Students in Jake Hoflinger’s Introduction to Blueprint Production class took advantage of nice weather earlier this week, and headed over to Brit Spaugh Park to complete a scavenger hunt.  
“The class learned about global positioning systems, or GPS, to mark and track waypoints,” Hoflinger said.  Using the handheld devices, they found their speed, elevation, latitude, longitude, estimated time of arrival, bearing and time of sunset for the location.
While students leave the class knowing how to read blueprints, they learn a lot more.  Hofflinger uses hands-on exercises like this to give students a chance to put principles they learn in his classes to work.  Students become well versed in all sorts of map reading, preparing them to enter into fields as varied as engineering, construction, manufacturing, and even the military.  
Joshua Schriedde had never worked with GPS before Tuesday, but found it easy to learn.  He felt he may use the skills he learned again in the future.  He aspires to join the Navy and become a rescue swimmer, he said.  GPS terminology, in fact, includes many nautical concepts, but in recent years, thanks to the development of inexpensive devices like the ones the students used, the technology is being used on land as well.
Dodge Nily can definitely see himself using GPS in the future.   He plans to study architecture and engineering, and knows it will be useful because of the precision necessary when determining placement of a building.  
Prior to the scavenger hunt, The class learned about satellite triangulation which GPS uses.  Students draw globes and use protractors to divide the globe into latitude and longitude. They locate prime meridian, equator, Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of Cancer, and locate a dozen cities in the world by their latitude and longitude, Hofflinger said.
“As an active visual aid we went to the gym and had students orbit by string,” he said. “They prove that three satellites are needed to determine a location.”
The class discussed the many uses of GPS, including military, nautical, navigation, agriculture, fire and rescue operations.