More Than Meets the Eye

Augmented Reality can be used to turn your school into an interactive playground of learning, says Sally Tippett...

With the introduction of the new primary computing curriculum, your head’s probably swimming with techie terms and ICT buzzwords. Look beyond the jargon, however, and you’ll find some really inspiring and useful teaching tools that can be used to make everyday activities a great deal more interactive. Augmented Reality (AR) is a classic example.

“What exactly is Augmented Reality?” you may well ask. Well, in good old plain English, AR is a tool that allows you to add layers of digital information (videos, additional images, sound clips, animation – you name it) on top of objects in the physical world, which can then be viewed through an Android or iOS device (tablet, mobile phone, etc). So, for example, using AR, children might watch a video of a volcano erupting when they hold an iPad over a photo of Vesuvius.

“Great,” You reply. “I like the sound of that. How do I use it in the classroom?”

This is where I get really excited – Augmented Reality opens up so many exciting possibilities as there are countless ways to link static, real-life objects – e.g. classroom resources, pupils’ work, and wall displays – to relevant ‘virtual’ information. For instance:

Homework

Pupils scan their homework with an Android or iOS device, which will then show them a pre-recorded video of their teacher telling them what to do.

Book reviews

Take a photograph of the cover of the book and use AR to attach a video of pupils giving their own book reviews.

Classroom displays

Bring displays to life by using Augmented Reality to attach additional information, video or sound to key posters, words, and artefacts.

Explanation video

Pupils photograph their own work and then add an AR video to explain their working or problem-solving techniques.

Staff introductions

You know those photos you have in the entrance hall at school? How about having each member of staff introduce themselves through AR?

School prospectus

Bring images alive in your printed media and make it a truly interactive experience.

AR in action – School scrapbooks

One of the schools I work with used Augmented Reality in a particularly lovely – and poignant – way. As part of its centenary celebrations, pupils from Henry Chadwick Primary School, in the Staffordshire village of Hill Ridware, made scrapbooks charting the school’s history. The school’s ICT coordinator, Vicki Barnes, was keen to include an ICT element to help celebrate the theme of the school’s ‘past, present and future’. We discussed some options and, once I mentioned Augmented Reality, Vicki thought of the scrapbooks.

I gave Vicki some training on how to use Aurasma – a free Augmented Reality app. I demonstrated how the app could be used to enable people with iPads to watch videos linked to the photos when viewing the scrapbooks. Vicki then went through the same process with the children in her class.

The result was fantastic – the entire school was captivated and Vicki was able to share her training with other teachers who, in turn, rolled the project out in their own classrooms. It’s a great example of how good use of ICT can be applied across the curriculum, and even passed on to teachers who would usually be apprehensive about trying something new.

Fantastict (fantastict.co.uk ) is a national provider of advisory services, training and curriculum support packages focusing on the effective use of technology. From stand-alone training to comprehensive curriculum support packages, Fantastict’s team of expert consultants helps primary and secondary schools to ensure effective adoption of new technologies.

About the author

Sally Tippett is primary curriculum development adviser at Fantastict (fantastict.co.uk). Previously a local authority advisor, Sally works with primary schools to develop the effective use of ICT.