Augmented Reality in Schools - WHY?!!

Remember this quote?  It was all the rave a few years ago.... 

(OK, maybe it was more than a few years ago.... actually, it was published in 1986 - what do you expect?? I am "well seasoned"  :-)

"Everything I need to know... I learned in kindergarten." 
― Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

When I first heard that - fresh out of University in Canada - I didn't quite agree.  Then I read the book!  What I took away from that statement was that the foundation building lessons of our lives come from our childhood - and for most of us, that is time spent in school.  One of those "foundational lessons" involves (at least I believe it does) IMAGINATION.

Einstein was once quoted as saying that  "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."

The 5 "E's" of education (http://faculty.mwsu.edu/west/maryann.coe/coe/inquire/inquiry.htm) begin with ENGAGE....  I have found throughout my 30 years of being a teacher that if I can ENGAGE my students - grab their attention if you will - then I "have them" for my entire lesson plan.  One way to engage younger students is to have the imaginary world break through in to the "real" world.  While it is relatively straight forward to understand how Augmented Reality can work in business, or to help change a car tire, or fix a printer, what this amazing technology can do in the school environment is to bring a wonderful part of our mind to bear - IMAGINATION.

If you have not seen this 11 minute video of Sir Ken Robinson on Changing Education Paradigms, you should!!!  This is why imagination is soooo important!!

(Click this link to watch the video)

READY.... OK then... Let's have some practical A/R (Augmented Reality) examples:

Younger Grades...  Partnership with Daqri, Crayola and 3D Systems (the 3D printer people).

Here is a video showing how it works....

(click here to watch video)

OK my fellow teachers... this is coloring - on steroids!! But, what we have done is introduce the idea of Augmented Reality to our younger students - in a way that is creative and builds critical skills. (fine motor coordination, sharing, following directions, focused play, and so on...)  Remember, most of these children will be entering a world where A/R is much more commonplace that it is now.  Trust me on this one - there were HUGE, multi-billion dollar, multi-national companies at this expo that were talking about how they are integrating A/R into their businesses, today, right now!

Oh yes, by the way, 3D Systems are working with this to take the final creation that the student made and 3D PRINT IT!!  In COLOR!!!  The same colors that the student used to color the drawing is transferred to the 4D creation and then the 3D print is done in that color!!!

OK, so how about older students?...

One of my favorite A/R assignments involves taking historical figures (since I did this at a Jewish school, we used great Rabbi's of the past...) researching information on them and presenting that information in a fun way.  First, the students had to research a historical figure and create a 30 second summary on that person's life.  Using Morfo (on the iPad) we then animated a "head shot" photograph or portrait of the historical figure and had the student record their 30 second presentation.  As the student speaks, the mouth (and the eyes!) on the "head shot" animate to match what is being said. We then digitally attach the video to the picture of the head shot (using the Daqri 4D Studio).  In the classroom, the students hang up the "head shots" of their historical figures and when the Daqri enabled smart phone or tablet camera passes by, boom - the head starts talking!!

Now, what 21st Century Skills did we exercise here?  Collaboration, presentation, time management, research skills, programming skills, effective use of technology, and so on...  When you stop and think of it, the "tech part" was minimal.  It was just the "icing on the cake" of developing well equipped 21st Century Learners.  And you know what... the students had a BLAST doing it.  They will remember this experience for the rest of their lives.  Imagination has been stimulated.

What Ideas can you come up with??  Please share them on the blog!

Now, just because.....  here are some pics of me at the 4D expo today.

Wearing the Daqri 4D Helmet (with the infra-red sensor system)

 

What We see with our eyes....

What we see with the Daqri app running.....
Note that there is now a digital clock on the face
of the cube.

From the Daqri 4D Expo....

Regards....

Yossie

Yossie Frankel
Director - Consortium for Information and Academic Technologies
Member Schools:
Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy - yfrankel@hillelhebrew.org
Oakland Hebrew Day School - y.frankel@ohds.org
Shalhevet High School - y.frankel@shalhevet.org
Yeshivat Yavneh - www.yha.org
Arete Preparatory Academy - yfrankel@areteprep.org

Midreshet Emunah V'Omanut - Jerusalem - yfrankel@emunahvomanut.org
Checkout my blog @ technorebbe.blogspot.com
Twitter @yossiefrankel
YouTube Channel: YossieFrankelChannel
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