Augmented Reality

This week in class we played with some new APPs that used augmented reality. This includes making an image more enhanced by sound, picture or other real life information. Some of these APPS included: Space Needle, Anatomy 4D, ZooKazam, Spacecraft 3D, and Quiver. One that really stood out to me was Quiver. Professor Calderwood handed out two sheets of paper for students to color. Once they were done he collected them and opened up the Quiver APP. Once you open it, you aim the camera onto the coloring sheet and it brings it to life! It even uses the colors that you used to color in your picture. I really do wish I had these apps as a child in school because I think augmented reality is really going to help further children's learning experience.

During class we also had our 2nd APP Smackdown! Alexa Seary introduced an App called “Remember the Milk”. It is basically an online to-do list and task manager. What I really liked about it is that you can set reminders that will pop up to remind you what needs to be done. Many people these days are obsessed with their phones and are always looking at them so these reminders can reiterate when you need to accomplish the next task before it is due! I also tend to have problems keeping things very organized, so I believe this APP will be very helpful for me.

According to dictionary.com, augmented reality is described as, “an enhanced image or environment as viewed on a screen or other display, produced by overlaying computer-generated images, sounds, or other data on a real-world environment.” Drew Minock explained the best way he likes to describe augmented reality is to picture yourself walking in the halls of Hogwarts. If you have ever seen Harry Potter, you know that all of the picture frames in the halls are moving. Each picture can talk and they are all interactive. What’s really cool about augmented reality is that it’s just like that! It makes the boring world in front of us come alive. You can take a simple piece of paper and make a 3D figure pop up above it from your piece of technology.

ZooKazam was another of the APPs we got to experiment with during class last week. You can start by downloading the APP to your Apple or Android devices. Then you can download the grass pattern, or simply use the back of a dollar bill. The size of the target will affect the animal size. There are many animals you can use from dinosaurs to insects. Once the animal pops up you can see the lifetime & status, size & weight, and their habitat & diet. This type of augmented reality will change the learning education of children. Instead of learning by hearing, kids will learn by reading. There are even separate modes for teachers and students.

Google cardboard was another APP we got to play with in class. It is a very simple concept that allows for virtual experience to all with little to no cost. It has actually helped a woman see for the first time in 8 years. The patient, Bonnie, had Stargardt disease, that is a form of vision loss which can lead to complete visual loss. The

cardboard shows a stereoscopic image that you can view from a phone's image that delivers the same image to each eye. For whatever reason it was, this was enough to help Bonnie see for the first time in eight years! It is inexpensive because most people already have a smartphone so they just need to download the APP. Cardboard viewers can start at $20, or even be hand made at home. There also are other things to purchase such as plastic viewers that have head straps and can be worn without holding for a small cost.