In our classroom we use QR codes frequently. Using QR codes gives us an easy way to access information online. In the classroom, teachers usually link codes to websites or a note. You can not link them to a picture and they can only lead you to a video if it is via a video sharing website. They are a fantastic resource, but what if you want to have something go directly to a video? The answer? AR – Augmented Reality!
I was first introduced to AR last school year. I learned about various apps that use AR technology as somewhat of a game for students. There are fun ones like AR Flash Cards, colAR Mix, and Plants 3D. However, the app that I was the most interested in was Aurasma. With Aurasma you can make your own “auras” and “triggers” come to life with a pop up video. I like to think that I am an experienced technology teacher, so it would be no trouble for me. I was wrong. I tried over and over, contacted Twitter friends that I know use the app, and spent a lot of time researching. I finally decided that it was time for me to abandon ship and go back to just using QR codes.
Fast forward to this fall. We were approaching parent teacher conferences and I decided to give AR a spin again. I was thinking about a bulletin board to put in the hallway that parents could read while they were waiting for their turn. I decided that AR would be the perfect mix of showcasing their children’s work while introducing a newer technology to them and the rest of my school.
I loaded Aurasma on my students iPads and signed them all in under my account and put them under my channel. I then had my students write on “guess who” pages. They drew a picture about themselves and wrote three sentences that could lead a reader to discovering who they were. I then called them back one by one and took them through the steps of turning their illustration (called the trigger) into a video overlay (called an aura) of them saying “Hi! You guessed right!”
As we were working on them, the students were eagerly waiting for them to be finished so that they could try to guess each one. I stapled them in the hallway while the students were at a special. As soon as we walked back to our room and saw them up, the students wanted to grab their iPads so that they could check them out. Watching them was something I will not forget. The animated look on their faces when a video “popped up” from a sheet of paper was priceless. Teachers in the hallway stopped to see what we were doing. Everyone was amazed.
.jpg "Mrs Barnett First Grade - Augmented Reality First Grade")
Teachers, click the picture below to download the “guess who” page for your class!
I love this!!! I tried it today and got everything set up, but I was not able to view the auras if I was not signed into my name. Did you have your parents sign in to your account if they downloaded the app themselves? Thank you for your help!
Dana
Hi Dana! Sorry for the delay, I just saw this! Your parents need to be on your channel in order to view the auras. There is no way for it to work otherwise. Aurasma can be tricky to figure out at first, please let me know if you have any more questions!
Sarah
Hi Dana! Thanks for sharing! What I'm not sure about is if a parent follows your channel, and I have different auras set up for each student, how does a parents device 'recognize' their students Guess who page from all the other students?
Hi Dana! Thanks for sharing! What I'm not sure about is if a parent follows your channel, and I have different auras set up for each student, how does a parents device 'recognize' their student
Hi Trisha! If the parent is on the channel, then the device will recognize all of the auras on that channel. It doesn't matter if it is multiple students!
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
I love this idea!!! I'm doing it for this round of conferences. Do you have an example of what you used as your explanation for parents and other teachers to download?
Thanks in advance! Love your blog!
Samantha
Hi Samantha! Thanks for your comment…somehow I missed it!! I looked and looked on my computer and I didn't save the file that I put up. Story of my life! So sorry! Otherwise I would for sure share. Good luck and let me know how it goes!!
This was exactly my experience with Aurasma except I didn't have as much success the second go around. I've been told your wifi connection can really affect the success of the trigger working but I'm in a district that has been 1:1 for several years so it's baffling me. It works for some ipads but not all. I'm wanting to try again and your guess who activity would be motivating for students! Thanks for sharing!
It can be tricky…I keep waiting for it to get better. I know it will some day! I hope the activity goes well for you and your students!!
I love this idea! This will be my first year having 1 to 1 ipads in my classroom and I think this will be a great activity to do at the beginning of the year. I am sure I will be using your reference many times.
Thanks so much, Laurin! That is so awesome that you will have 1:1 iPads in your room this year. You will not remember what life was like when you didn't have them! Let me know how I can help!!
What are on your printed pages on the bulletin board? (ipads)
They are the directions for the parents. I wish I would have saved them on my computer…but I didn't. (story of my life!) They just told them how to get on everything!