The Next Tech Thing: AR

Showing posts with label AR. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2019

Minnetonka Third Graders Go to Space (Virtually) in a Weather Balloon!

Last week third graders in Bettina Grund’s third grade Spanish immersion class at Clear Springs Elementary visited outer space! Not literally, of course. They used our new ClassVR headsets to leave earth in a weather balloon, rise up into the upper levels of the atmosphere, and eventually end up in outer space. Once they made it to space, they visited the sun and some of the planets in our solar system.

I was with them on this virtual field trip and students were so excited and engaged. They worked with a partner and took turns wearing a headset. I noticed two students girls, Ellie and Evie, who were holding hands as they took turns using headset for a few minutes at a time. I sat down with them and asked them about their trip. I learned that they had been studying the solar system already in class prior to this journey. Evie showed me her science packet about the solar system and explained that they learned about satellites, planets, orbits, seasons, and phases of the moon among other things. Ellie explained that they had made moon viewers using a paper plate with a hole cut in the center and illustrated the various phases of the moon on the plate around the hole. They liked learning about the planets and especially enjoyed this virtual field trip.

While riding the weather balloon ClassVR uses virtual reality providing a 360 degree environment to look around. When viewing the sun and the planets, the ClassVR experience uses augmented reality. So this means that a mini version of each planet appears to be floating in front of the students while they simultaneously saw their classmates and the rest of the room. For students who were not viewing something while their partner was wearing the headset, they could watch along on the screen up front. On the screen, the teacher was displaying her ClassVR dashboard, in which she can see what everyone is looking at or display one person’s view. She could also guide the tour by having everyone see the same thing.

Bettina explained that using these headsets was an activity that she opted to give a try. She found it fairly easy easy to use and this was the second day the students had spent about a half an hour of class visiting the solar system. This activity was combined out only with science but also language arts after the students learned solar system Spanish vocabulary using iStation. The ClassVR experience fit in nicely as an extension to deepen their learning.

Thanks to the Minnetonka Foundation, 24 Class VR headsets were purchased this year. Eight headsets are stored in one portable case, so the three cases are available for our teachers to check out and use all together or in smaller sets.

Class VR Headsets Now in Minnetonka Classrooms

This year in Minnetonka classrooms our students and teachers have the opportunity to use virtual reality headsets for learning. Thanks to the Minnetonka Foundation, 24 Class VR headsets were purchased. Eight headsets are stored in one portable case, so the three cases are available for our teachers to check out and use all together or in smaller sets.

Each of the headsets allows the learner to experience virtual reality in a simulated environment guided by the teacher. Students can explore historical locations such as the pyramids or a castle. They can go into outer space or underwater to explore coral reef. Students can go into the bloodstream to learn about the body or go back in time to see what a site or location looked like in the past.

Class VR provides each teacher with the dashboard to oversee and guide learning. Teachers see a thumbnail in live time of what each student is viewing. They can push out content to all students at once or to specific individuals. Class VR has a library of pre-curated virtual experiences for students as well as a library where educators from around the world can create and curate content. Class VR headsets also work with Google Expeditions.

In the past I have written about a AR/VR experiences that our students have in Minnetonka, such as… We are excited for the increased opportunities to make learning more meaningful through augmented and virtual reality that these sets of ClassVR headsets will provide for our students. They will be a great way to enhance and make learning more memorable for students!

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Monday, January 21, 2019

Fourth Grade Student-led Virtual Field Trips with Google Tour Creator

A couple months ago I wrote about Fifth Graders Creating AR/VR Experiences to Enhance Learning in an after school club led by Joy Curran, Minnewashta Elementary Advanced Learning Coordinator. Recently these opportunities for students have expanded beyond the club to all grade four Spanish immersion social studies students. Teachers are very excited about further possibilities.

Fourth grade teacher Carolyn Suarez attended a social studies conference a few months ago and was excited to incorporate more virtual field trip experiences for her students. First, teachers started with Google Expeditions, exploring places around the world. If you haven’t seen this master list of over 900 Google VR Expeditions, take a look. There is now a second tab with over 100 AR Experiences, too. Here are some instructions for using Google Expeditions with iPads.

When the fourth grade teachers talked with Joy and heard that they could have students create their own tours they were even more excited. Students used Google Tour Creator as they were researching a Spanish speaking country. The teachers laid out the framework of the project, such as including the country’s flag and a stop at the capital city and include facts about each site shown on the tour. Students were very engaged and created some great tours, learning how to use the program and even add in additional embedded photos such as a dolphin jumping in the water within a beach scene. They even were able to use Merge VR Goggles and refurbished smartphones to view on another’s tours, too.

The teachers explained that this was a good way to get started with VR. Students were very motivated and some even continued to work on their projects at home. The teachers are anxious to try other more extensive projects, such as having the students include audio narration as well as use other VR/AR tools such as CoSpacesEdu with Merge Cubes. They plan to give students more voice and choice in future projects and will be including the option to create a VR/AR project for upcoming assignments. They also received some grant money to purchase more refurbished phones. It will be fun to see what the students create next!

Fifth Graders Creating AR/VR Experiences to Enhance Learning

Today I stopped by the Minnewashta Elementary after school VR/AR club. About twelve fifth grade students meet weekly for six weeks to learn and experiment with augmented reality and virtual reality tools with the teacher, Joy Curran. When I was there, students were learning to use a program to create augmented reality scenes and stories using an iPad or Chromebook. Some were creating multiple scenes together in order to end up with a choose-your-own-adventure story. They were testing their creations by loading them onto an iPhone to hold up and see their AR character in action.

Last year, Joy Curran and Heather Baker were awarded a Teacher Grant from the Minnetonka Schools Foundation to purchase virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) equipment for students to use in the classroom. The video above showcases some of these tools in use.

In previous weeks of the club, Joy had students create their own 360 degree virtual reality tours using Google Tour Creator. To do this, "students chose a country they wanted to explore and created their own VR tours using imagery from Google’s Street View. They learned how to add sound, embed photos, and add points of interest to their scenes. Then they went on a virtual field trip and viewed each other’s completed tours in our VR headsets." Finished tours can be viewed with or without headsets.

Merge cubes is another example of an AR tool students have tried out in the club. We continue to encourage all our teachers to try out more AR and VR tools, such as Google Expeditions (see related posts below). It will be exciting to see what students create as they have more time using these tools!

How an Apple Pencil Enhances Teaching & Learning

This past summer we refreshed all of our student devices in our one to one iPad program for grades 5 -12 and all teacher iPads K-12 with the iPad 6 which supports the Apple Pencil. We also purchased some Apple Pencils for about half our teachers in order to learn the benefits of this new tool. Using pencils in school, of course, is nothing new but the Apple Pencil exponentially increases the capabilities of a traditional pencil. An Apple Pencil is more than just a stylus. In addition to being able to annotate using digital ink, opening applications, moving objects, and interacting with menus and more using the tip of the Apple Pencil, the device itself connects to the iPad using bluetooth and is pressure sensitive. This means that when used with an application built specifically to utilize the features of the Apple Pencil, the user can simply increase the width of a line of digital ink by pressing harder with the tip of the Pencil on the same way that you would with a paintbrush. Applications also recognize when the Pencil is in use and can be set up to only accept input from the tip, meaning a user now has the ability to rest her/his hand on the iPad itself while writing or drawing.

At first, this last feature might not seem like a big deal. However, one high school math teacher who described the Apple Pencil as the biggest change to her teaching in years explained it this way: with it she can now write super legibly while resting her wrist on the screen as she walks around the room teaching from her iPad, wirelessly mirroring her screen on to the projector display at the front of the classroom. Being be out in the class with her students allows her to look at their work and interact with them. She can precisely graph lines and write exponents in equations with fine details and precision not previously possible without the Apple Pencil. She uses the same app that students use--Notability--to work through problems together as she’s teaching and walking around the room. Prior to having the Apple Pencil, she had attempted to use her finger or another stylus but these did not allow her to rest their wrist on the iPad. This resulted in messy handwriting and she just stayed in one place in order to write on her iPad or stayed at the front of the room using the SMARTBoard instead.

Last week we surveyed the teachers who received Apple Pencils and asked them to provide feedback about their experience so far. Here are some of the comments and feedback collected when asked about the benefits of the Pencil and if/how it had changed their teaching:

Everything! I use it for notes in class, for creating video lessons for students, for creating answer keys, for demonstrating to students how to do certain problems. I use it primarily within Notability (also with Reflector) and Explain Everything.
I am much more excited about utilizing the iPad. Writing is easier and neater with the Apple Pencil. Students have commented that they appreciate when I teach using the Apple Pencil and Reflector rather than the SmartBoard. I am able to be more mobile during class.
I am able to teach from my iPad, allowing me to walk around while teaching. I do not stand in front of the room, but am constantly walking around. The apple pencil allows me to write legibly while writing, especially since we are solving math problems every day.
It has significantly minimized the time using the SMARTBoard. I start the lessons with SMARTBoard, but when I do examples, or extended writing, I mirror the iPad. This allows me to freely walk around the room and establish a greater presence.
I also use it to create examples of Art and how the iPad can allow the user to improve on current artistic capabilities.
The Apple Pencil basically encourages me to use the iPad more and Smart Notebook software less. I use the following apps: Paper53, Notability, ExplainEverything.
Notability and Brushes Redux. I use it to manage behavior and meander around the room while I’m working so students feel more connected. I am able to be more involved and do the work along with them, which is very beneficial for keeping pace as I work with special education program students.
I have been able to immerse myself in learning more and improve my teaching style. I use the SMARTBoard a lot for writing and math problems but I have small group classes. This allows me to sit among students and work alongside them which improves their engagement. I am able to monitor their learning while I teach rather than needing to stop and meander the room. I also have students who struggle with writing and this has been a big motivator for them (borrowing it).
I am able to use Notability and Reflector way more effectively, my writing is clear. I use this for direct instruction. I can write notes/feedback on student iPads more clearly during work time as well. Grading with the Schoology app is much easier as well.
Grading!! It is so much more efficient to write feedback for students on their Schoology submissions. I also am better able to model work for students.

As you can see, teachers are finding multiple benefits of the Pencil. When asked how frequently they are using a pencil, 52% of teachers stated that they use it every day and another 19% percent stated they use it hourly.

We have also seen a few students purchase their own Apple Pencils to use with their iPad, too--right now about one or two students per class. This number will likely increase in the months to come. The Apple Pencil design could be improved: not having it be completely round so that it wouldn’t roll off of desks and tables, making the cap attach somehow to the Pencil itself, and making the pencil sturdier to prevent getting cracked or broken when stepped on (although I have yet to hear of this happening). We have also tested out the Logitech Crayon, which cost about $30 less, but unfortunately is not pressure sensitive, so the cost savings doesn't seem worth it. We'll continue to monitor the benefits of this tool and look forward to improvements to the product in the future that likely will yield even more benefits for teaching and learning.

New iPads Coming for Minnetonka Grade 5-12 Students to Accelerate Learning

Image Source: Apple

At its last meeting the Minnetonka School Board unanimously approved the purchase of new iPads for our 6,400 grade 5-12 students (watch the meeting). Funding will come from a three-year payment structure. For the past eight years in our 1:1 iPad program, we have refreshed about a third of the devices each year. This means that students in our 1:1 iPad used an iPad that was no older than three years. After three years, we collected these iPads and redistributed them to our K-4 students to use in their classrooms in small sets at a ratio of about 1:4. We also have been cycling out the oldest iPads to a reseller, because the value of iPads that are five or more years old is still quite high.

Because of our past rotation schedule, this meant that students in our 1:1 program were using three different models of iPads. The memory, speed, and operating systems capabilities varied--such as split screens being available on new models but not on older ones, etc. The decision to do a mass refresh will mean that all students will start with a new device this fall with the same capabilities: an iPad 6th Generation.

There are many exciting features for learning in these new devices, including the AR capabilities, of which the current possibilities are only beginning. The Apple Pencil will also work with these iPads. We are purchasing some of these Apple Pencils for teachers to use in an extended pilot. We are anxious to see how teachers use this additional tool for instruction, adding the ability to easily annotate as they instruct with a wireless mobile device using apps like Notability and Explain Everything. Students will be able to use their own Apple Pencil if they so choose.

In order for this to happen, we had to collect all of our current iPads about one month ago. In the past we had only collected about 1,600 iPads at the Last Minute to Maximize Learning. A few weeks ago we collected almost 6,000 student iPads in the final week of school. Normally our students keep their iPads for the summer, but because of this mass refresh, we collected almost all of them. Some exceptions were teacher iPads as well as about 800 students taking a Tonka Online class this summer. These two groups will trade in their old iPad for a new one in August when everyone else receives theirs as well. Below is just a small sampling of photos showing what the organization and process of this collection looked like:

Photo by Sara Hunt

This process involves a tremendous amount of work on the part of teachers, staff, and students, too. I am thankful it went so smoothly and look forward to getting the new devices in the hands of our students and teachers next month to accelerate learning in the coming years!

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Monday, April 9, 2018

Ray Kurzweil: “The Power of Ideas to Transform the World Is Accelerating”

If you haven't ever heard Ray Kurzweil speak about technology and the future, you should. He is the chief futurist and director of engineering at Google Research. Regardless of whether you agree or not, or perhaps even fear his predictions, he speaks of a radically different future which will quickly be upon us and change our lives, our children and grandchildren, education, and so much more. Years ago at one of the first ed tech conferences I had the opportunity to attend I was able to hear him speak in person. He has a proven track record of making accurate predictions about the future, successfully foretelling many of the technological advances we have experienced over the past few decades. A few weeks ago he spoke at SXSW, and although I was not able to be there in person to hear him, I found the recording of it fascinating and would encourage you to watch it. The video embedded above is actually a pre-interview before his presentation at SXSW. More on both talks with the recordings can be found here.

Despite statements from people like Elon Musk saying that the "single biggest threat to our future is not nuclear weapons but artificial intelligence," Ray Kurzweil says he is an optimist. He explains that technology is making things better: worldwide, poverty and crime are down. Advances in medicine are greatly improving the health and life expectancy of people. He explains that we tend to focus on the negative because technology and communication allow us to learn of bad news instantaneously--he said a century ago we would have never heard of something, 50 years ago we would have read about it the newspaper days after it happened, and now we can watch things happen worldwide in real time. He also mentioned that as humans, evolutionarily we are in tune to be defensive and on alert for bad things, which is another reason we are so aware of many negative news headlines despite evidence that things aren't as bad as they used to be.

Regarding technology, Ray points out that the cell phones now in the pockets of teenagers in Africa have the equivalent of what would have been trillions of dollars of communication and computer technology in the 1960s, billions of dollars worth in the 1980s, and millions of dollars worth just a few years ago. He states that technology is a tool, extending our reach and our intelligence and states that cell phones as "brain extenders." He stated that "years ago we need tools to reach the fruit at the top of the tree, now technology is used to extend our intelligence and our what’s possible." Technology is accelerating ideas that are--and will--transform the world.

Some of Kurzweil's current predictions mentioned in this interview include:

Printing off 3-D clothing is coming in the early 2020s as printers get better and will be able to print out items smaller than threads.

Vertical hydroponic farming in urban areas will be widely used. In vitro fertilization for cloning meat tissues for food will transform farming and the food industry.

A real wave of transformative AR and VR experiences and use will begin in a few years. Kurzweil explained that with many technologies, the first wave seems promising and generates excitement, but then disappoints, much as AR and VR initially did. Things are getting better behind the scenes and exponentially improving and will really be transformative in a few years.

Augmented intelligence is coming...if you know about Kurzweil and any of his past work, such as his book The Singularity is Near, you know that he believes in a coming merge between humans and machines. In this interview, he explains that we will have a synthetic neocortex in the cloud connected to our brain, nano technology will enable medical technologies to extend our life span and greatly improve our immune system and replace/print off new body parts. He is predicting this to happen around 2050. For more on this, take a look at Kurzweil's AI Website.

These are just a few of his predictions. It's hard to comprehend exponential change and realize just how soon many of these things are coming and will transform life as we know it! Check out some related posts below: