AR with Aurasma – early steps
Getting started with Augmented Reality: Aurasma – early steps
There are a number of different packages that offer access to Augmented Reality – ranging from very expensive high end industry/ government funded simulations to bespoke equipment giving the ‘immersive feel’ such as OCULUS RIFT. For educational purposes, some packages will offer a small number of credits/ pages, but for user generated content by students for students AURASMA is hard to beat.
Our first venture into using AURASMA has been with our ARU first year Computer Gaming Technology students, who experimented with creating Augmented reality artifacts as part of their CPD activities, and a further post will showcase their results.
We then interviewed the different groups to see what, if any benefits came out of working together in this way. A enhanced sense of team work, communication and a marked focus on the future world of work were early themes, a report is forthcoming.
Our early findings were presented as a poster at the ARU Faculty of Health, Social Care and Education (FHSCE) Awayday, and generated significant interest from the staff. We also used it as part of an Augmented Reality ‘wall’ as a technology teachmeet for new staff studying for their PGCERT.
You can download the poster from here : Augmented Poster, and the instructions on how to download and install AURASMA onto your mobile device here: Aurasma Getting Started. Print the poster and find the embedded ‘trigger’ videos of the students talking about their projects by pointing your device at ‘GROUPWORK’ and ‘REFLECTION’
For our new workshops, where we will be getting staff, students, visitors and anyone else who is interested to create an Augmented Reality Poster about their favourite book. The next blogpost will supply instructions and details to enable you to take part.
Technology ‘Teachmeet’
On November 20th the Augmented team provided a short workshop session to new staff from a variety of different departments and faculties on the PGCert as part of a ‘technology teachmeet’. The three hour session showcased different technologies that can make a difference in the classroom, and demonstrated resources new staff may not be familiar with.
In this context we introduced Aurasma, showed how a QR code can be used to simplify the downloading of the app and triggered media from a poster. You can find a video example and instructions on how to do this here: Augmented poster.
Example of the Heart Cam AR app
The Heart Cam App, available on iTunes (HeartCam) by Mechanism digital uses a dedicated app that is free to download, to super impose the beating heart on a printed (or screen) target of a heart.
Here is a link to a video showing the effect, it is a little gory but reasonably anatomically accurate. The Heartcam Example Video
The Augmented Poster
One of the targets for using Augmented reality is to ‘bring to life’ research and other posters by using the images and text on the poster as a trigger for AR. In this case we have used Aurasma to create some ‘Auras’ for a poster.
Here is a video clip showing auras triggered by a poster
You can have a go yourself, even in the absence of the ‘real’ poster – here is a link to the pdf ARPoster2
Below is a QR code that when scanned by a normal QR reader will link your device to the Aurasma Channel for the augmented poster URL http://auras.ma/s/wFokv (or search within Aurasma to follow the channel CGT_PDP_MH)
Link to Aura Channel
About our AR Project
Our Project Aim:
- To develop a framework and resources to support the development of Augmented Reality in the classroom and other learning contexts
Augmented Reality (AR) is identified as a key emergent technology in the NMC Horizon Higher Education Preview (2014) and the pedagogic context of its use as an education tool is the focus of research by assessment expert Bloxham (Bloxham, 2013). The increased use of Smartphones, individual devices for accessing the internet is rapidly increasing – in 2012, over 40 million subscribers accessed the internet via their mobile phones, an increase of nearly 9 million since 2011 (OFCOM 2013). Just 39 percent of high school students said that their school is currently meeting their technology needs according to the 21st Century Classroom Report (CDW-G 2011); students at University are expecting academic staff to lead in the use of technology for their learning (Bradley & Holley 2011). Thus, the increasing coverage and use of BYOD makes it feasible to implement AR in different learning contexts, and Fink (2012) suggests that sufficient students now have access to the mobile devices that can make the most of these materials. Although utilising sophisticated technology, the tools and development environment are accessible to non-experts (Vuforia 2014), (Aurasma 2014), so as well as integrating AR resources into the curriculum it is possible for students and staff to create their own artefacts in a constructive learning context.
Project supported as an Anglia Learning and Teaching (LTP) project
Augmented Reality at ALT-C – links
Thanks to Judy Bloxham @gingerblox and Allen Crawford Thomas (@allenrscwm) for leading a great session – we all got testing out resources in the session…https://altc.alt.ac.uk/conference/2014/sessions/augmented-reality-a-way-to-engage-and-empower-learners-571/
all their resources here: https://sites.google.com/a/jiscadvance.ac.uk/augmented-reality/
Tools to download before starting:
Zappar, Blippar, Layar
To create and host content: Aurasma: create an account and then follow Channels
Judy recommends: Living Learning, WSUK, South Staffordshire College,Myerscough
The JISC website lots of useful links and a blog http://www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/
(reposted from drdebbieholley.com 07/09/2014)
The ‘Italian job’
Dr Mike Hobbs (FST) and Dr Debbie Holley (FHSCE) recently visited the University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, as part of the ERASMUS staff exchange program. Mike and Debbie share research interests in the ‘digital classroom’ and data analysis. Their hosts, Professor Elisa Palomba, a child psychologist expert in early years education, and Professor Enrico Ciavolini, an expert statistician, are interested in intercultural research, and wanted to find out more about how digital technologies could feed into their own practice.
Debbie and Mike taught students on the Masters in Psychology course where the students were introduced to a range of augmented reality artefacts.
Image 1 (left) Mike Hobbs (second from left) explains how AR artefacts work
Image 2 ( right) Debbie Holley (helping student holding pink iPad) helps students focus onto the triggers
Image 3 (left) students are assisted to use their own devices to activate the AR triggers
Image 4 (right) the students all share their devices as part of the ‘digital classroom’ lecture delivered by Debbie
More information on the ‘Ontological analysis for dynamic data model exploration’
Mike Hobbs, Cristina Luca, Arooj Fatima, and Mark Warnes delivered by as part of the statistics course undertaken by the Psychology Masters students are available on the course facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/S.A.R.A.LabStatisticaApplicata
