21 awesome AR and VR tools for learning

Nearly everyone has experienced augmented reality and virtual reality to some degree, and while they’re fun, AR and VR can also be incredibly powerful when integrated into classroom learning.

During an engaging ISTELive 21 session, Jennifer Hall, NBCT, an educational technology specialist with Atlanta Public Schools, outlined an abundance of AR and VR apps for students and educators.

Augmented reality is the idea that you’re bringing something into your real world and using your device to see something that isn’t actually there. Animation or 3D images come into your real world. Virtual reality is where a person is immersed in the experience, as if they’re actually there.…Read More

What AI can and can’t do in education

When some people hear the term “artificial intelligence,” they think of robots like the ones in the Steven Spielberg movie AI. In education today, AI is something less glamorous.

As a tool among others in the software developer’s toolbox, it is used under the hood in many services and applications that teachers and students use every day in schools and families rely on at home. For example, it enables natural-language processing (search engines, speech recognition, spell checking), social media (interest profiling, sentiment analysis, add targeting), and computer vision (object detection, face recognition, augmented reality).

Despite its many uses, AI has raised some concerns among parents and teachers. According to the report “AI and the Future of Learning” from the Center for Integrative Research in Computing and Learning Sciences, three of those worries are students’ privacy, the potential for bias, and the possibility of teachers losing their jobs to AI.…Read More

National Geographic and NASA Collaborate on Exclusive Mars AR Activation for @natgeo Instagram

The excitement of NASA’s Perseverance rover touching down on Mars continues with National Geographic’s new augmented reality (AR) experience on the @natgeo Instagram account. In what is another historical moment, National Geographic is offering users one of the first opportunities to be the Perseverance rover through this brand-new Mars AR activation, which offers an immersive 360 look at the panorama from the robot’s point of view (and even lets you take a selfie with the rover!).

Through this new activation, Instagram users can expect to truly become one with the rover, seeing through its eyes, observing its first panorama, searching for ancient signs of life on the red planet, and operating its extremities.

To increase the accuracy of the immersive experience, National Geographic collaboratedwith NASA on the Mars AR activation, consulting scientists and engineers who worked to design and build the rover, including Roger Weins (SUPERCAM), Christina Diaz (PIXL), and Jim Bell (Mastcam-Z).…Read More

Learn Letters with 3D Augmented Zoo Videos

As educators are seeking engaging ways to help parents and kids with learning from home, this magically entertaining show for learning letters and letter sounds starts on YouTube.

Designed with early learners in mind, Alive Studios created The Zoo Crew Alphabet Show using the same mind-boggling technology they offer to classrooms. Cynthia B. Kaye hosts the show along with my zany friend, Gerdy Giraffe (a puppet character played by Faith DeWerd, one of their Training Coaches).

Each episode introduces a zoo animal, a letter, and letter sounds using 3D Augmented Reality technology. Some of the shows include a “Come Alive Surprise,” which allows children to use a mobile device to scan an image shown in the show and bring the day’s animal into their home. The free Journals alive™ mobile app is compliments of Alive Studios and works on most tablets and smartphones. This interactive experience breaks new ground in distance learning and presents endless possibilities for young children. The shows also include the reading of an original short rhyming story that teaches a social-emotional growth skill. These stories can be downloaded and printed for kids to read and color at home.…Read More

Augmented reality science flashcards

While the current COVID-19 virus lock-down continues, many children across the world are unable to attend school. Parents and teachers alike may need to come up with creative ways to keep the children occupied and also provide them with education from home.

During these hard times, Octagon Studio would like to support those who are currently at home with our #LearnFromHome campaign. We are giving away 3,000 serial numbers and digital markers for users to enjoy our educational Augmented Reality experiences for free. This campaign shall be ongoing until the pandemic is over or until the 30,000 quotas have been met.

To get a free serial number, users can simply visit our website at https://octagon.studio/ and scroll through to find the #LearnFromHome campaign banner. By clicking the CLAIM NOW button and fill in their details, users will receive an email from us containing a free serial number and the digital markers of the product of
their choice. Each serial number can be used on one device, and each email address can be registered to claim one product out of five available 4D+ series: Animal 4D+,
Octaland 4D+, Space 4D+, Dinosaur 4D+, and Humanoid 4D+.…Read More

Taking the classroom into the world with VR and AR

Generation Z (people born from mid-1990s to 2010s) and Generation Alpha (those born between 2010s and mid-2020s) grew up surrounded by technology. For these young people, devices like smartphones and tablets are like an additional exoskeletal attachment. These young generations are not afraid of new technologies. School districts and universities should not be either.

The 2020s will be the decade of immersive technologies, and this is the year for schools to start exploring how to bring virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) into the classroom. I use VR in my classroom because I see its success, but it’s not just me–multiple studies point to the academic advantages of immersive tech.

Related content: 10 reasons to use AR and VR in the classroom…Read More

eSchool News launches Multimedia Presentation Systems Guide

We are excited to bring you the latest in the eSchool News Guides series. eSchool News Guides are full of resources, tips, trends, and insights from industry experts on a variety of topics that are essential to the classroom, school, and district.

The January Guide, the eSchool News Multimedia Presentation Systems Guide, offers insight on the best multimedia learning tools and resources educators can use in the classroom to engage students, improve classroom climate, and create welcoming classroom environments.

In the guide, we take a look at how one district created a totally immersive learning experience for students. Plus, we examine the ways podcasts improve literacy skills, along with reasons why multimedia tools such as augmented reality and virtual reality should have a place in the classroom.…Read More

5 ways to use AR and VR in the classroom

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are the new hot trends in education. But what does that mean and how is it going to benefit our students? AR superimposes information on our world through the use of a device; VR—a computer-generated environment in which we can interact and be immersed—is typically done with VR goggles and allows you to see a different world or space with 360-degree vision. These new tools may seem futuristic, but we are already living in the world of AR and VR.

Sometimes, technology is a cool factor. This is not a bad thing if the cool factor encourages students to follow their passion for learning or leads a student to a more innovative environment, but we need to keep technology’s instructional benefits at the forefront of our searches. Educators need to look at both AR and VR with a critical eye. We need to discover how this technology can help educate our students. We need to examine the use of this tech and know that we are not just endorsing a cool tool, but rather we are discovering new and innovative means to support our students’ learning.

The benefits of AR & VR are …?

Let’s consider some benefits of these trends. For starters, VR can totally immerse you in another location, another reality. What if we could place the students inside a cell for a science class, or on the road in ancient Rome while reading Julius Caesar? What if we could have students working in a virtual science lab using virtual chemicals that would react according to their natural elements? Talk about an experience like no other!…Read More

Check out these 10 AR apps for your classroom—coding not required

For teachers who have always wanted to use augmented reality (AR)—tech that overlays content on top of the real world—but haven’t had the chance to explore it, Jaime Donally has heard you. In her presentation “Creating Classroom Content in Augmented Reality,” she gave attendees some inside help on which apps to use in the classroom. With programs ranging from beginner level to current AR practitioners, she offered 10 apps that can help educators get started with no coding skills needed.

The best AR apps for your classroom

1. Curiscope 

Using the Virtuali-Tee (a t-shirt with code embedded on it) and the company’s app, students can take an in-depth look at the human body. They can explore the body’s systems and get a deeper understanding of anatomy.

2. Experience Real History (ERH)

Starting with the Alamo in 1836, ERH uses cards and Reality Boards, in addition to the app, to let users get insights into history. The cards feature individuals from the time period, and when two cards are viewed through the app, students learn how the individuals interacted.…Read More

96 edtech predictions for K12 in 2019

We asked 49 edtech executives to look into their crystal balls and share their thoughts about what will happen in 2019. In addition to the usual suspects—more augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) apps—a lot of people believe this will be the year that social emotional learning (SEL) and interoperability become part of the mainstream. There are also a lot of predictions about improving safety and security. Read on to see what’s in store for 2019…

Berj Akian, CEO, ClassLink

• With 2019 here and 2020 in arm’s reach, there’s an ever-growing expectation that next-generation tech tools should do a better job of informing educators on which resources improve learning outcomes. I’m pleased to say that more and more education leaders and technology products providers are regularly talking and doing something about this. I hope this topic always remains the main problem to solve, and that the slow, steady progress the industry is making continues.…Read More

Why our district is investing in AI, AR, VR, and MR

For most of our students, it’s hard to imagine communicating without email or text message. The number of ways our students learn, share, and communicate has grown exponentially in the last few years. Each generation has sought to make the transfer of information faster and more efficient than the generation before them, but the world today is changing at a faster and more immediate pace than at any time in our history.

New technologies like Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Expeditions and Pioneer programs will be the next generation’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Voice technology allows for screen-free interactions and gives students much-needed life-skills practice in the areas of forming questions and focused listening. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) enables students to learn by doing, which increases student engagement, helps with retention, and enhances learning outcomes.

The power of Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI-powered, voice-controlled digital assistants like Amazon’s Alexa have made their way into millions of living rooms but are just now being used in some classrooms. Unfortunately, a steady supply of misinformation and misunderstanding in the news media has made school leaders turn their backs on what may be the most cost-effective classroom technology of the last half-century.…Read More