Bringing week seven to a close Group seven would like to thank all of you for taking part in the discussions and activities this week. We hope this week has allowed for you to enhance you understanding of Augmented Reality and has introduced you to some new educational tools. We appreciate your active participation and […]
Continue reading Bringing Week Seven to a Close Posted in: Announcements, General, Week 07:
As part of my activities this week to better understand augmented reality (AR) concepts, I used the Layar platform to create a simple AR tour of one of the audio recording rooms in my classroom. While Layar is intended as a tool for integrating AR in print magazines, I found the free iOS app to […]
Continue reading As part of my activities this week to be… Posted in: Week 07: Zooburst Activity Discussion Forum This is a space to showcase your experience creating a 3D pop up book using Zooburst. Please feel free to post a link to your book; thoughts about the potential use and/or limitation of these tool in a K-12 classroom and links to other similar tools.
Continue reading Zooburst Activity Discussion Forum This … Posted in: General, Week 07:
Here’s a Zooburst book that I started so I could show some teachers what it’s all about. I did it couple of years ago so it’s sort of cheating, but I thought I would share it since it highlights how you can use .gif files with transparent backgrounds so that your pop-ups are not all boring rectangls but can instead be shaped like whatever you want.
Hi Ben,
Thanks for sharing your book. I was able to get your voice over on the second page but couldn’t get the dog on page 2 to bark. Does the dog bark? Sound is something that definitely would enhance this program.
Best, Jen
Hi Ben,
Thank you for posting the link to your book. I tried to play around with the program and like Jen didn’t find it to be so straightforward in guiding a new user. However, seeing some of the different elements and features that can be used from your book reinforced by interest in using it with students either to create a book to share with them or attempting to have them create your own.
On that note, since you said that you had made that book a few years ago, I am curious if you or the teachers you introduced it to tried using it in the classroom? If so in what capacity and what was the response from the students?
Julie
I made that book a few years ago, while Zooburst was still a closed beta product (can’t remember how I got in on that.) The support I got was great by the way–immediate responses from the developers, and thorough. When I later registered for a paid version of the product, the school was dragging their heels in getting around to writing the cheque, but the zooburst people gave me the paid version as soon as I asked for it and didn’t give me any grief when it took them 3 months to get their money.
I used it pretty extensively when I worked in elementary. I was able to do a 5-minute intro to a grade 4 class and they ran with it and figured everything else out on their own–including a few features that I hadn’t discovered! There is a pretty extensive library of images and sounds that you can download from, for example.
In the high school, I have recently found it to be a great tool to support foreign-language classes. I have introduced it to the Spanish, French and Chinese teachers and they are pretty enthusiastic about it. I haven’t really shown it to any other secondary classes yet.
Hi Ben, thanks for sharing that tidbit on .gif files. Neat little trick to know when embedding single objects without a border.
Manny
I went to Zooburst. I tried creating a book but was frustrated with the program. I didn’t find it very intuitive. I am sure if I had of read the manual which they do offer, it would have been much easier. So I also cheated and went and viewed a few of the pre-made books. I like this idea but don’t find it as engaging as an app called Toontastic. Yes, the images are 3-D but they don’t move… or at least I didn’t see any that move. As a teacher of Language Arts I also would prefer a bit more structure or graphic organizers for primary students. Toontastic provides the “StoryArc” which walks students through the creation of the various elements of a story. That said, I could see how some students would prefer the very open nature of this program.
ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool and as an EFL teacher I can see myself using this tool in the classroom to promote writing and dialogue skills. I think this is a great tool for a group of small children up to middle school ages. From the examples provided in the ZooBurst webpage, I can probably use this tool with adult EFL when they want to show their pictures and share their experience in a fun way.
I have tested how to use it and have to agree with Jen that it is not that user friendly because after I created my mini book. I was unable to find the button to publish or preview the book and I had to go to YouTube to watch the tutorial.
http://www.zooburst.com/zb_books-viewer.php?book=zb03_508080d005cf5
Thanks for trying it our Paula! Can you try to set your book’s settings to public so that we can have a look?
I tried creating a couple of pages. Here’s the sample: http://www.zooburst.com/zb_books-viewer.php?book=zb04_5081fae0e2d2c
I found Zooburst to be a interesting AR software which would allow students to learn about some of the basics in creating 3D objects (rotating, angle, etc.). Even though I did not try the AR feature which allows the storybook to pop out in a projected environment, I think the students would have a chance to experience AR and become immersed in the story on a different level. Neat!
I could see how Zooburst can be applied in language arts lessons, which would provide students a good opportunity to learn both literacy and 21st century skills at the same time.
James
Thanks for trying out the program and sharing your experience James. This a is a great way to bring literacy alive.
Nureen
I enjoyed using Zooburst to create a personalised story about a toddler becoming a big brother. (http://www.zooburst.com/book/zb03_50832a12b3b8e) I think the simple clip art, though limited, provides familiar visual images for even the youngest of readers. Being able to assign dialogue to characters/specific graphics really brings the story more “to life” (as adding audio would surely work to go one step further). I like the idea of using it with more of a personalised slant (provided that clip art is available that allow children to see a bit of themselves in the story) to explain feelings or milestone moments such as using the potty, cleaning up, rewards systems, going to school for the first time, etc. This would not only be helpful and appropriate for the youngest of students, but also for students who are learning life skills in the classroom. (I used to teach general special education (K-5) and profound mentally handicapped students (ages 14-22).) I could see myself using this software to not only make applicable books for students but to help them create their own tales as well.
I think the program is easy enough, with enough coaching/tutorial time in the beginning, for younger students to use, though admittedly, I did go through a bit of my own trial and error. I think kids are learning to use technology tools, such as Zooburst, at an earlier and earlier age, and often can show us a thing or two!
I think this is another great creative tool for students to use to create stories or projects themselves as well as being a great tool for teachers to present stories, lessons, content to students in a fun & interactive way.
Layar Creator Activity Discussion Forum This is a space to showcase your experience creating an augmented reality print campaign using Layar Creator. Please feel free to post a screenshot/video of your experience; thoughts about the potential use and/or limitations of augmented reality print campaigns in a K-12 classroom and links to other similar tools.
Continue reading Layar Creator Activity Discussion Forum … Posted in: General, Week 07:
This is a great application tool that I think can easily be integrated into many classrooms and through many subjects. For example, students can create posters or magazine covers in a social studies course about travel and learning about other countries, in relation to the environment or even about science experiments. The limitations I would see in this is that it is not a free tool and that the user must have the required device to even see it.
I have come across the same problem with other technological learning tools. They have so much to offer but due to conditions outside my control as a teacher, I am not able to use them. Unfortunately, it always comes down to money and lack of resources in a lot of teaching environments.
Nureen
While my initial thoughts on this tool were that its a great marketing platform and eCommerce tool I can also see how it can be used creatively in many other domains such as education, medicine and entertainment.
Aura Activity Discussion Forum This is a space to showcase your experience creating an Aura. Please feel free to share your experience here; thoughts about the potential use and/or limitations of Auras in a K-12 classroom and links to other similar tools. Due to the limitation of sharing your Aura with a large group, feel […]
Continue reading Aura Activity Discussion Forum This is a… Posted in: General, Week 07:
I really liked this application and had a lot of fun creating my own aura. I wanted to share it here or on the Facebook page but had trouble figuring out how to attach or upload it.
Hi Julie,
I agree that right now it is a bit difficult to attach an Aura unless you email or text it to someone directly and that person has access to that picture/paper/ etc. Sharing through the Facebook page at least gives us a glimpse of each others auras, another option is to take a picture and post it. So what you can do is:
1. Join the ETEC 522 Augmented Reality Group (you should now be added Julie)
2. Receive confirmation that you are part of the group
4. Share your Aura to your own facebook page.
5. Then click on Share on your facebook page and then on the dropdown choose share in a group (and pick the ETEC 522 Augemented Reality Group)
Not the most straight forward unfortunately. Something definitely that I learned using Aurasma is that it work best for people in the same location or those with access to the same print materials/books/papers etc.
I will update the instructions so that hopefully it is a little more straightforward. Thanks for the great Ted talks video too!
I have successfully added a post to the facebook group (great idea).
I will summarize my thoughts here though, great app potential. Add items, like help video’s to assignment sheets, to help students understand the concepts easily. Only concern, is the app working across multiple platforms.
Thoughts?
Thanks for sharing your experience with this program Tom. I think the multiple platforms issue is definitely a valid one because a lot of times what a person creates on on platform can not be accessed from another and then the whole process becomes frustrating. Thus, defeating the purpose of using such tools.
Nureen
I created an aura but could not share it with the facebook group. (Now that I’m reading further, I see that I have to be confirmed. I will wait!) It is a bit of a silly one, but it was nice to have a new “toy” to play with. I can see where kids would get a kick out of making simple things in their everyday environments come to life with fun animations.
I am a bit intrigued with the concept of location sharing. It would be neat if Aurasma could become a sort of virtual geocaching of a local area!
This activity was really fun and the aura software/technology was easy to use. I can imagine this would be a great tool to use for student projects. I am sure they would come up with some really creative applications we would not think of.
Outside of education I can also see how this product has great marketing potential for advertising companies.
This was a fun activity. I created a Coke can aura that made music. I wish there were a way to share your aura on computers and not just smart devices. I could see children loving this activity. You could set up scavenger hunts and such. It reminds me of when we stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. Kids can purchase wands at the gift shop and then they wander throughout the hotel in search of things they can bring to life with their wands on various levels of quests.
Augmented Reality Marker Activity Discussion Forum This is a space to showcase your experience with augmented reality markers. Please feel free to post a screenshot/video of your experience; thoughts about the potential use and/or limitations of markers in a K-12 classroom and links to other similar tools.
Continue reading Augmented Reality Marker Activity Discus… Posted in: General, Week 07:
This is a link to my screencast showing my experience. http://screencast.com/t/L93Kt1kMnDn
My son and I had so much fun with this program. From the way he reacted I can tell you there is definitely a market here for kids. I can’t wait to try out the rest of your activities. I am so thrilled I took this course as this is exactly the type of of technology I hoped to be exposed to. Thanks for providing such interactive activities.
Kudos, Jen
Hi Jen,
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to try using this since I didn’t have all the required resources, but even just from reading about it I automatically felt that it has the potential to be a great tool and so am happy (but not surprised) to see that your son really enjoyed it.
I have always believed that whenever a student has the opportunity to learn in a more interactive, dynamic and hands-on manner, they are much more likely to be engaged because it increases their excitement and curiosity among other things. As such, I think having the concepts being learned come to life like with the solar/wind and organs augmented reality markers, not only plays into that perspective perfectly but offers great learning potential.
I agree that this has the potential to be a game changer, however what I have seen so far has limited applications for both students and teachers.
For students, they have that initial novelty effect and subsequent excitement. My question is, when this wears off… what learning is happening? So far, AR has limited to no interactivity, and the development of these items require significant time. Yes there are pre-developed resources, but unless they directly fit with your curriculum, they are simply being used because they are cool.
For myself, while I see potential benefit, if objects can be manipulated either physically, hand gestures, or on the computer. Such as, adding variable to show eating, or disease in the organ AR would be beneficial. However, the technology is still very young, and I will wait until it matures a little further.
Thoughts?
Hi,
When we were researching AR for this week’s presentation, I noticed that there were a lot of applications that I thought would be useful and engaging for young students. I think that AR adds a potentially interactive nature to something that is typically thought of as ‘simple’ (ie. Augmented books).
Jhodi
This is my link to my screencast showing what I guess are my organs…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns32ToI8SXs
For myself, I found the organ one more useful. For I have taught Bio 20/30, and this might provide students a slightly better understanding of our insides than what we currently utilize.
As for the solar/wind AR, it was cool… but other than that – I found it simply to be a proof-of-concept, with some novelty which will wear off shortly.
Other than that, I at this time find little educational value, and yes I realize that this is relatively new technology, however adding an interactive component would make the experience more meaningful and engaging.
However, I did notice the type of book series called popar, which may change my mind, after I explore it better.
Thoughts?
Hi Tom,
I know the Grades 5 and 6 class at my school always do a science study of the body. I think they would love this. Which link was it that you tried? I want to share this with the teacher. Thanks, Jen
Hi Tom,
Ignore my last question. I found the link right below the solar/wind AR. Which screencast program did you use to video yourself. I used Jing and it took forever to upload.
I think I used screencast-o-matic… directly uploaded into youtube as well… with free version, get one screencast at a time… relatively quick as well.
Hope this helps.
I used the General Electric marker to view an example of augmented reality. It was a great experience and very user friendly.
Tom – I would also be concerned about the novelty wearing off. Also, as with the application of all technology it is important that the use of AR is pedagogically sound. I think the organ marker you used may have a lot of potential for use in the classroom.
For myself, the novelty was about 10 seconds… then I said… what I am learning from this? If I was in a class, and this was the objective to build an AR object, it would be an excellent example of what could be done – proof of concept – but as a learning object for Solar or Wind power… felt very underwhelmed…
Thoughts?
I’m with Tom on this one. I tried the LearnAR Biology one with the organs, and after spending some time hunting found another by PBS Kids (Lunch Rush! http://pbskids.org/fetch/games/hollywood/lunchrush.html).
I will keep looking as I am very intrigued about the possibilies and, importantly believer there are significant possibilities, but what I’ve found so far is very cool…..but mostly for the novelty. The biology organs – my first experience – was neat!! But I didn’t find it any more useful than existing quality resources.
The PBS Kids Lunch Rush!! (I downloaded & tried the iPhone version – http://pbskids.org/fetch/games/hollywood/lunchrush.html) was very weird in content (addition problems to 10 – markers were used to identify the correct number of sushi (sushii????) ordered by members of a movie crew. How many grade 1 students can relate to that scenario??). And the AR experience were virtualized suschi skewers. Clearly a disconnect I think between the person they hired to develop the math game and educational consultants who might actually have some sense of actual real-life interests of 6 year old students.
I was underwhelmed by the virtual reality and from my brief samples felt it was very gimicky but of little added educational value to existing technology. However I do believe their is great potential, and my experiences were just very early, and low-level, not-quite-ready-for-prime-time examples.
I strongly suspect, however, that within a few years the technology will mature and there will be great uses in many academic areas. Being able to visualize a concentration camp in 3-D, for example, may have much greater effect than a 2-D photo.
Peggy
Peggy
I was going to mention this specific app, and I forgot, thank you very much.
I agree that there is big disconnect between the activity and the work, and probably a misunderstanding for the students. However, I have had my 6 year old and 4 year old run around the house for the last couple of weeks (because I move the markers all around the house for extra physical activity), and even thought they may not get the reason for the sushi, they are understanding the math.
The only issue that arises, is when they get to basic algebra – 6 + X = 8… this is where I need to provide a little more assistance.
As well, I also believe that advanced hardware will further propel the ability of this platform, developing more pedagogically sound applications.
Thoughts?
I would seriously doubt that the Lunch Rush activity is actually helping your kids learn math, or even reinforcing it much. From my admitedly brief exposure to it, this game is like many educational “games” that might provide some entertainment value, which isn’t bad, but I really didn’t see how it would actually improve student learning. And for a supposedly educational product, I’d say that’s a critical feature.
Peggy
From my experience, with my two children (ages 6 and 4), this program provides a quick and fun assessment to help them gauge their understanding of the concepts they have worked with, through more traditional means. They do this activity with limited supervision, which in my opinion tells me that they have understood the basic math concepts I have provided them, however I could be wrong.
Thoughts?
Hi,
I also wonder about the novelty of AR. As I was exploring AR this week, I found several examples of what AR does, but so many times, I found myself thinking ‘how can I use this in a class?’. Several times my response was for ‘nothing more than a supplementary resource’ such as objects. As I further explored, I found some applications that were very intricate and applicable, although the minority of examples. I hope that this technology is further pursued and more resources are created that are directly applicable to learning and teaching.
Jhodi
Like jkotler, I don’t seem to have the resources to play with the AR resources.
I must admit I was taken in by the wow factor by the videos, especially the Magician/story teller. And like many others, I question the value to education once one gets around the wow factor. I am sure there will be a place in the future for AR applications in education when this new technology matures. We can help it mature by playing around with it, and perhaps find some gaps in education that it can fill rather than using it to duplicate some existing simpler resource.
Doug.
AR is fun when you first try it out. It gives you a new experience of what technology can do.
Here is what I made with GE Wind Turbine
http://screencast.com/t/jwZn0AUQG
Using AR in the classroom will definitely promote collaborative learning when students as a group view three-dimensional models and have their discussion about the object, which will make learning fun and an interactive process.
While I see AR as really cool technology and something both kids and adults alike would enjoy, personally I also think what they are implementing with the AR technologies from this interactivity might be easier if they had a 3D image on the screen to manipulate. This way it would be easier to zoom in & out and rotate around the object using the mouse or touch screen. My opinion on this might be partly as I have a laptop with and inbuilt camera, if I had a camera I could move around it would have been easier to use I believe.
When I was printing out the Markers it reminded me of QR codes which seem somewhat similar to how AR is implemented by GE and LearnAR Biology. While QR codes do not augment reality they link images, or web links to a type of barcode/marker that can be read by a smart phone or tablet with camera.
Welcome to week Seven Our topic is Augmented Reality. Please click on the following link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec522augmentedreality/. It will direct you to this week’s activities. Please read through the directions on the homepage and follow the steps. When you have completed the readings, watched the videos and completed the activities, please answer the following questions on […]
Continue reading Welcome to week Seven Our topic is Augme… Posted in: General, Week 07:
Great work AR Group on putting together this informative module.
I wonder if weather broadcasts qualify as AR technology as the weather person is not really standing in front of a weather map but a blank wall or tarp. Somehow in the production that we see on screen, they are magically standing in front of a weather map, radar image, futurecast etc. If this is AR, then perhaps we have been informed and educated for years through AR technology and did not realize it.
Doug.
Hi Doug,
It is great to hear that the lesson has been beneficial to you.
I think you are right about weather broadcasting and in all honestly I did not even think about that till you mentioned it. What an excellent example of AR that is a part of our everyday life that we are not even aware of. Thank you so much for sharing your observation.
Nureen
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manny 5:47 pm on October 21, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Scott,
Thanks for sharing your demonstration of the layer app. As i have been playing around with the different types of AR apps, I found that they can really be beneficial for hands on learning activities. For instance, when I run a science lab, I usually have multiple stations set up and i’m constantly running around and providing instructions for the students on how to progress through the activities. 99% of the time is spent helping them get through the stations therefore leaving minimal time for further inquiry. I am hoping that I can perhaps set up mini tutorials for each station that students can simply point and play. This technology could also be used in P.E. class in which students can point to a specific workout machine and receive instruction on how to use it and what muscles it emphasizes.
I agree with the novelty effect that its implementation produces and think it is a great method of hooking students into a lesson.