I have been working with the elementary science methods classes this past week or so. A good portion of the session was devoted to various apps and gadgets. One in particular generated a lot of interest and excitement - Aurasma. It can be used in a variety of ways to enhance and extend instruction beyond the class. The problem with Aurasma, though, is it's very difficult to understand without seeing it in action. So I will try to briefly explain how it works and then you can take a look the resources I have collected.
Simply put Aurasma is an augmented reality (AR) tool. It's been around for a couple of years but has only recently found its way into the class room. It is both a mobile (iOS, Android) and desktop (called Aurasma studio) application and can be described as a QR code on steroids. Instead of creating a black and white patterned square (QR code) one can use just about any picture. When the app scans the picture (also referred to as a target or marker in the AR world) it might take you to a website, play a video or music, display a map, just about anything you can do digitally. Download the app, its free, and point it at the back of a $1 or $20 bill and you will be amazed at what happens.
So how can it be used to extend &/or enhance classroom instruction, let me count the ways. Oh, the number seems to be limited only by your imagination. Here's a video of how one teacher is using Aurasma.
Here are a few more links to some other videos that demonstrate how it can be used.
These are specific examples but you can easily see how the tool can transform student work and classroom instruction. My favorite example I share with folks (but haven't be able to find the video) is a mother's day project. The teacher took pictures of each student in front of a specific background, then took a video of each one reading a poem they wrote for their mother in front of the same background. They uploaded both the pictures & videos to Aurasma and created their auras, which only takes a few minutes. Finally, they printed out the pictures and put them on magnets. The magnets went home and when the mother pointed the app at the magnet the video of the child reading the poem appeared, just like in the Hogwart's Daily Prophet.
As I mentioned earlier, this tool is very difficult explain in writing. Obviously there is much more to be said and explain, but hopefully this will inspire you to investigate this amazing tool. If you have any questions or want to learn more, let me know.
In closing here's a quick aura I created. Nothing spectacular but it will give you an idea of how basic it is. Download the app and point it at this target and see a simple science demo about Bernoulli's principle of lift.
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