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CONTEXT | E-Campus
CONTEXT | E-Campus
I'm an instructional designer who supports e-campus instructors at Nova Scotia Community College. Whether delivering workshops, supporting instructors one-on-one, or co-designing online courses alongside subject matter experts (SMEs), the work is predominantly with asynchronous courses that 'live' in a learning management system (LMS), supplemented by synchronous meeting technologies like Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
As someone who works remotely, I attend A LOT of virtual meetings, and as I started this assignment, I suddenly realized that I actually use Augmented Reality (AR) almost everyday when I change the background picture on my video in Microsoft Teams.
Changing video background serves a few practical purposes:
It allows the masking of a messy room
It keeps personal space private
But it's quickly become a meaningful way to communicate personality or emotion too.
If I want to share someplace I've travelled, I might upload a picture from one of my photo albums, or share a recent snap from around the neighbourhood.
Sometimes, I'll upload a picture that's representative of how I'm feeling or, strategically, to depict a specific feeling.
A calm background: A good choice for facilitating stressful tech-workshops
*An extreme example of a wild background that might be acceptable between close colleagues or friends.
*IMPORTANT NOTE:
Be careful with choice of digital backgrounds, particularly a busy, bright pattern (as demonstrated above) because it could trigger migraines, vertigo, or other medical responses in others. Remember, your background is a significant piece of the screen 'real-estate' and will have a greater impact than, for example, wearing a similarly patterned top. Further, if you are moving (or the background is animated) it could cause further issues. For most professional or group situations you will want to choose a calm, neutral background but there are still lots of options within that category.
IDEA 1: - Lights, Camera, AR!
IDEA 1: - Lights, Camera, AR!
One question I've been asked several times is, "How can I encourage students to turn their cameras on during class?" and I think AR backgrounds in Microsoft Teams could help.
Instructors could design an activity requiring students to display a custom background, turn their camera on, and explain why they chose it. This could be a recurring activity throughout the course, with students having to choose different kinds of backgrounds over time - perhaps related to course topics or themes.
The activity requires students to access and manipulate the meeting settings (digital literacy), present a brief explanation (synthesizing, oral communication skills) while simultaneously, becoming increasingly comfortable with having their camera turned on on. I think the activity would also contribute to establishing trust and building a learning community.
"If you can do it on a screen, don't do it on Augmented Reality... Asking people to get up, [and] move around their space, is a lot..." - Matthieu Lorrain head of creative, Google AR partnerships
(Interview from 'Everything VR and AR' podcast, June 2021)
ACTIVITY: What do you think?
ACTIVITY: What do you think?
When I first listened to this quote, I nodded in agreement, and recorded it as a memo on my phone (I was walking around the neighbourhood at the time trying to grasp a better understanding of "What AR is good for") and as I experimented and learned more, I found myself in disagreement. Keep in mind, the above quote was spoken in the context of developing NEW uses for AR and/or applications, and is good advice in that respect, (a marketing /utility respect) however when I think about it more broadly, in terms of , "What is AR good for" (and specifically in educational contexts) I am less aligned with this thinking. In many ways, we've just become accustomed and 'comfortable' doing learning in certain ways (in my case, "on screens") and it's okay to ask people to do something difficult, and perhaps superficial or "trendy" to experiment with the technology before we fully understand the degree of explicit advantages. Before reading on, I'm interested to know what everyone else thinks? Do you agree or disagree with the above statement and why?
The Research
The Research
To continue my exploration, I used the following key-word searches on Google, our blog and to search various library databases:
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality + Online + Learning
Augmented Reality + Elearning [e-learning]
Augmented Reality + mobile + Online
Augmented Reality + instructional design
Use of AR in Open/Online Learning has just begun:
Use of AR in Open/Online Learning has just begun:
One of the first articles I found was from 2020 and titled "The Usability of Augmented Reality in Open and Distance Learning Systems: A Qualitative Delphi Study" which states that "...a review of the literature in the field revealed that the studies directly relating augmented reality with open and distance learning are limited and insufficient"(Altinpulluk, Kesim, & Kurubacak, 2020, p. 284).
Experiments
Experiments
Please tap (or click) the examples below to read a brief overview of my experience with each:
WORLD BRUSH - https://worldbrush.net/
Paint (and annotate) the world around you. I thought this app had potential for broad applicability in online training and for more fun community building and art experiments. However, it's only available for iOS, and I found it INREDIBLY glitchy and finicky. Very frustrating to use, but cool idea once perfected.
ARLOOPA https://arloopa.com/
Add a variety of 3D objects to your environment and take pictures and videos. Available for iOS and Android.
Very user-friendly, and the realism was impressive. I visited a local historical site (York Redoubt) and thought about how AR-narratives could make history come-alive, how students in distant classes could "re-write" narratives by visiting local places, and using a generic app like this to create AR videos/pictures they could work into movies, blogs, twines, etc. I thought how the creative activity of weaving class topics into local landscape could personalize and reinforce learning.
The picture above is me (and my dog) at York Redoubt - the tank is Augmented Reality, everything else is real. I also uploaded a short video with an animated dinosaur to Youtube if you would like to check it out.
VUFORIA CHALK https://www.ptc.com/en/products/vuforia/vuforia-chalk
While looking for a fun AR-selfie app to use in virtual classes, I came across Vuforia Chalk, an AR app that connects people's camera's so you can annotate in real-time over the video feed. It's advertised for technicians, but it would be useful for any kind of 'hands on' remote assistance.
I downloaded the app but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a free (or easily accessible) demo available. However, this kind of technology would be very useful in a variety of remote training and virtual support situations.
MINDMAP AR
This is exactly what it sounds like, a 3D mind-mapping tool developed for GoogleArCore.
It's intuitive and works smoothly and consistently. I was impressed with the freemium design options and what is behind a (very reasonable) pay-wall. This was by far the most directly relevant and flexible AR tool I discovered. My final thoughts will focus on this tool.
Unfortunately, this app. is not available for iOS, however Apple users might like to try the similar looking MindMapping 3D.
Bonus Examples
Bonus Examples
Many websites and articles sketch specific examples of AR technology and how to use it.
A few additional apps that sounded interesting/promising (but which I did not test myself) include:
Vektor AR3 to illustrate abstract mathematical concepts. (Langer, Lietze, Krizek, & Technikum Wien, 2020, p. 58) Available for iOS and Android.
ARTutur: is a teacher-friendly web-authoring tool to create augmented experiences in books. (Lytridis, Tsinakos, & Kazanidis, 2018). Download it for iOS or Android and access the User Guide for more information
Master of Time: A site-driven, narrative AR experience, built on a pre-existing GPS driven app (Story City) and developed to replace "studio based learning" in a landscape architectural program (Kerr and Lawson, 2020). This is an example of a beautiful sounding AR experience, that was both labour intensive and expensive to produce. However, I think it gives us a glimpse of what will become increasingly affordable and user-friendly in the not-too-distant future.
"...these 'ways of seeing' are closely aligned with the technology's ability to add layers of understanding and knowledge to real spaces."
(Lytridis, Tsinakos, & Kazanidis, 2018, p.7)
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
There are advantages to using using a tool like MindMap AR for complex topics merely because it exists in 3D, however I also wonder if the act of building those connections, refining and revisiting it on a mobile device, casually, right-in our personal space, helps deepen understanding and create stronger links to memory? This is perhaps a topic for further study.
I've included a brief video explaining/showing how I came to understand "AR - What is it good for? using the App.
IDEA 2: -
IDEA 2: -
Offer MindMap AR as an option for online assignments that require synthesis, analysis or reflection. Students could submit screenshots with captions, or a screen recording. (Even better if the topic can be linked to "place"). Given the novel nature of the technology, it would be important to design structure (scaffolding) around it; for example: ensuring students revisit the app, perhaps in different spaces, and use it to build understanding over time. Perhaps part of the assignment must include submitting 3 screenshots of using the app in different spaces, and a few sentences reflecting/explaining what they were thinking at that time, whether they modified the map, etc. As we learned from Pokemon Go - emphasis must also be placed on safety protocols of when/where it is appropriate to use.
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