Seeing Auras, Through Aurasma, That Is!

I've been hearing a lot about augmented reality in the last few years and it's been hard for me to imagine how it could work in classrooms. Luckily, some great teachers I work with began to pave the way. My science teachers came to me to show me the app Aurasma (Lite). Aurasma lets you add augmented reality layers to any trigger image you choose. The science teachers wanted to use it to have a video play once students were finished reading an article.


It went like this.

The students read an articles on bees from a physical piece of paper. They took notes and did some great reading strategies while reading the article. When they were done, they picked up an iPad, opened the Aurasma Lite app, and hovered the camera over the photograph in the article. And then,

Abracadabra!

A video appears in place of the photograph. (Commence oohs and aahhhs) Not forgetting that the point is to have the students then learn more from the video that has been magically summoned by the technology gods, students were to record new facts about the topic (bees) that were covered in the video but not in the article.

Talk about raising student engagement.

Students that hadn't read the article, suddenly buckled down and began reading.

Students that had been FAR off task, took on leadership roles and began showing other students how the app worked (and discovered some things the science teachers and I hadn't tried yet!)

It was a great class and a fun way to use the app.

But I want more.

What if students recorded themselves doing a book talk and then used the cover of the book as the trigger image? Anyone with access to the app could scan the cover of the book and then watch the students' book talk.

Or what about once a student has completed a work of art? They could record themselves discussing what what challenging about the piece or what ideas they were trying to convey.

I'd love to hear from other educators about how they've used this app or how they envision it being used. I love the idea of a school covered with augemented realities that show off student work in a multitude of formats and media.

In the mean time, Aurasma has great tutorials and guides to get you started, check out Creating Your Own Auras on Aurasma.com

If your interested in creating a lesson like the science one described above, see my post Augment Your Own Reality.

Augment Your Own Reality

The world of augmented reality continues to amaze and astound me. Below are some directions for how you can create your own augmented reality experiences for your students. For a simpler process, see my post, "Seeing Auras, Through Aurasma, That Is." Below is a way to link trigger images (like a photograph in a book or article) with educational videos (from YouTube or elsewhere).

These instructions might seem long but the process is really quite simple and the website is very intuitive.

1. Set up a (free) account with Aurasma Studio.

• Go to http://www.aurasma.com/partners/advertiser
• Use your name for “Company” as well as for “Contact Name”
• Submit the form
• It will take 1-2 days for Aurasma to get back to you with a username and login.

2. Once you get your login information from Aurasma, go to https://studio.aurasma.com

• Accept the terms of agreement
• Watch the tutorials. They are VERY helpful
•  Here is a link to more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1yPhsqgp7o

 

To make an article with a video aura:

1. Find an article you want to use.
2. If the article already has an image in it, right click on the image and save it in a location where you can find it again.
3. Find a video you want to use.
4. Download a copy of the video by using a website like KeepVid (http://keepvid.com/) or by downloading a program like aTube Catcher (http://atube-catcher.dsnetwb.com/video/)

Creating a channel:

1. 1. Go to https://studio.aurasma.com and login
2. Click on Channels

Adding the image for the aura:

1. Go to https://studio.aurasma.com and login
2. Click on Trigger Images
3. Click on Add
4. Give the image a relevant and concise name
5. Browse for the image file
6. Click on Close

Adding the video for the aura:

1. Go to https://studio.aurasma.com and login (if you aren’t still logged in)
2. Click on Overlays
3. Click on Add
4. Give the video a relevant and concise name
5. Browse for the video file
6. Click on Close

Making the aura:

1. Go to https://studio.aurasma.com and login (if you aren’t still logged in) 
2. Click on Channels
3. Select your channel
4. Click on Add Aura
5. Click on “Aura details”
6. Give your Aura a hame
7. Select the trigger image
8. Click on Overlays
9. Select he video you want to display
10. Make necessary adjustments and click on Save

Your Aura is now accessible!