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By Greg Bartlett

In large cities, it is not uncommon for large groups of students to take field trips to museums and other points of interest for educational purposes. The problem is that it is all too easy for one or more students to wander away from the group and get lost. Even worse, in a crowded location, it is possible for someone to abduct a child from the group and disappear into the crowd, never to be seen again.

Today, though, we have GPS tracking technology that can make these lost students a problem of the past. If the teacher or attendant performs a roll call on a periodic basis during the tour, any child not in the group can be noted and the GPS device assigned to that child activated. From that point, it becomes possible to track the exact location of the child to within a few feet using a computer with an internet connection. If the child is simply lost in the facility, recovery will not be a major problem. A security guard or an extra adult attendant can be sent to fetch the child.

In the rare, but serious, case of child abduction, or a child has wandered out of the facility on his own, the police can be notified in a timely manner and given the signal to track the child via the GPS device. The child can be recovered safely and, if abducted, the kidnapper can be arrested before there is any harm done to the child.

This particular use of real time GPS tracking technology can even help lower the costs of insurance schools must pay when taking field trips because the safety of the children is put foremost. There is less likelihood that a child will go missing for an extended period and the school be held liable by parents or the facility being toured in the event the child causes some damage or vandalism.

GPS tracking devices can be incorporated into bracelets, necklaces, or even a special type of uniform piece of clothing that the children are required to wear at all times during a field trip. In large cities, where many field trips are taken to museums, zoos, and other points of educational value, having the ability to track the students via GPS is a good way to ensure that no students get separated from the group and become lost or missing.