INTRODUCTION

First things first, what’s the difference between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?

Graphic by Sylvia Duckworth 

Augmented reality (AR) adds a “layer” of information over the
real world. Have you played Pokemon Go? When you open the app, you’re viewing the world in front of you through your phone’s camera. And then Pokemon monsters appear on top of the view in front of you. I’ve seen them scuttling across my carpet, my lawn, on the dashboard of my car…. And you can interact with them (ie: try to capture them) by flinging things at them on your screen.

Google Glass was another example of AR. The glasses could show you information about your surroundings on a tiny screen mounted on the glasses frame. They didn’t really catch on, but something like it will eventually.

Virtual Reality (VR) goes further and immerses you in a scene viewed through special viewers. With Google’s inexpensive Google Cardboard viewer (called Google Cardboard because it’s built out of cardboard!) you pop your smartphone into the viewer and select a scene to view. Hold it up to your eyes for a 3D view of the scene on your phone. As you turn your body, the scene turns too. You can also view these scenes without a viewer, it’s just not as immersive.

The most realistic VR experiences are created with 360 degree/panoramic videos. Imagine yourself underwater watching fish swim by and a turtle rises up from the sand below you. Other scenes are created with a 360 degree/panoramic static image, in this case you will still see the fish and the turtle, but they won’t be moving. Still fun! There’s lots of content available for viewing from dozens of sources.

LISTEN: This 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Vicki Davis and Steven Anderson is a nice, quick intro to this topic.

We’re only going to cover the tip of the iceberg in this lesson. There are so many people experimenting with these tools in education, it’s impossible to cover everything. A quick google search will turn up tons of stuff. And of course, so will a twitter search! Try #edtech #virtualrealiity for a start.

READINGS & RESOURCES

• 10 Reasons to Use Virtual Reality in the Classroom – Start here with for the “why”!
• Can virtual reality revolutionize education? CNN article interviewing several people involved with VR in education.
• Virtual Reality – Terrific resource guide from EdTechTeacher. Includes a webinar, major resources and lots of ideas.
• The ‘Minecraft Effect’?: Educators Hope to Move Students From VR Consumption to Creation – Is VR just a fad that will fade? This article speculates that the real value in VR will be seen when students become creators of experiences. A system called Panoform is discussed where printed grids can be colored, then uploaded and viewed with VR viewers.
• 5 Augmented and Virtual Reality Creation Tools for Students – AR and VR aren’t just for consumption by students. Take a look at these tools and think about how your students could be creating content.
• Teachers Explain Why VR is More Than Just a Buzzword
• 3 Ways Augmented Reality Is Wowing Teachers and Students
• StorySpheres – Fascinating example of how to use 360 images to tell stories. Take a virtual trip with the examples provided. Build your own StoryShere and add audio narration.
• Class Tech Tips – Lots of interesting examples of AR and VR in the classroom.
• Getting Started with Google Expeditions and Virtual Reality – A series of blog posts with good background information.
• Virtual Reality in the Classroom – A bunch of articles from Kathy Schrock, good background information and lots of ideas for use in school.
• Augmented and Virtual Reality in the Classroom – As always, Kathy Schrock has the “go to” resource guide. Tons of well organized links to resources, tips, ideas and tool.
• The Ultimate Google Cardboard and Expeditions Resource Guide – Tons of resources to help you figure out how to used Google Cardboard and Expeditions in and educational setting.
• 25 resources for bringing AR and VR to the classroom – More apps to explore.

EXAMPLES & APPS

Augmented Reality

• Quiver App – (iOS and Android, Free w in-app purchases) Print out one of their coloring sheets, color it and then view it with the app. The app shows animated 3D image and action. Within the app you can record the actions on the screen and record your voice. The full educational app ($7.99 iOS, $5.99 Android) includes tons of printable pages. (Formerly called colAR)  USES: Students can record themselves sharing facts and stories about their creations. Use the creations as story started for writing projects. Example of it used for a reading exercise.
• SkyMap – Wondering what that bright star is? Or is it a planet? Point your phone at the sky and the app shows you what you’re looking at. (Android, Free, there are similar apps for iOS)
• The 10 Best AR Apps for Classrooms Using Apple’s New ARKit
• Live Butterflies Augmented Reality Experience – An example of how the Live Butterflies app can be used with students.
• Translate Text on the Fly Using Your Phone and the Google Translate App – Point the app at a sign in a foreign language to translate it.

Virtual Reality

• Google Expeditions – Take your students on immersive tours of historic sites, remote landscapes, and more. Works best with VR viewers (like Google Cardboard) and smartphones. Can also be used with iPads, but without the VR viewer. The teacher selects the expedition the class will go on and each student’s device connects to the teacher’s device via wifi. The teacher then guides the experience. Don’t have devices for each student, project the expedition on your big screen or whiteboard for the whole class to enjoy. To test it out: Find a friend and download the app to your mobile devices. One of you will be the guide and the other the student. The guide opens their app and selects an expedition. The student opens their app and is be prompted to join the teacher’s expedition. (I tested it out by myself with my iPad as the guide and my Android phone as the student.)
• Merge Cubes – Billed as “the hologram you hold in your hand”  An Educator’s Guide to Augment Learning with Merge Cube covers what you need to know about this popular little VR cube.
• How to Create Virtual Reality Panoramas – Video from Free Tech for Teachers shows how easy it is to create a 360 VR panorama with the free Google Cardboard Camera app.
• Google Street View Camera – Create 360 degree Google street views with this app on your iOS or Android device. “how to” tips. You can even connect your street view images into something of a walking tour: Create your own Street View
• 15 Fantastic Virtual Reality in Education Resources – Some great VR resources for use in the classroom.
• Virtual Reality Classroom Guide – Covers lots of options for getting the gear you need to use Google Expeditions in the classroom
• Google Cardboard – This inexpensive viewer (around $10) can be used with many different VR content apps and provides a reasonably good VR experience. The New York Times sent these out to their subscribers in 2015 to help promote their VR content.  Other viewers include: Mattel Viewmaster ($30), Google Daydream ($70) and Samsung Gear VR ($95), among others.
• Google Cardboard Camera App (Android and iOS, Free) – Create your own 360 degree images for viewing. These are static 360 degree images, not video. But so simple to create! Students could create their own images during field trips or vacation trips.
• Nearpod VR – The Nearpod app includes over 100 VR based lessons. Can be used with or without VR viewers
• Some simple VR Content to try – View in the YouTube app on your phone or try viewing with a VR viewer like Google Cardboard.
  • Buckingham Palace Tour
  • EVEREST VR: 360 Preview

MORE TO EXPLORE

• ADDITIONAL RESOURCES – Ongoing list of additional resources on this topic.

LEARNING ACTIVITY

Remember, you don’t have to explore everything on this page, there’s a lot here to make sure everyone finds something new and interesting to do.

• Explore some of the readings and apps.
• If you have a smartphone or tablet, download an app or two and test them out.
• If there are other related services/tools that we haven’t been mentioned, feel free to explore them instead.
• Consider how you can use these tools with your students.
• Write a blog post about your experience, reactions, ideas.

*TURNING IN YOUR ASSIGNMENT

• Write & publish your blog post.
• Copy the URL (webpage address) for your post.
• Return to your Google Classroom, find the assignment page for the lesson you just completed and follow the directions for turning in and sharing your work.

*Only for students participating in the workshop for PD credit hours through the Google Classroom.

---