Augmented reality in my classroom
Technology such as AR can certainly go a long way in enhancing the learning experience in any science class such as my integrated science class. Here it can be used to visualise abstract concepts, reinforce tangible ones, visualize real activities that are impossible to observe, go on virtual field trip and generate interest. I can see for example the “projecting” lines and arrows on videos to illustrate forces and direction etc. or overlaying cg animated videos on top real world objects to illustrate how they work.
I am concerned however that like a lot of the cg related technology such as gaming enough educators would not get involved in the creation of content. Instead these will be left in the hands of developer who are after a fast buck leaving us out in the cold in terms content designed for education.
Maybe, just maybe ETEC 522 can help change that.
Patason
Posted in: Week 07:
Ranvir 6:54 pm on October 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am of the firm opinion that educators and learners ought to be involved in the design and development of any educational technology application. Period.
I agree that the there would be limited uptake in schools if a technology is expensive or too complicated for an average faculty member to implement.
Pat A Son 6:42 am on October 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Since we all agree on this position then it may be that we needed to find out what is preventing us from getting involved at the creative phase of these technologies. The fact that these technologies are created by our students a is even more damming.
visramn 9:21 pm on October 19, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
This is definitely a very relevant concern and it is a pre-existing problem that has resulted in other tools not succeeding in the past. Involvement of educators is very important because their opinions are grounded and based on evidence of what they have seen and experienced. Hence, I agree that their input is crucial.
Nureen
Pat A Son 6:45 am on October 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Thanks for the input Nureen.
Please see my response to Ranvir above since you both have the same concern
Patason
C. Ranson 9:10 am on October 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I can certainly see the advantages of implementing augmented reality into the learning environment for many reasons, the additional layers of information will improve engagement of today’s learner, address the needs of the visual learner and improve the explanation of more challenging concepts by introducing varying methodologies related to the content. The 3D application will improve the students understanding of a concept. Augmented reality used in dental health science courses like the Learn AR demo could be very effective and interactive for the learner and would be appropriate for head and neck, tooth morphology, oral assessment and diagnosis. As I navigated through the information this week there seems to be quite a bit of information about AR related to dental education.
http://www.oralhealth.ro/volumes/2011/volume-1/Paper234.pdf
http://youtu.be/fR7eafF_W9g
Catherine
jhodi 6:27 pm on October 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi,
I thought that the use of AR to take classes on virtual field trips was one of the most interesting and applicable to a classroom environment. This application has the potential to solve a legitimate problem- the inability of classes to visit museums and other places frequently. Much less organization such as parent volunteers, funding, and permission slips are necessary to go on a virtual field trip. With the addition of AR to virtual field trips, these field trips can be much like the real experience.
I also wonder about the future of AR in education. I wonder if it will be a technology (such as gaming) that is viewed more as an engagement factor as opposed to a technology of high educational potential. Several of the current AR applications seem very engaging, but seem to lack a solid educational factor on their own. I would love to see further development of AR technologies that have a solid education base and that could be self-sufficient.
Jhodi
Pat A Son 7:53 am on October 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I think that educational potential most new technology is untapped and as a result they are written off as serious educational tool. Gaming as you mentioned is an example of this. As I am typing this a possible reason for this is appearing to me. It has to do with the the nature technology, the business model of gaming and the business model of education in the traditional sense.
First off the technologies are time consuming to work with so an active teacher would not have the time to develop this.
The old school game development model usually involves a company such as EA with deep pockets that can pay a to work for years on a humongous multilevel game that will eventually earn millions of dollars. This is certainly is not what we need in academia today.
At the other extreme in gaming is the independent game developer who works without support or sponsor to produce a smaller but still appealing game experience. This too is too consuming for an educator to pull off while being actively involved in teaching.
I believe an unoccupied educational technology niche exist where institutionscan hire experts to create subject specific content for their faculty. This must be done with input from the teachers. Content here need not be complicated it can be an explorable model of the pyramid or an interactive illustration (small game) of the immune response that may take half an hour to complete.
This is getting too long but you should get the picture.
Pat
Lisa Nevoral 7:00 pm on October 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Jhodi, I never thought to use AR for field trips. Good idea. This would be a way for schools and school districts to reduce costs (potentially). But I also think that the culture of museums and actually being at such places may spark or ignite students’ interest in certain areas.
Patason, I agree that educators need to be part of the process to create and design technological applications. There needs to be a pedagogical reason to using AR in the classroom.
Lisa
cunnian 7:58 pm on October 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Patason,
As a fellow science teacher, I share your enthusiasm about AR! Making the unseen visible is often the most difficult job and your examples could go a long way towards solidifying abstract concepts for all learners. I can see using layar or something similar for an ecosystem lab, to show the myriad of connections that exist between abiotic and biotic factors. I was also wondering if AR could be used for more quantitative than qualitative labs as well. I found this article about visualizing CO (http://www.sensaris.com/wp-content/uploads/old/2011/09/Columbia-CO-augmented-reality.pdf) using AR, a smartphone and very-MacGyvered CO sensor. There may be a way to use Probeware to incorporate data collection and visualization in a very powerful way. I’ll have to start playing with this one. You could definitely leverage the built-in accelerometer of smartphones for physics applications. Regardless, I think that there are many possibilities here.
One question about your concern regarding content generation… do you think that students could create the content? It could be onerous to do, or much more meaningful for students to create their own learning. Something to think about anyway. Thanks for the post… it generated some great discussion!
John
Pat A Son 6:34 am on October 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Cunnian,
I think that anything that enables students to take control of their learning is great for education. Content creation as a part of our lessons should be encouraged as much as possible in any area not just for AR alone.
Pat