Technology allows us to create experiences for our learners that were at one time impossible. With Augmented Reality, we can quite literally put learning in someone's hands. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are popular ways for technology users to engage in an experience. Today, I'm going to focus on AR, which "delivers virtual elements as an overlay to the real world," as opposed to VR, which "offers a digital recreation of a real life setting" (Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality). I tend to think of VR as more immersive, but I love the way that AR brings the real and virtual worlds together. Today, I'm going to share two ways that AR has brought learning to life in my schools. Merge CubeAt TCEA this year, I learned about the Merge Cube during one of my sessions. When I came across these AR cubes at Walmart on clearance for $1 each, I filled my buggy with them and couldn't wait to share them with the educators at my schools. The Merge Cube is a physical cube covered in shapes that look kind of like QR codes, and when paired with any of the Merge Miniverse apps, brings learning to life. One of my favorite apps in the Miniverse is Galactic Explorer, which puts our solar system in the palm of your hands. Learners can experience the orbit of the solar system around the sun from various viewpoints, and can zoom into each planet to see a more detailed view of that planet and its satellites. I love how the third graders in Eileen Fox, Tiffiny Houdek, NatashaMalik, and Gina Pletcher's classes used Merge Cubes to explore the galaxy, and then added these fun artifacts of their exploration to their Seesaw science journals. The Merge Cube also brings the human body to life with Mr. Body, a free app, and AnatomyAR, a paid app. Using these apps, learners can explore and read about various organs and body systems. My very, very favorite thing about many of the Miniverse apps is that they include a screen recording feature so that learners can manipulate the cube and AR experience while showing what they know about the solar system or the body systems. And in iOS11, learners can use the built-in screen recording feature for those apps that do not have a screen recording function. Want to use the Merge Cubes in your classroom? Let me know! I have a set to share. Google Expeditions AR Pioneer ProgramTwo weeks ago, a third grade educator, Michael Upchurch, initiated a visit to Pinkerton by Google Expeditions AR Pioneer Program. If you've ever experienced or led a Google Expedition, the Pioneer Program is the AR version of Expeditions (which are VR experiences). The Pioneer Program actually comes to your campus with their own equipment, and their representative teaches you how to lead the AR experience for each session. Every educator at Pinkerton signed up to bring their class to a 30-minute session. The educators chose the content we would explore, and a group of five educators (Rhonda Pickrell, Narda Holguin, Meghan Hunt, Jennifer Hays, and me) facilitated each session. (Facilitating a Pioneer experience is very similar to leading a Google Expedition.) During each session, both the facilitator and classroom educator asked questions to prompt the learners to consider different facets of the experience and to make connections to topics discussed in the classroom. For example, our third graders explored a lesson called Animal Camouflage, and throughout the session, we looked at different animals and the different environments in which they lived. The facilitator and classroom educator asked learners to identify the adaptation created from the animal's environment and made comparisons between animals, environments, and adaptations. Learners also drew parallels between animal adaptations from the AR experience to a recent experience they'd had in the school garden, where they explored different plant adaptations. The kindergartners, who have been learning about weather patterns in class, got to see Forces of Nature, such as tornadoes and volcanic explosions, come to life. As they discussed weather patterns they have learned about in Science, they also made connections to verbs they have been learning about in English/Language Arts. Interested in hosting a Google Expeditions AR Pioneer Program at your school? Are you excited to bring AR to your classroom? Already using AR to create authentic experiences for your learners? Be sure to share in the comments!
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It's not a secret that one of my very favorite things about the work I do is that I have to learn - like, all the time. The world is constantly evolving, and technology evolves at an even faster rate. If I stop learning, even for a second, I just know I'll miss something amazing. Lately, I've been focusing on learning to code. And not just learning to code, but specifically learning Apple's unique programming language: Swift. To do this, I've been working my way through the Learn to Code 1 lessons found inside the app Swift Playgrounds. Moment of truth: I struggle. But I'm learning and improving every time I go into my Playground. I can feel my neural pathways firing when I write line after line of code. My thought processes are constantly challenged when I work to not only solve a puzzle, but also when I try to come up with ways to write more efficient code (I tend to write out all of the individual commands first, then go back and create functions, for loops, while loops, the whole shebang). My brain feels exhausted after each challenge - and that's how I know coding and computational thinking are invaluable skills to teach our learners. As you learn to code, you learn to think, too. Though still a work in progress, I am excited to share my work and my reflections so far. You can explore my experiences on my digital portfolio, in a collection where I've housed my notes and reflections for each of the Learn to Code chapters. After getting positive feedback for the 3rd Nine Weeks Integration Menu, the team of elementary DLCs got together to continue the work for the 4th nine weeks. I'm so excited to present to you the Digital Learning Lesson Library, where we will continue to curate ideas for technology integration experiences aligned with the district's UbDs. Just like the first menu, each idea is broken into three pieces: Learn, Do, and Reflect. You can use the pieces individually or as a complete series. Some of the integration ideas are more built out than others. If you see something you’d like to implement, please let me know so I can support you in designing and implementing the best possible experience for your learners! What are you excited to implement? Share in the comments! Ten Minute Teacher: 5 Ways to Bring Computational Thinking and STEM Together Vicki Davis's podcast is one of my favorites because it's a quick listen, and I always have great nuggets to take away. I can listen to one of her episodes in the time it takes for me to get from my daughter's school to either of mine, which means I can learn something every day! We want to teach the process, not the product. I love this episode in particular because Davis's guest provides 5 great ways to combine two initiatives that are HUGE in education right now: computational thinking and STEM. I also love Davis's website, which provides a list of and links to all of her episodes with a short summary to help her listeners pick the best episodes for them. Teacher Tech Tools in Under Two Minutes: Hanging Out for Authentic Feedback Check out this blog post by my friend and teammate Monica Champagne, who is a high school DLC. I love this feature because it showcases not only a great way one CHS educator utilizes Flipgrid, but also highlights how CHS learners connected with elementary learners. If it seems like this entire link roundup is a list of podcast episodes, you're right. These last few weeks, I have found myself on-the-run all the time, which means I haven't had much time to sit down and read. Lucky for me, podcasts are hands-free and flexible, so I can keep learning, even when I'm on the go! Check out some of my favorite March listens on this month's Link Roundup! Ten Minute Teacher: 5 Ideas for Writing with Technology Vicki Davis's podcast is one of my favorites because it's a quick listen, and I always have great nuggets to take away. I can listen to one of her episodes in the time it takes for me to get from my daughter's school to either of mine, which means I can learn something every day! What I love most about this episode is not about the technology tools and digital learning strategies that interviewee Meg Ormiston shares, but that her focus is on learning first. She talks about the 5 Cs (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, and Computational Thinking), and then shares her strategies through the lens of one or more C. CISD Digital Learning: Apple a Week Did you know that the team of Digital Learning Coaches in CISD has a podcast? Led by Trisha Goins and Alli Pryor, follow along as we have explored why Apple in education. Though the series have officially come to a close, stay tuned! We will be bringing more content and new topics your way in upcoming episodes. How I Built This: Patagonia - Yvon Chouinard Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs in his podcast, and even though he doesn't specifically deal in education, there is so much to learn from our visionary business magnates. In this episode, Raz interviews Yvon Chouinard, founder of popular sportswear brand Patagonia. The reason I love this particular episode so much is because Chouinard speaks to the spirit we instill in our learners today - we want our learners and young people to find problems in the world, and then envision and build solutions. I never intended to start a business. It's just - I just have this knack that every time I look at a product, I look at it and I think, you know, I can make something better than that. It could be better. Want to hear more? Check out the Resources tab to see a longer list of my favorite podcasts!
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