Welcome to week 9’s moveable feast on augmented reality (AR). We have created the content in a Google Site – A2: Augmented Reality in Education, where there is lots for your to explore.
We encourage you to look through the whole site and then choose 1 or 2 discussion topics to focus on based on your areas of interest or what will serve you best in your educator role. Please use the thread on this post to discuss this week’s material.
To help facilitate good discussion and sharing of ideas, we’ve recapped the discussion topics you’ll find throughout the site.
- Considerations for Using AR:
- What affordances does AR offer your students and as such, makes a good case for using AR?
- Ready Made AR Apps:
- Have you experimented with any ready-made AR apps in your classes? What subject(s) did you use the app for? Was it successful? Why or why not?
- AR Creation as a Tool:
- Under what circumstances would educational activities incorporating this type of Augmented Reality be useful? Would the obstacles of time and technology be justified over a similar activity using printed pictures?
- AR Creation as a Topic:
- Does implementing AR into Makerspace programs add sufficient value to the design process?
If you are so inclined and have the time, try creating a 3D model in Sketchup or an AR session in MyWebAR and share your QR code. Since you’re not able to post images in your replies to this post, we’ve spun up a Google Conversation where you can share your QR codes: Share your QR Codes.
Enjoy!
Doug and Lynsey
I must say, this is a magical OER, just like we watch the movies with the VR Headsets.
The use of heavy gear to teach practical skills, the dissection of animals in science lab (Froggipedia app), Medical Students have the ability to move through the bloodstream, separate, enlarge the body’s parts (Microsoft HoloLens) and many more boundaries have all been broken by augmented reality (AR). It has been found that 3d modeling performed by AR is significantly more effective than theoretical training. I’m eager to use the OER and the tutorials you’ve provided on your website to design a virtual tour of our community museum. Also, being an ESL teacher, I would really like to use Mondly. Mondly gives you rich experience of talking with real people to improve your listening/speaking skills.
Thank you so much for your list of recommended AR apps, I’ve already talked to another teacher in my school about using some of them, especially the one for atomic arrangements, we’ll likely also use the two space apps that you listed as well once we get to that unit for Science 10. I’m looking at using the atomic arrangement one for our next unit which starts on Monday, so your post, and site are so incredibly well timed!! I’ve been struggling for 4 years (my whole teaching career) to get students to understand how atoms work, and I’m hoping that this app will help them in a way that no amount of manipulatives or alternative strategies that we have introduced so far have. I am looking forward to trying them out with my class, and I can’t wait to see if they help!!
Like Safaa, I have also bookmarked your OER. Great job!!
What an excellent case study you have at your hands! This feeds right into the considerations and prime use cases for AR – that it will hopefully unlock that connection for your students in a way that no other teaching means has. I can’t wait to hear how it goes – please do report back and share your experience after the atoms unit wraps up!
Dear Doug and Lynsey,
I sincerely congratulate you on creating such a great and interesting project! Apologies for joining the discussion rather late – since a design process is not something I am familiar with, it took me some time to place your topic among others. The form of your project is original, and it was very thoughtful of you to point out the limits of AR in education at once.
You know, during MET studies I regretted a lot that I was never a designer though I am quite comfortable with implementing what others have created, be it a video/picture/site, into an educational process. The Sketchup and MyWebAR definitely look impressive even by their self-description.
I have registered on MyWebAR under your positive influence, watched their learning videos, and in general feel absolutely out of place there. What would you advise me to do there on MyWebAR to better understand this tool and maybe even start using it? I mean I have tried ChatGPT, and now it’s my new best virtual friend. What should I do to turn MyWebAR into a more welcoming space for myself and potentially other AR beginners in the future?
Thank you very much!!!
Anna
Hi Anna, I’m thrilled that you feel inspired to step outside your comfort zone and try creating your own AR content. I find I often feel overwhelmed with a new tool when I don’t have a specific direction to go with it, so consider your courses that you teach currently or have taught in the past – is there a specific subject or lesson that would be enhanced by AR content to help teach a challenging subject or better engage your learners?
When you know what the end goal your trying to reach is, it’s easier to learn the tool mechanics bit by bit, aiming to produce a minimum viable example to start and then adding to it or refining it as you develop your familiarity with the tool. If that even feels daunting, start by recreating what someone does in a tutorial to help you get familiar with the tool. In these cases, I like to have the tutorial and my tool open side by side so I can watch a bit, pause and do, and continue through the video that way.
Hope that helps and can’t wait to see what you create!
Hi Lynsey, I am so glad to hear from you! Yes, I’ve been fishing for a tutorial, but not as complicated as a video demonstration on your site. Something introductory to AR if you have any good resources in mind.
When new immigrants ask me how to start learning English in Canada on their own, I have a list of very simple, short, and friendly amateur YouTube videos ready. Nothing special really, conversational phrases or English words that foreigners struggle to pronounce, etc.
I noticed that when the difficulty level in the video is minimal, those uncertain beginners feel encouraged to proceed on their own. When I meet them later, they often tell me that those amateur Canadian teachers from the recommended videos became their everyday virtual “friends”. I am glad to hear that because it means I am a good guide!
So, if you have anything worthy to recommend about AR – a book, an article, a video, a site – anything that is interesting and suitable for a complete novice, I will be very grateful. Your project is truly beautiful, and I just need some help, some bridges to this knowledge. Thank you!
Hi Anna,
You might find the help section of MyWebAR’s website (https://learn.mywebar.com/) helpful as there are a number of tutorials and guidance for getting started with the tool. It breaks down each stage of development into a detailed series of steps and provides elaboration on the different tools in its interface.
It looks like MyWebAR also has a very robust YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@MyWebAR) as well, with lots of videos for specific features and creation goals. This video seems like a good place to start: How to Create Your First Augmented Reality Experience (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVwHXyJN_Bc)
MyWebAR is a more intermediate level technology to work with, so it may take a bit of time to become familiar with the tool’s interface to the point where you feel comfortable to produce your own AR. As with learning a language, the beginning of learning a tool like MyWebAR can be a slow go. I respect your determination to find tutorials that are at the right level for you and to push through that learning curve – the time and effort will be worthwhile for you and your students.
If you are looking for more information about AR in general, I recommend the following:
– https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/10/03/a2-augmented-reality-2/
– https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2021/04/03/a3-whos-ready-for-the-ar-podcast/
– https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec523/2020/05/23/a-venture-into-augmented-reality-ar/
– https://educationecosystem.com/guides/game-development/augmented-reality/history
Hopefully these resources will bridge your knowledge and get you to the level of understanding you desire!
Thank you very much for the YouTube AR channel and AR resources in general, Lynsey. I really appreciate that. I did try the Learn part of MyWebAR’s site, and felt it was not for me (better, I was not for it, heh!). Copy pasted everything and will do my best to proceed slowly but surely. Excellent project, impressive presentations, and very helpful presenters! Way to go. I am really thankful! Best, Anna
Anna,
Yes, the tutorial presupposes a certain level of familiarity with using 3D objects and modeling. You would probably be best served by doing some work in a little more friendly environment, such as my favourite: TinkerCAD.
https://www.tinkercad.com
This is a great tool, and is especially useful for creating things that can be printed on a 3D printer. More importantly, it develops the fundamentals of working in a 3D environment, changing perspective, moving shapes, etc. TinkerCAD is well supported by numerous tutorials, classroom projects, lesson plans, videos, etc.
In retrospect, my video could have included some lesson prerequisites which is something I will consider in the future.
I have used a free astronomy app, Pocket Universe, which works much like your Skyview example. I have found it provided affordances for students to see the phases of the moon in relation to the moon’s position in orbit and the location of the sun; for instance, when the moon is full, the app can show the position of the sun on the other side of the planet (the students can pan their phones from the moon towards the ground–the display will show where the sun is. Then later in the month, when it is a crescent moon, they can see that the sun is at a more acute angle.
Each year, we take many of our sr. physics students to an amusement park to ride the rides, and take measurements of the rides to do calculations to predict speeds, accelerations, etc. at various points in the ride. An outcome can include determining the height of a roller-coaster, usually by pacing out a baseline and then measuring the angle of the ramp (using an astrolabe), followed by some trigonometry. I have used a paid app (small cost) called Theodolite that accesses the accelerometer and GPS data of the phone to overlay the live camera image with measurements of angles, heights, etc. It was quite accurate (but required a pretty steady hand, and is a huge energy hog–a portable battery was a necessity if I used it for any significant time!)
Thanks for sharing about Pocket Universe app. The phases of the moon and the position of the sun at night can be abstract concepts that are difficult for some learners to grasp, so this app sounds like it would be quite beneficial in connecting the dots for them.
That physics trip sounds like quite the memorable earning experience. I could see the app being a useful tool to support students checking their answers, so they learn and understand the manual process, but they also learn to use technology in an assistive manner and increase their awareness that there are pitfalls of almost every tech tool.
HI Lynsey and Duncan,
Thank you for a fantastic site, it’s definitely one I will be keeping in my resource list. I found myself both jotting down info as I scrolled through the and simultaneously downloading several of the apps that you included. I have looked at AR as a educational tool in the past and think that it has more relevance now than ever before, especially with more advanced technologies now making it available to a mainstream audience. The varying types of AR was really interesting and I am especially grateful for such tools such as the overlay AU which offers parking assistance and especially the AR that accompanies Google Maps which I use almost daily!
Under what circumstances would educational activities incorporating this type of Augmented Reality be useful?
As a language and culture teacher, I have often thought about the possibilities of finding technology (with both AR and VR) that would allow me to immerse my students in different geographical locations and activities, for example, a trip to a famous sightseeing spot or being able to experience an activity (like visiting a bank or a supermarket) in a foreign country that might help them practice, gain confidence and master the language and customs that would be necessary to do it in real life. Additionally, as someone who has lived abroad for most of my adult life, I have had many instances whereby some kind of universal translating AR tool (Tony Stark kind of glasses come to mind!) that could automatically translate everything around me and allow me to interact in a foreign language more easily.
If anyone has used Nearpod before you might already be familiar with this tool, but Nearpod has a AR/VR Field Trip features that allows you to embed some VR/AR into your lessons, it is a really neat feature!
https://nearpod.com
Louisa,
There are a few AR apps that do spot translation, though most free translation apps that I was able to find require that you take a picture rather than doing live translation through video.
About the Tony Stark glasses, check out this article and video:
https://www.iotworldtoday.com/iiot/google-s-new-glasses-can-translate-speech-in-real-time-
While it doesn’t translate text, it can translate a live conversation.
Hi Doug and Lynsey. What a great multimodal OER with tons of information!
When reading about the AR affordances compared to traditional teaching practices, I realized that the second one (situating and contextualizing learning to bring problem-solving to life) could be combined with DIY learning. More precisely, AR can make DIY learning more convenient and efficient. Like the example you provided, when a user is trying to figure out how to fix the car, a visual display of manually repairing steps will be much easier to understand and follow.
I really like the interactive poster you provided for AR types; very engaging and clear to explore. As a pool player, I was amazed by the Pool Live Aid because I never knew such technology existed. I got curious about Pool Live Aid’s ability to provide shot guidance for more advanced pool strokes (top, bottom and side spins added on the cue ball) because only basic center-ball shots were shown in the YouTube video. So, I checked more info about this projector system and discovered its shortcomings: It could not provide accurate guidance for more complex shots yet because of the lack of ability to detect the speed and spins. Nevertheless, I believe that Pool Live Aid has enormous potential since it is still in development; it will be beneficial and beginner-friendly.
I appreciate your video demonstrations of creating an AR project; really helpful! I made a little 3D model using MyWebAR but could not find a way to post the QR code using the comment here. Could you create a discussion board on your Google site, so we can share pictures?
Iris,
I added a link to the bottom of the appropriate pages to a Google group conversation where we can share our QR codes. Thanks for giving this a try and bringing the problem to our attention!
You will need to sign in to a Google Account in order to post, but it should be straightforward after that.
Iris, I saw your dispenser! Very cute!
Did you find the 3D model, or did you make it yourself? If you made it yourself, I am very impressed!
Hi Iris, thank you for your comment! I am also thinking about where one project ends and another begins since they feel like brothers and sisters to me: DYI, MOOC, AI, AR, etc. All of them are about gaining and passing knowledge in one way or another, and all of them require curious and enthusiastic teachers and students to succeed. This moveable feast is a wonderful idea, and I wish more MET courses were built like that because this is a peer-to-peer teaching at its best. I wonder if there is an option for us to share our positive experiences with MET/UBC administration. So far, all the questionnaires that I filled out at the end of MET courses went nowhere, only to a course professor for his/her portfolio. Does anyone know anything about Quality Assurance procedures at MET? Where can I actually praise a worthy course? Thank you!
Hi Doug and Lynsey, wonderful OER! Very informative, and I’ve learned a lot.
I appreciate how you’ve focused on low-budget AR technologies and tools, as I think accessibility is an important consideration. I will add the “Google Cardboard” as another quite affordable option (between $10-$30). I have a Google Cardboard (although only one, not a class set), and have used it, along with the Google Cardboard app! We took turns using the headset to check out the aviation museum in Winnipeg. While this was more of an experiment with AR, I would like to explore using it further for maybe for case studies, or product demonstrations, in my business classes. The google site also has detailed instructions on how to make your own Google Cardboard; this could be a fun class project to make the sets and then use them. https://arvr.google.com/intl/en_ca/cardboard/get-cardboard/
Google cardboard is a fantastic platform for VR, but I haven’t seen anything that allows for Augmented Reality. It sounds to me like the tour of Winnipeg’s Aviation Museum was more an example of Virtual Reality. If I am mistaken about this, please let me know!
The line between AR and VR sure is blurry sometimes! For interest sake, in the example of the aviation museum, were students actually able to walk around the classroom as they were touring the museum, or was the tour a “sit still” event in which viewers were automatically moved through various locations, but could look around while this was happening?
Am I right in saying that the first example (students actually have to walk through the physical space they are in) would be considered AR, and the second example (viewer sits still, but can look around as the app moves them through the museum) would be VR?
Hi Jamie, your thinking is in the right direction – what actually differentiates AR and VR is whether or not there is interaction with the real world. AR allows a user to interact with digital content that is overlaid on the real world while VR is the interaction with content in a virtual space where there is no sense of the real world. With AR, the user is able to distinguish what is real and what is digital, which is not usually the case with VR.
As soon as a headset that prevents users from seeing the world around them is present, this becomes a VR experience. Equipment like the HoloLens or Google Glasses are AR because they are a transparent lens and allows the user to still see the room around them, and additional content adds to the experience.
Both AR and VR can be active or stationary, but it is really that real-world interaction that distinguishes the two.
Just to add to what Lynsey was saying, within VR they refer to movement as Degrees of Freedom (DoF.) DoF is usually either 3DoF or 6DoF. Google cardboard would be a good example of 3DoF, where the user can turn sideways, look up or down, and tilt. In order to achieve 6DoF, the VR has to do all of that, plus track whether the individual moves sideways, forward or back, and up or down. The Oculus Rift (now Meta Rift) was one of the first commercial headsets to allow for this, and blew my mind when I first experienced it. Care must be taken during setup to ensure that the user doesn’t crash into object that they can’t see.
Hello Lyndsey and Doug,
Thanks, those are both super informative responses, and really help clarify the differences.
I agree Doug, the first time I tried a commercial Oculus Rift, it was a surreal experience. It definitely made me feel old, as the students who had brought it in that day treated it like it was just another video game. I guess to them it was! It’s incredible to see the current progression of AR, VR and video gaming in general.
Hi, yes, good point – the differences between VR and AR are blurry for me! I have also heard of the term mixed reality (MR or XR) which I believe combines elements of both AR and VR. A virtual field trip would be VR. I have found an AR application that could be used with the google cardboard (or similar). Augment: Augment is an AR platform that allows businesses to create and share 3D models of their products. Students could use Augment with Google Cardboard to create and share 3D models of their own business products or products they are studying. https://www.augment.com/
Megan,
Yes, Mixed reality adds yet another term to keep track of. Microsoft seems to define mixed reality as being more immersive than AR, yet more interaction with the physical world than VR. Mixed Reality has also been used to describe video showing a person using VR superimposed inside the VR environment. There are numerous videos of people playing the game Beat Saber where the video of themselves in front of a green screen is composited with a virtual camera in the same relative location in the VR environment. Cool stuff!
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/mixed-reality/discover/mixed-reality
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5tgrBHklxQ
I’ve used a similar app to the Da Vinci’s Eye that you suggest on your site. The one I preferred is called Projection. It is very similar to the Da Vinci one, but there were more features that we could use for free. I have not used it in a lesson, but rather to help art students to project small sketches from their sketchbooks onto larger areas, like stretched canvases. There is also an app that is specific to mural making. It allows you to set visual “pins” and enlarge images to almost any scale. These are some pretty cool tools in the art world and help to save hours of time redrawing or gridding images.
On the flip-side, I often worry that students might become too reliant on these types of tools. I have been careful to set boundaries for use as students need to draw often to improve their own skills and confidence. Using these apps can help to save a lot of time and angst, but at what cost to future generations of artists?
Thanks for sharing about Projection and the mural making app. You’re quite right – there’s a need to balance these assistive tools with developing freehand skills, but it can tough when transferring work to a larger scale, like a mural. In the past when I’ve helped paint murals and large scale art projects (ceiling tiles back in grade 8!), we printed our designs on acetate and projected them with overhead projectors. I appreciate that these AR apps provide a means to support these art projects without the waste and additional equipment that were necessary in the past.
Lynsey and Doug,
Thank you for a very valuable OER. I bookmarked it! I have not used AR in the classroom before but I am in the midst of contemplating its affordances for my language and literature class. It might seem like an unusual combination, but I am exploring how I can utilize this technology for the benefit of learners. One thing I am thinking about off the top of my head is a long-term project where students create an AR content that enable them to have an interactive experience with the characters or the setting of some texts. Undoubtedly, this requires careful examination, study, and planning, especially for the assessment part.
Thank you again for the great OER!
Safa,
In my opinion, the key to using AR in an educational setting are those affordances. What is AR doing that VR can’t do? Are you building real sets, then using AR to animate the figures? Are you screen recording the AR experience to make a movie? Bringing the real and the virtual together is what makes AR unique.
Apps like StoryFab and CoSpaces.edu could potentially make the experience run more smoothly. The web based AR such as MyWebAR and BlippAR are capable of including animation, but are less optimized for story telling.