School is resuming in much of the Northern hemisphere, at least in countries where the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. The attention to a healthy lifestyle is now even more important than ever, and that lifestyle starts at school.
Why school orienteering?
Orienteering is a unique sport in that it combines both the physical and mental—the need for physical strength in running and mental skills in navigation.
Through orienteering, you can teach students important geographical knowledge such as directions and terrain. The development of spatial sense is also important for students’ intellectual development.
School orienteering is incredibly flexible and can take many forms indoors and outdoors, inside and outside the campus. It can be played individually, in teams, between classes, and between schools. It also instills, in students, a sense of belonging to the school and community through exploration.
Why Metrunner?
Metrunner provides an affordable way for schools to start orienteering, without acquiring expensive electronic equipment.
With just €216 per year, schools can acquire equipment for school orienteering for the entire school, complete with continuous warranty. Our OLTags with QR code are ready to use, and requires you only to set a course in Metrunner. Your students can start playing immediately by accessing your course through their own mobile phone. In the future, the NFC (near field communication) function will make punching even easier and faster with a swipe of the phone.
Even when the weather does not permit orienteering outdoors, and when indoor orienteering is impossible, you and your students can still complete the activity through virtual courses, by controlling the player through the virtual street view. As an OLTags subscriber, you can set virtual courses for free.
With the use of technology, your students will find it interesting to complete the orienteering task at hand, and learn about technologies such as geolocation and QR codes.
Metrunner is an environmentally friendly solution for orienteering, with all activities done on the phone. With Metrunner, you don’t need to print any maps, thus saving paper and ink.
For schools, we offer free access for the entire school as long as you continue your subscription.
Let your students enjoy the benefits of orienteering. Explore our plans and subscribe today.
How to set a course on Metrunner?
Now if you’ve bought our OLTags—it’s time to set an orienteering course.
- Start an account on Metrunner web app and email us to get your account upgraded to Creator and Player Premium. (In the email, tell us also how many student accounts you need and we’ll reply with the account names and passwords of the Player Premium accounts.)
- Click the menu button and then Edit My Content.
- Click Edit Games.
- Click Add New Game.
- Fill in the required information and choose a starting point.
- Click on the map to add control points. In the infobox, you can edit control name, points and description. The course is saved automatically.
- You can change between cross-country format (where the controls must be visited in a certain order) and score orienteering (where the controls can be visited in any order).
- You can also add your own orienteering map. Use Maptiler Desktop to georeference your map and follow the instructions on the game editor page.
- Copy the URL in the Share URL box and share with your students.
How to play a course on Metrunner?
- Navigate to the abovementioned URL.
- Read the introduction. Click Start.
- Log in, if instructed.
- Run around and enjoy orienteering!
When the time is up, the time and score will be logged on the scoreboard. This can be accessed through the scoreboard button on the main menu.
Do you have more questions?
If you’re interested in more tailor-made solutions, or if you have more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@metrunner.com.
Why not organise a training camp for your students? It’ll be a great time for them to nurture team cooperation and leadership skills, and an unforgettable transformation experience for all involved. Connect and explore more at ORIEN.ASIA, Metviworld and Metvitours.