Flow of Activities
Activity Managing a group project: Augmented Reality (AR)
What is AR and how is it used in everyday life?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Evaluating (ACTDIP042)
What's this about?
AR and VR might sound similar but they are quite different. VR essentially places the user in another world through the use of a VR device or goggles, such as an Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear. VR blocks out the world and replaces it with a virtual world that immerses the user and heightens their senses as they experience the virtual environment.
AR adds something to the user’s current reality. AR mixes the physical and the digital worlds together in new ways. It is envisaged that with expected technical advancements and broader social acceptance new opportunities for use of AR will be created.
There are three key drivers of AR use:
- the ability to display information
- the ability to add digital objects
- the ability to enhance existing objects.
Smartphones and tablets are hand-held devices, and can be isolating. AR can provide new dimensions to their use.
Learning tasks
- Ask students to work in pairs to create a short presentation on the differences and similarities between AR and VR. The presentation should include relevant examples of existing uses of AR and VR technologies. Students could include a section on some of the potential social benefits of AR.
- Texts with complimentary AR experiences have been created by book publishers, and there are also AR apps and games available for smartphones and tablets that run iOS or Android.
- Ask students to provide examples of some texts, apps or games suitable for iOS or Android. Ask them to evaluate one of these texts, apps or games, and report their findings to the class. Ask them to consider:
- What is the AR experience?
- Rate the success of the experience and in what ways AR enhances the experience.
- Quick response (QR) codes have been around for some time. When a QR code is scanned, specific information is made available to the user. Ask students to respond to the question In what ways are QR codes and AR similar?
- Discuss the use and potential benefits of AR in sport broadcasts; for example:
- on-field advertisements are often not on the field but are added to the broadcast digitally
- off-side lines in soccer broadcasts and down lines in American football are added digitally
- in track and field broadcasts distance lines are added digitally in long jump and throwing events such as discus and javelin.
| App | Function | URL | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CluckAR |  |
Scan egg carton labels to determine if the eggs are free range, cage or barn eggs. | |
| Google Translate |  |
Translate different languages in real time by using your device’s camera and the Google Translate app. |
Google Translate website |
| Sky View Lite (Free) |  |
Point the phone at the sky and get the names of features in the sky. There is also additional information. |
Sky View Lite website |
| iClass Shapes |  |
Point the phone at the net of a shape and view the augmented 3D shape on screen (iOS only). | |
| Ikea Place |  |
Place Ikea products in the room. | |
Supporting Resources
Eight examples of AR apps and their successful uses
This blog provides opinions about useful AR apps.
AR 101: Top AR use cases
Explore how AR is being used in our world today.
AR
This video explores how AR superimposes digital information or images onto the physical world to enhance the way we view our surroundings.
AR in ACTION
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Students create a visual presentation of the differences between AR and VR. The presentation should include the benefits of AR and VR to individuals, groups and businesses.
Activity Plan an AR experience
How will your group approach solving a problem, using an AR experience as part of the digital solution? What role will each group member play? What is the solution?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP038)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP043)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP044)
What's this about?
Several AR development platforms can be used to explore the development of AR applications. Three notable platforms for building AR are Metaverse, Unity, ARKit and Vortals.
Vortals and Metaverse are user-friendly platforms that you could use to introduce students to AR development platforms. Unity and ARkit are more high-end platforms.
In planning a collaborate project that involves a digital solution such as one that involves AR, people with different skill sets are often bought together to contribute to the project at various stages. The successful outcome of these types of projects is highly dependent on the effective management of the project and resources, and the way in which team members collaborate and execute their specific roles.
Developing project management skills, collaborating with others and undertaking a specific role are all aspects of learning that students can demonstrate and develop during this project.
Designing a solution can be supported in several ways. Once the need has been identified students can:
- collaboratively generate several potential design solutions and select or combine ideas to come up with a final design
- individually generate a design and share their ideas to combine them into one design
- brainstorm as a class potential ideas and then as groups come up with the group designs.
Experience of how the technology platform operates can assist students in the design phase.
Learning tasks
- Metaverse and Vortals are appropriate platforms for students to begin their exploration of AR experiences.
- Metaverse is available freely and once installed on PCs and smartphones or tablets, students can access the tutorials to learn how to create AR.
- Once Vortals has been purchased and installed on PCs and smartphones or tablets, students can access the tutorials to learn how to create AR.
- Alternatively, students can use a different platform with relevant tutorials and a comparable difficulty level.
- Ideas for an AR activity that adds additional elements to the user’s experience include:
- assisting another student to understand a mathematics or science concept
- enhancing the experience of school visitors to view student exhibitions; for example, artworks or designs
- providing promotional information for visitors to the reception area at the school
- providing overlay information for a recent geography field trip
- overlaying information to explain the way a smart garden operates
- providing background data to a science experiment to assist predictions or explanations.
- Each team can create a project plan for one or more AR ideas.
- Discuss suitable ways the team can be structured. Suggested team roles could include:
Role Example responsibilities Technical helper Assist teacher and students to install the app on devices (including iOS and Android phones and tablets and Windows and Mac computers). Content manager - Track content development.
- Lead content choice discussions.
Content creators - Create video clips.
- Create PowerPoint content and export to video.
- Take photographs.
- Create posters.
Graphic designer Design splash screens and trigger cards. Test case manager Generate test cases to ensure that the products work as expected across platforms and devices.
How does AR work?
AR can be deployed using the surrounding environment, or using a trigger that generates an overlay.
- Trigger: A trigger could be, for example, a photograph, poster or object.
- Overlay: An overlay occurs when the trigger has been registered. Triggers are associated with overlays. When the user points the camera at the trigger, the overlay displays.
Simple AR solutions:
As a first lesson students could be challenged to create a one-step AR experience just to get familiar with the process. They can then undertake a more complex group project.
Using Vortals: simple AR activities can be created using the Vortals editor on a PC or Mac desktop or laptop, and viewed in AR using the player App on a smartphone or tablet. Vortals also provides the option to add additional overlay actions to a trigger to create a sequence of actions or a number of different triggers in the same AR presentation.
Supporting Resources
Metaverse
Metaverse is an easy platform that allows students to create AR experiences.
Unity
Unity is a game development engine that can also be used to create AR and VR applications. There is a free version available for students and for personal use.
ARKit
ARKit is for the Mac platform only. A developer account is required. The latest version requires XCode 9.3 and iOS 11.3 to be installed.’
How MIT builds cities using Lego and AR
MIT Media Lab is using innovation to boil efficient teamwork down to a science.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Develop a plan to design an AR solution that includes requirements, target audience, user benefits and development timelines.
Activity Manage the AR project implementation
How will your group manage the creation of the AR solution?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Investigating and defining (ACTDIP038)
- Generating and designing (ACTDIP039)
- Generating and designing (ACTDIP040)
- Producing and implementing (ACTDIP041)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP043)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP044)
What's this about?
Waterfall method: Each process in the problem-solving methodology is completed before the next process begins.
Agile method: The Agile method does not require you to adhere to the strict order of each process. Rather, phases can be revisited and small components of the larger project can be undertaken more frequently, allowing for ongoing changes and testing.
Learning tasks
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How does AR work?
Generally, an AR experience has a trigger that generates an overlay or aura.
- Trigger: A trigger could be, for example, a photograph, poster or object.
- Overlay (aura): An overlay (known as an aura in HP Reveal) occurs when the trigger has been registered. Triggers are associated with overlays. When the user points the camera at the trigger, the overlay displays.
-
Simple AR solutions:
As a first lesson students could be challenged to create a one-step AR experience just to get familiar with the process. They can then undertake a more complex group project.
Model how to create a simple project using the fee app is Metaverse. A simple starting point is selecting a character and adding overlay text. A QR code is associated with that character. Use a smartphone or tablet device with camera to view QR code which triggers the AR overlay to appear.
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More complex AR solutions:
Once each group of students has selected the focus for their AR solution, they need to define the problem in terms of its data, functional and non-functional requirements and design how the solution will operate. Using their selected platform, they can implement their solution.
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Define, design and implement the AR solution
Ask students to consider the following.
- What is the problem?
- How will AR be used in the digital solution?
- Generate at least three designs. Decide on a final design and create a design plan.
- What information, data or other assets are required?
- What are the functional and non-functional requirements?
- What are the social considerations?
- What platform are you using to implement the solution?
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Project plan
Complete a checklist that helps with planning, carrying out and monitoring the project.
- Design plan
- Team structure and roles
- Timelines
- Resources required
- Feedback and review
Supporting Resources
AR Solar System with Metaverse
In this lesson, students explore our Solar System in Augmented Reality (AR).
Art department
In this video, students engage with AR.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Present completed AR solutions to the groups and the target audience.
- Present the project plan showing any changes that result from monitoring the project.
Assessment Resources
Activity Evaluate the AR project
Was the solution successful and does it work as intended? How well did the group perform in completing the project?
Australian Curriculum Alignment
- Evaluating (ACTDIP042)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP043)
- Collaborating and managing (ACTDIP044)
What's this about?
Product evaluation
The primary focus of product evaluation is to make sure the product does what it is intended to do.
Student performance evaluation
Typically, teachers are required to report on students’ performance. Digital technologies work is often project based and a variety of pieces of evidence are needed to assess students’ performance.
Learning tasks
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Solution evaluation
Does the final solution do what was set out in the solution design?
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Student performance evaluation
How can you plan to evaluate students’ work throughout the project development process?
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Student-guided rubrics
These represent a meaningful assessment exercise, designed to engage students not in the content that they are learning but also the reasons why they are learning it.
Students may, as a class, list characteristics of what would make a good project and a project plan. For example, when considering their digital technologies project, students might consider what would make a good presentation of a requirements specification. For the project plan, how can the individual tasks and the allocated time for each be best shown? How can you tell if the project is on schedule?
While peer review is often fun and engaging, it can also present problems in that students need to be guided as to how best to use the process as a learning opportunity. In an example of formative assessment, students could be asked to test each other’s AR creations and provide feedback (for example, they could provide the top three best features of the app, as well as the top three issues).
Think aloud is a learning and assessment strategy designed to assist students to articulate their thought processes, and to help foster a supportive environment for learning.
Supporting Resources
Evaluation and assessment: Part 1
This is an overview of assessment ideas and methods for computational thinking.’
Evaluation and assessment: Part 2
This second video investigates how rubrics can be used to support understanding of the problem-solving process, and discusses how ideas for students might engage with decomposition and abstraction.
Grading rubric for group project
This is an example rubric for a group project from Carnegie Mellon University.
Assessment
Suggested approaches may include
- Completed product evaluation rubric