Category: Augmented Reality

VSTE Presentation: Harry Potter comes to School

12/9/2014

Today I had the opportunity to present at VSTE: Virginia Society for Technology in Education. I gave an Ignite talk, which has the unique format of 20 slides in 5 minutes. The goal is similar to a TED Talk, where the presenter's goal is to "ignite" an idea in the audience and compel them to action.

My presentation focused on the ways we have been using augmented reality at our school this past year. Examples included our yearbook, art show, library, chemistry, and biology lessons. I also included an idea for using augmented reality to assist with homework questions (have your early finishers make it!).

This was my first presentation at a conference. Someone had approached me at an EdCamp and asked me if I would apply/present back in September. I hesitated at first, then faced my fears and agreed to apply. During the presentation, I was nervous, but had the support of my principal in the room.

The overall experience was very, very positive. So much so, in fact, that while I was at the conference this week, I completed an application for a EdTech conference coming up in March!

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Books come to life through augmented reality

10/31/2014

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I've been working with our school librarian to add some augmented reality to our books. Our school's book fair is next week, and we wanted students and parents to have an opportunity to hear from other students about specific books. The librarian took pictures of the book covers she wanted students to review and recorded them giving a 40-60 second summary of the book. Then, she passed the pictures and videos along to me. I created trigger images from the book covers and linked it to the video review (who says you can't judge a book by its cover?!). Now, when students/parents/teachers look at the book through the Aurasma app on their iOS or Android device, they will see one of our students reviewing the book title. We will also put a little logo for augmented reality to indicate that the book could be scanned.

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A yearbook unlike any other

6/20/2014

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"My kids have been playing with their yearbook all weekend!" This is a quote from a parent email I received after passing out our school yearbooks. In our 56 page book, we managed to add bonus pictures and videos to 40 pages. Each homeroom has a class picture on it, resource classes each have a video highlighting their experiences, sports pages have slideshows, and groups such as band have videos from their performances at Christmas or spring concerts.

Finally, the yearbook can be a way to truly chronicle the year's events. Adding video memories help create a year in review for students, and it allows them to share the sights and sounds of some events with friends and family in a way they couldn't before.

The feedback I have received from this book has been overwhelming. I think we may have just raised the bar in our yearbook expectations!

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Frozen's "In Summer" inspires end-of-year video

6/20/2014

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The end of the year is a special time in schools. Emotionally, it can be a confusing time. Excitement about the potential of summer freedom is coupled with the sorrow of missing friends and caring teachers.

I wanted to help students leave school with a smile on their face, so I decided to make an end of school video. When I first saw Disney's Frozen, I remembered thinking the Olaf summer song would be ideal for a school parody.

After tweaking the lyrics slightly to fit the school environment, I assigned different roles to various teachers and asked them to participate. To my delight, they obliged! While my original goal was to make students smile, there were many smiles and laughs that occurred while filming. My favorite scene was when all our faculty played together on the playground...how often do you get to see grownups acting like kids?

When I introduced students to our new school yearbook and its augmented reality component, I told them that as soon as they got home on the last day of school, they could see a surprise video on the first page. After a day or two, I emailed it to parents so they could see it as well. The response was overwhelming and extremely positive.

Positive mission accomplished!

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Augmenting Dr. Suess

5/22/2014

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Earlier this year, our 1st grade class celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday. I worked with Mrs. Dingus to create an integrated language arts, science, and technology lesson. We called it, The Cat in the Hat Visits Habitats.

First, students learned about various habitats in their classroom. Then, they came down to the technology lab and chose one animal in their assigned habitat. Their assignment was to learn a few facts about their animal and draw a picture.

Armed with their information, students returned to their classrooms where their teachers collected the facts and brainstormed elements of a poem with them. Together, the class wrote a poem about Dr. Suess visiting different habitats.

Next, students illustrated the pages. Mrs. Dingus assembled all their pages and put them into a book. Students practiced their page's rhyme and meter, then Mrs. Dingus and I recorded them reading in the hallway.

FInally, I spliced their videos together into one movie and created a trigger image from the book's cover. Now, anyone who scans the book with the Layar app will see the students' movie!

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No more yearbook deadlines through augmented reality

3/18/2014

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Anyone who has ever been in charge of the school yearbook knows how stressful the last few weeks can be. Deadlines, misspelled names, layout tweaks, and missing pictures can all contribute to a frenzied finish. And that's assuming all the orders have been processed!

I've published four yearbooks now: three in Philadelphia and one (almost two!) in Richmond. Each one has been a labor of love. Despite their troubles, I find them fulfilling. It's all worth it when I see the eagerness in kids' faces when they ask if the yearbooks have arrived, listen to them squeal when they see their crazy teacher, or take their pen when they ask me to sign theirs for them.

99% of the yearbook editor's job ends when s/he submits the yearbook to the publishing company. All that's left is for them to be distributed! However, this means that none of the school events from the final few months of school can be captured. UNTIL NOW.

Augmented reality works by a user setting a "trigger image" that causes an app to display other content when activated. By setting each page in the yearbook as a trigger image, each page can come to life with additional pictures, slideshows, and videos. These elements can be changed at anytime online via the Aurasma Studio interface.

This added element means my yearbook team can continue documenting the school year after we submit the book. This year, we're going to be able to include our official class pictures, which weren't possible before (they are taken in late April, well past our submission deadline). We'll also do some interviews with students about the school year and maybe include a message from the teachers.

I'll have to post a follow-up after our book is finished, but here's a preview of what it might look like:

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VSTE Presentation: Harry Potter comes to School

Books come to life through augmented reality

A yearbook unlike any other

Frozen's "In Summer" inspires end-of-year video

Augmenting Dr. Suess

No more yearbook deadlines through augmented reality

Eric De Boer

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