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! 

Related posts:

• Minnewashta: Learning through a New Lens
• Google Expeditions Pioneer Program Visits Minnetonka Schools
• Google Cardboard- Virtual Reality in the Classroom

Limitations of 1:1 Chromebooks, Laptops, and Non-iPad Tablets

Recently I wrote about the value of tablets in math and other subjects where only having a keyboard would be limiting, such as art, music, physical education, science, and world language. 1:1 tablets are truly a universal tool that add value and enhance learning across all subject areas, multiple grade levels and tasks from basic to highly complex. (Video of iPads in high school calculus)

Besides limiting input to only text on a keyboard and not having the flexibility to use handwriting or drawing, devices like laptops, Chromebooks, and even non-iPad tablets are less versatile than iPads. The iPad itself is lightweight and highly portable, so students can work anywhere and anytime -- at home lying on a couch or their bed, sitting on the bus, standing in the hall, or on the court. Students on the Minnetonka swim team even film their workouts underwater using a Ziploc bag over an iPad and review the film with their coach. The iPad is an amazingly versatile device for anywhere, anytime learning.

Since its introduction, a Chromebook’s low price point has made it very attractive to many schools beginning 1:1 programs. This has resulted in heavy sales and widespread adoption. Unfortunately, schools aren’t factoring in the costs of having to refresh the students’ devices more frequently due to a shorter device life, as well as the educational sacrifices inherent in only having a keyboard. As explained above, much of school and learning is not typed on a keyboard. Subjects like math, art, music, and more require more flexible devices for an investment to see the best possible return. In addition as stated earlier, the iPad has proven residual resale value after years of use.

We currently have Chromebooks on carts available in our K-12 schools for basic uses like taking state tests, editing Google Docs and some coding. Chromebooks require an Internet connection for most uses, and software and files are stored in the cloud, making some offline tasks not possible. When using a Chromebook, a user is still limited to running all apps and use of that device through the Chrome web browser. Users can’t use or install programs other than what works through the Chrome web browser. In comparison with an iPad, the processing power of a Chromebook and its speed stills lag with video files, file transfers, copy and paste functions, and large, web-intensive tasks. This can be made somewhat better by spending more on the device upfront to get some increased capabilities, but that means the device itself isn’t as low of a price to enter the 1:1 world. Chromebooks also have limited local storage with little space for personal files unless you pay more for the device.

Ironically, neither Google Earth or Google Expeditions can be used on a Chromebook. These are two wonderful educational tools used more and more in all Minnetonka 1:1 iPad classrooms for virtual field trips and more. The processing power of a Chromebook is not powerful enough for either of these tools, and the limited storage space prevents it from being able to store enough images and content to make the experience even happen. Recently, an app became available in the Android App store that would make Google Earth work on a Chromebook, but Chromebooks that can run this app cost more upfront. In addition, due to a lack of an accelerometer and gyroscope, neither a Chromebook or a laptop is able to measure the direction the device is moving/rotating it in space. Applications like Google Earth and Expeditions, as well as other virtual reality tools, taking advantage of these advanced special motion sensing abilities.

One of the most widely used tools, by students and teachers alike, is the camera on the iPad. The iPad camera has a significant advantage over other devices. Editing, sharing and uploading to widely used student apps is also seamless on the iPad. Users wishing to edit photos and a movie on a Chromebook are limited to web-based editors such as WeVideo, which are improving but don’t compare to iMovie, and as previously mentioned, require an Internet connection to be used. A Chromebook, or a laptop for that matter, has only one forward-facing camera which makes filming difficult.

For similar reasons, other devices, be that tablet format or a more traditional laptop, have many of the same limitations. The upfront price tag may look appealing, but in the mature ROI model, is a wash or in some cases more expensive. The most extensive, robust and powerful educational and productive applications remain in the iOS ecosystem in comparison with a much smaller, limited options currently available in other platforms. While all devices will certainly improve in functionality as innovation continues, the iPad continues to be our best choice to meet our high instructional goals supported by technology.

Rather than sacrificing functionality and limiting students and teachers in their use of technology, in Minnetonka we have made the device decision on what is best for all of teaching and learning, not a decision based on an initial price or the ability to technically deploy or manage the device. The depth, complexity and innovative nature of Minnetonka’s instructional goals has led us to what we believe is the best single platform to meet these goals. Other technical tools could help support our deep instructional work, but we believe the iPad rises above them. (Read more on our instructional framework for teaching and learning beyond SAMR ladders and pools).

When planning and budgeting for an implementation or even re-evaluating past decisions and possible device changes, it's important to realize that 1:1 programs don't have to start in kindergarten. Ours doesn't begin until fifth grade. (Tip #1 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Execute the Rollout Carefully and Deliberately) While getting any technology in the hands of students is certainly better than nothing, getting the best tool in the hands of some students is better than simply getting a tool in the hands of everyone. Don't forget staff development, either. Planning for sustained teacher professional development is still important six years into our implementation (Tip #2 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Differentiate Teacher Training).

Maybe someday my Christmas Ed Tech Moonshot wish from a couple years ago will come true, and there will be a marriage between Apple and Google, merging the best of both environments into one. Until then, I wish more schools would think through the full implications of their decisions and limits they may be creating when choosing a device. I know that some readers may disagree and perhaps some even be upset reading this, but I would encourage everyone to think outside the traditional teaching and learning environment and beyond the mindset of keyboards to what is truly best for the flexibility of learning for the future.

Related Posts:

• Math: An Overlooked Subject in Non-Tablet 1:1 Programs 

• An Easy Way to Weekly Inform Teachers & Parents of Great Technology Integration

• Beyond SAMR Ladders & Pools: A Framework for Teaching & Learning
• My Christmas Ed Tech Moonshot Wish: A Marriage Between Apple & Google

• Minnetonka Top 100+ Ideas for 1:1 Integration in 5th grade, English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and World Language

• Free iBook about Minnetonka's 1:1 iPad Apple Distinguished Program: Four+ Years Transforming Learning

• Bigger, Better, Faster: New iPads Coming for Year Six in Minnetonka's 1:1 Program; First Devices Cost $0.38/school day 

• School's (Almost) Out, So Keep Your iPad for the Summer

• A Big Bang for Your Buck: The iPad for $0.44/day: Less than a Chromebook

• Tip #1 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Execute the Rollout Carefully and Deliberately 

• Tip #2 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Differentiate Teacher Training

• Tip #3 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation: Use Schoology as the Classroom Hub

• Tip #4 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation- Make Full Use of the iPad as a Formative Assessment Tool 

• Tip #5 for a Successful 1:1 Implementation- Make Classroom Management an Early and Continuous Focus

• Great 1:1 Program Evaluation Questions for Student, Parent, and Teacher Surveys

• Minnetonka's 1:1 iPad Student Training & Setup Checklist & Flipped Student PD 

Google Cardboard- Virtual Reality in the Classroom

One of my sons trying out Google Cardboard

If you haven't tried Google Cardboard yet, you should. Google's virtual reality glasses are paired with their Cardboard app by the same name. Basically it's like adding a View-Master or old-fashioned stereoscope to your phone. The app takes images, Google Maps Street View photos, 360° panoramic images, and more and splits them into a right and a left image for your eyes, so as you look through the lenses in the cardboard goggles it creates a VR 3D-like environment where you feel much like you are there yourself. 

Source: Gadget Releases

I had my kids try out the Google Cardboard to as well as some other apps. They enjoyed it quite a bit. They walked around the Eiffel Tower, Venice, Jerusalem, London, New York, Rome, Mars, and even through the Great Barrier Reef. A few museums are loaded as well with some dinosaur skeletons, airplanes and the Space Shuttle. In each of these places, you are pretty limited to how far you can move around. In the museums, you basically can stand in the middle and turn 360°. They also tried out some of the free VR apps that have been developed for Cardboard, such as Skydive, Racetracks, Roller Coaster VR, and Crossy Road.

Source: GizMag

This whole technology seems to currently be in its infancy stages. 
There was nothing that kept their attention for too long. Some of the images are kind of grainy and that fuzziness may be hard to overcome. I read that some people experience a little bit of dizziness or nausea, but thankfully we did not. I can definitely see that it will be more engaging and attention grabbing as both the interaction within the images as well as the quality of the images improves. Google has released specs for its Jump 360° camera using 16 separate GoPros, as well as made video on YouTube available for VR, so that should help boost the content available. The goggles themselves are not high tech--the flimsy cardboard button/lever in our $12 Domo glasses didn't work, so we had to stick our finger in to touch the phone every time we wanted to walk forward or click. But this is a great design flaw for students to fix themselves, (see farther below). 

Update November 2015: We tried out six different models/brands of Google Cardboard. D-Scope Goggles with a magnet instead of the lever worked the best for us.

Source: Business Insider

In the classroom, I can see all sorts of opportunities for this tool. First, of course, is virtual field trips. Google currently is working on making Cardboard available in its Google Expeditions Program to a limited number of schools. You are already able to go to any place on earth that is covered in the Google Street View app, just look for the Cardboard icon as pictured. So the opportunity to take your class virtually to any place you were studying seems like a great way to make lessons more real. I suppose soon some morph between virtual reality and a Second Life-type avatar environment where you could see your classmates and your teacher in these locations will be arriving, too. A few years ago at the NSBA Conference, I tried on a pair of YouVist Goggles and toured a college campus which was very intriguing. There are endless possibilities for this type of technology.

Another classroom application I see is the construction of the cardboard goggles themselves. Why buy the pre-made kits when you could have each student design and build their own? Google supplies the specifications. It seems like a great project involving math, science, tech, art, and more. Students could add their own features as well as improve features and flaws like the flimsy lever I mentioned earlier. I'd also love to see a larger cardboard glasses that would allow students to use their iPad instead of their phone, too.

"Either way, we think Google's approach to VR is one of the most fascinating. Cardboard will eventually branch out into the kind of consumer gear that's on the horizon from Oculus and Sony, but there's something to be said for making the most dirt-cheap version possible, and using it in ways that can open future generations' eyes a little wider. Change the world first, make a hit product later." Source: GizMag

In a recent podcast I heard about Facebook's $2 billion investment in Oculus, which explained that there are big plans for VR technology in the video gaming industry. I see a lot of potential for this technology in education, too. It's great that Google has made this expensive technology so affordable and accessible for schools as quoted in the GizMag article above. It will be fun to see what developments take place over the next few years!

Related post: Google Expeditions Pioneer Program Visits Minnetonka Schools