Hello and welcome back to module 4, where we are talking about Learning from Games,
and this is really about how can we take a traditional activity and can we improve it
by gamifying it in some ways.
We are going to have a look at augmented reality in a minute, and later on in the module, we
will look at geocaching, gamification and Digital Badges.
In my little introduction to module 4, we were talking about Scrabble and we were saying
that how important Scrabble is a game educationally, but also how for some people it might not
be suitable, and for others it could be enhanced and more appealing by gamifying it slightly,
by adding that kind of social aspect to things.
Interestingly, because I like Scrabble, I also came across an app which is available
for Android and iOS and it is called Seek ’n Spell.
What Seek ’n Spell does is it uses augmented reality.
And just to explain, augmented reality is when you take a tablet or you take a smartphone,
and because your tablet or smartphone knows where you are, because it has got a GPS in
it, because it know which way you are facing, because it has got an accelerometer in it,
and because it is constantly connected to the internet via 3G or via Wi-Fi, it can superimpose
a layer of virtual data onto a real-life landscape because it has got a camera in it.
And this concept of augmented reality, augmenting the real world with digital data, is starting
to get more and more popular.
On the course notes, I have sent you a link to the Ikea app so that you can actually put
virtual furniture in your house before you go away and buy it.
Anyway, back to Seek ’n Spell, why was I interested in this?
It is because it takes basically the premise of Scrabble, an educational game which has
worked for a long time, and you go outside and Seek ’n Spell augments virtual letters
in a park or in a school playing field, and then the game starts and you have to run around
to catch as many letters as possible, and then when you get back, you rearrange the
letters in order to get points.
It is great and fun, and it is competitive and non-threatening.
There is also a degree of tactics which is involved as well because the most successful
players will be tactical about which letters they pick up first, and that might not always
be the ones that are closest to them.
Isn’t it interesting how we have seen a very simple game like Scrabble evolve and
evolve and evolve, and that every single paradigm shift and paradigm change in that game is
equally important, but at the same time it is hopefully starting to get these key messages
across to a greater group of people.
There is lot of other examples of augmented reality which are around and about.
Pac-Manhattan is one of my favourites, where you explore an urban place but as you explore
an urban place, you have to be careful not to get caught by the ghosts and at the same
time, you are encouraged to explore it in a way by eating a food for example eating
a cherry.
Again you might think this is not really relevant for us in schools, but it is an interesting
way to explore an urban place and a great example again how we are starting to merge
the virtual world with the real world in a very playful way.
My favourite augmented reality app of all time has been my favourite now for about the
last 2 years, it is just so well designed, it is something that is called The Hidden
Park.
You can play this game in some parks around the world or you could also set up your own
park.
Basically, it is a fantasy story and you use your phone GPS in order to be able to navigate
around and when you get to certain locations, you have to do certain challenges.
For example, have your picture taken with a dragon.
Obviously it is not a real dragon, it is a virtual dragon which is imposed onto your
photograph using augmented reality.
As well as this being a nice and fun and imaginative activity to do by yourself or with your family,
it also provides an interesting context for learning about dragons or learning about mythical
beasts, or learning about dinosaurs.
In another activity, you use your phone as a scanner to discover what is actually living
in the trees.
Again, a great way, a great introduction to learn more about minibeasts.
And if you are interested in the soil, there is one place that you go to and a soil monster
comes out and he speaks to you about some of the challenges that he has got about living
underground.
Again, a great context for learning.
It is not just augmented reality apps that we have got on tablets and smartphones anymore
however.
This already started with the Sony PlayStation camera, but the Kinect has really revolutionised
augmented reality in the living room.
Playful Learning by Microsoft is a great example I think of how you have got the next generation
of televisions.
So you watch National Geographic TV or you watch Sesame Street TV through your games
console and then as you are watching the programme, there are parts that you can interact.
For example you can actually appear in the programme in Sesame Street TV and the characters
will recognize the sorts of colours that you are wearing and then wear the same colours
as you.
You can also do things like practise counting exercises by throwing virtual coconuts into
the television programme and they will throw virtual coconuts back to you.
In the schools that we have tried this, the children have absolutely loved it because
it is based on sound education principles, but that interactivity and playfulness have
really helped enhance the experience.
In this final screenshot here, you can see this is a couple of children that are taking
the role of bears.
They are using augmented reality: they have got bear paws on their hands and bear heads
on their own head, and they are trying to catch bees and later on they have to catch
salmon from a fast flowing river up in Alaska.
What a great and exciting context for learning and adding to that experience of what was
just traditional television.
So why don’t you go away and have a think about any augmented reality apps that you
have got and also, why don’t you go away and see if you can research some other augmented
reality apps which might be useful in the classroom.
I will see you next time.