Augmented Reality with Aurasma lite app

A few days ago I learned about one of the coolest apps I've seen in the last 2 years.  Aurasma Lite.  I'm sure I sound like a fanboy already, but let me quickly describe what it does and then I'll share some ideas I have to use this effectively in the classroom.

The Basics:
Take a picture of an object then assign a picture or a video from your device to the original object.  Or assign objects or animations from Aurasma's gallery to the orignal object.  The app walks you through this process flawlessly.

Then save your Aura.

After uploading to the Aurasma server and waiting 1-3 minutes, your aura is ready to be viewed.  Here is where it gets cool...

While in the Aurasma app (the camera will launch) hold your device up to the object you took a picture of earlier.  The app will sense the presence of an aura and will display the image or video that you assigned to that object.  It's a little like QR codes without the ugly black and white codes all over.

Lesson ideas:
It took me a day or two to wrap my brain around the app and what it can do.  Fortunately @LachHull shared with me her idea for an Aura wall.  The best part is that her 5-6 yr. old students helped to create it.

Then @TeacherTechnol sent me a tweet with her idea for a Shakespeare lesson.

So with help from other teachers my mind has taken off...

Foreign Language: Vocabulary spaces.  Start in any room and have your students augment the reality of that room.  Have them create virtual placards or quick 2-3 second videos that show the spelling of that object and someone pronouncing the word.  Now they are seeing & hearing vocabulary for all the objects in that particular space.  See below nice it works.



"Auracaching": As a big fan of geocaching lessons, I have loved the results of getting students up and moving around as they learn various subject matter.  For kinesthetic learners there is nothing better.  Auracaching brings elements of geocaching in from the outdoors.  Teachers or Students create auras about a particular unit or topic.  Each Aura (or station) should prompt an action from the participants. Then place the objects in various places around the room or building.  The teacher then gives the students hints about where each aura can be found.  Once each aura is found the student completes the activity prompted by the Aura.

Augmented Story: Students write a story.  They create videos, pictures, and perhaps QR codes linking to activities and websites that add value to the story.  Then aura markers and QR codes are added to the body of the story.  Now when the reader reads the story with a smartphone or tablet the auras and links are scanned to create a very unique reading experience.

School performance program: Band, Theatre, Choir, or Orchestra...While parents are waiting to get seated or during intermission, they could be viewing the night's program.  The program could have pictures of each student and when scanned it could bring up a video of each student introducing themselves.

One of the biggest advantages I see to this app, is that it is a creation tool.  Teachers don't need to do all the work, but should rather allow students the freedom to help create a great Aurasma experience.

Caveats:  

1. Aurasma is still in Beta, so just know that you are using a product that isn't quite finished.  But you may be helping to polish it, so take pride in that and help provide useful feedback.
2. For now, you must have one Aurasma account per device.  Meaning that you must save all auras to each device being used.  (Aurasma, if you're listening, please help educators make it easy to allow each student to have their own experience.)
3. Some districts may have firewalls and filters that block the content coming back from the Aurasma servers.  If this is the case see your district's IT team.

Do you have ideas/lessons for this app?  Please share by leaving a comment or a link.

Changing the World

Today I have a guest post from blogger Marina Salsbury, who discusses a new $99 tablet designed specifically for education.  Guest posts are always welcome.  Please drop me a line if you are interested.


As technology continues to grow and further develop, its reaches and depths are also expanding. Currently, technology is involved in all aspects of society and is seeping into new arenas as well. With this development has come the advent of new technologies to be utilized in new ways and different places.

One area that has benefited from the advancement of technology is education. Research shows that technology offers education several advantageous opportunities. Any variety of technology benefits education by further involving students in learning, engaging students in group work activities, and increasing student-to-student as well as student-to-teacher involvement. Technology also enhances resource availability as well as offers new learning opportunities, potentially decreases educational costs, and expands the teaching and learning horizon.

According to Online MBA, designing a product today must make life easier by responding to needs that customers didn't know they had. Marvell has the answer for all this by asking, “What is the most beneficial, cost-effective, usable piece of technology on the educational market today?” The company has recently introduced its newest piece of technology, the Moby tablet, and is launching a campaign to restructure and the intersection between technology and education. At $99, the Moby, in conjunction with the Mobylize initiative, is aimed at offering a quality product at a feasible price to align the focus of education in line with today’s changing societal progress.

In its attempt to create and offer this quality product, Marvell designed the Moby with a variety of useful features. The Moby contains a Marvell Armada 600-series microprocessor. This piece ensures expedient and reliable internal processing and operates at one of the highest level of processing. The design also offers a video chip equipped to achieve 1080p video as well as some 3-dimensional graphics. The system itself is capable of processing on either the Microsoft Windows or Google Android operating system. The Moby also offers the option of a 10-inch or 7-inch screen size to offer variability in the method of presentation.

While the Moby serves a range of purposes, it's designed to serve as an educational piece. The Mobylize phenomenon is a specific mission of the Marvell company to enable and empower teachers and students by expanding the current horizons of tablet computing. To do so, the Moby is configured to facilitate different varieties of learning interactions. For example, by linking the tablet to different devices, the system will be able to facilitate guided instruction activities in which the teacher leads and the students follow. Such learning might include a manipulative digital experiment or web-based lesson. The Moby can also facilitate collaborative learning by allowing students to work together via interconnected tab interfaces or group work activities. The Moby's offerings are also age-specific to garner optimal interaction for all students. To include parents in the learning process, this tablet also offers a parental organization piece that allows the parent to track the student’s grades, homework assignments, activities, and other important involvement. For the teacher, the Moby has features that permit specific lesson structuring, grade recording, noting calendar events, and other important organizational features. The educator features place all the teacher’s important information and abilities all in one easily-transportable place. The Moby is literally taking the classroom to a whole new virtual world.

In the words of Mobylize, “By improving technology adoption in America's classrooms, we can give students the power to learn, create, connect and collaborate in entirely new ways”.The Moby will ensure that the initial step is taken and, in turn, will change the world (of education at least).