Thing 13: Augmented & Virtual Reality

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INTRODUCTION

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

10 reasons to use virtual realityGraphic 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

EXAMPLES & APPS

Augmented Reality

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.

MORE TO EXPLORE

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.


3 thoughts on “Thing 13: Augmented & Virtual Reality

  1. https://edu.google.com/expeditions/ar/#about

    Google has added some AR experiences

    and a bunch of new expeditions for this school year.

    And check out the new mixed reality headset from Microsoft. Not ready for primetime, but interesting to see what else is being developmed . https://www.econsultancy.com/blog/68442-microsoft-s-hololens-a-review-of-the-mixed-reality-headset

    Pinterest board with lots of resources: https://www.pinterest.com/LibraryByNikki/augmented-virtual-reality/

    Withing VR tours: https://www.with.in/

  2. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-01-22-five-ways-teachers-can-use-and-create-augmented-reality-experiences
    Create a digital breakoutedu with augmented reality app Metaverse!

    Fun VR videos from google – Google Spotlight Stories – view with a VR viewer or without. Android and iOS https://atap.google.com/spotlight-stories/

    Unleash the Power of Storytelling With These New AR and VR Tools | EdSurge News https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-04-04-unleash-the-power-of-storytelling-with-these-new-ar-and-vr-tools

    #ARVRinEDU Education 360 Youtube videos
    https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL99oBFi6gZOhCu-nd_oYMDeVVCTcAuwOy

    and chekcout the Storyfab app for iOS for a tool for students to create their own AR movies. – http://www.story-fab.com/ hope they will set up a way to have a non-facebook login.

    Virtual Reality 101: What You Need to Know About Kids and VR from CommonSense Media – https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/virtual-reality-101

    These New Web-Based AR and VR Tools Are Perfect for Chromebooks
    https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-05-15-these-new-web-based-ar-and-vr-tools-are-perfect-for-chromebooks

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