taught them a little bit about how GPS works, where GPS came from and how to navigate using a GPS,” said Reed.
After her presentation regarding the history, technology and the basics of how GPS works, Reed showed the students a Defense Advanced GPS Receiver, a handheld GPS receiver used by the Department of Defense.
“It was pretty cool that the school was able to get real military-grade GPS out here and actually work with the kids,” said Tyler McNally, a student at W.T. Sampson Middle and High School.
Once the brief was over, Reed took the students out for a hands-on practical exercise, which allowed the students to prove they understood the lesson and gave them the chance to use the DAGR.
Reed taught the class how to use the GPS and then they went around the campus looking for buried treasure, said Faulkner. First, the students broke into two groups of seven, said Reed. Next, the students went out, placed poker chips around the school grounds, created waypoints and coordinates for each poker chip using the DAGR. Once each waypoint was set, the groups switched DAGRs and they had to navigate to the poker chips the opposite group hid around the school.
“They [the students] always say, ‘why do I have to learn this,’” said Faulkner. “‘When am I ever going to use this?’”
The students were able to see how the GPS can be used in a real situation, said Faulkner. Plus they got a kick out of it because they got to have their “treasure” at the end, a box consisting of festive Mardi Gras beads and candy.
“It was educational,” said McNally. “It wasn’t just textbook stuff. We actually got to go out and work with Global Positioning Systems to try and find tokens around the school.”
Many of the students seemed to like the activity Reed prepared for them.
“I enjoyed the scavenger hunt,” said Shaun Bryska, a student at W.T. Sampson Middle and High School. “It was kind of hard but it was a pretty good activity.”
Not only was Reed able to amuse the students, she also taught them things about GPS that some of the students did not know before, said Rebecca Vargas, a student at the W.T. Sampson Middle and High School. Vargas said she learned that the military invented the GPS.
Reed made the class fun and left a good impression on the students. Reed was awesome, said Jasmine Whitehouse, one of Reed’s participants. She was cool and energetic, which made it fun.
“It was exciting,” said Reed. “I have a teaching background. I have been an instructor in the military for a few years, so it’s something that I am very familiar with. The kids were receptive, enthusiastic and they participated. I really appreciated that. I was surprised at how fast they learned to use the DAGRs, it actually made my job a lot easier; that was awesome.”
Faulkner said she was happy the way the lesson went and she was glad the students had so much fun learning.
Reed’s exercise with the students is just another example of how JTF Troopers are making a difference around Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.29.2016 16:36 |
| Story ID: | 190471 |
| Location: | GUATANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 91 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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