Reflections of 2011 Apple Distinguished Educator Institute
It was such an honor to attend the 2011 Apple Distinguished Educator Institute in Phoenix, AZ. Being in a room full of passionate and innovative educators within their disciplines was incredibly inspiring! Upon personal reflection of the institute, three interrelated themes emerged: Below is a synposis of each of these major themes.
New! Warehouse of Mobile Augmented Reality Resources for Education
With the emergence of the mobile augmented reality app Aurasma, user-generated mobile AR is not only possible; it’s downright easy.
We can amplify its effectiveness in education by providing a community of mobile AR “resources” (lessons, assessments, worksheets, etc.) for educators to download and upload their own AR creations.
Think of this as like (legal) peer-to-peer file sharing for augmented reality, exclusively for education.
Along with Mac and PC augmented reality files, the “AR files” section of K12 Mobile Learning now contains a community of mobile AR resources for educational use.
Link: Augmented Reality Community Resources for Education
Here’s a challenge: Who will be the first to upload a mobile augmented reality resource for education?
For now, it’s just for Aurasma since it’s the most advanced and impressive. As this technology progresses, this may include multiple apps for multiple mobile platforms. Please remember that this site is in no way affiliated with Aurasma.
For example, if you’ve embedded a traditional worksheet with AR content, you can upload that worksheet here (assuming it’s yours to upload) and tell everyone your Aurasma username. Now, everyone has access to your “21stcentury worksheet” and there’s nothing else to download other than Aurasma.
So let’s play out a scenario…
Read MoreTeacher’s Guide to Kinect and Gesture-Based Learning
Kinect is more than a gaming device; realistically, it’s an input device that can facilitate gaming (think of it like the mouse and keyboard). With a few easy tweaks that anyone can do, we can use this device to transform learning in classrooms. You don’t have to be a programmer to do this, but you do need to have a passion for innovative learning.
If we can get a community of educators and students to understand what this means and how to do it, we can develop an entire bank of gesture-based “drivers” to support all software currently in existence.
In other words, with this tool, we can we easily take existing applications (Google Earth, flash-based activities, calculators, etc.) and integrate them with Kinect. Let’s start with the end in mind; watch my videos below to see what I’m talking about. Keep in mind that I did this in a matter of three minutes. My intent wasn’t to program it to perfection, but rather to show that the process is easy to grasp.
Playing piano with Kinect
All you’re doing is mapping your gestures to keyboard characters and mouse commands. Once you’ve grasped the concept, it’s very, very simple to do.
What can we do with this? Take all the existing software and make it Kinect compatible. We don’t have to wait; we, as a community, can easily develop and deliver gesture-based learning opportunities with the bank of software already in existence. After you watch the video and read the guide below, think of software that you want to see “Kinectified” and put it in the forums. From there, I’ll establish a directory of files that can be used for any software.
This video I created will give you a better visual of how to get started; I highly recommend that you watch it. Even with the video, you’ll still need to reference the guide below to find the list of commands.
Disclaimer:
This guide looks lengthy, but it’s only because it has a list of all the commands…..please don’t let that intimidate you. The full guide is available from Institute of Creative Technologies; I’ve just edited and restructured their guide to be more appealing to the K-12 education sector. If you don’t yet have a Kinect, please consider purchasing one from a source that will support the costs associated with hosting this site.
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Step 1: Install Software
Read MoreKinectEDucation: Innovating Education With Open Source, Gesture-Based Learning
KinectEDucation is a community-driven resource for developers, teachers, students, enthusiasts, and any other education stakeholder to promote the use of open source Kinect applications in classrooms.
This is a new site, so content is slim. You can help pioneer this new dimension of learning in education by making contributions, whether it be an idea, code, suggestion, or anything else relevant to the use of Kinect in education.
With KinectEDucation, you can freely:
- Download and post Kinect applications for education (fully-released apps, code contributions, links, etc.)
- Suggest and request applications for use in education
- Create individual blogs (great for developers to showcase their work)
- Ask questions about Kinect in education
- Read, post and discuss news about Kinect in education
- Showcase real-life examples of Kinect in education
- Discuss anything else about Kinect relevant to education
Why haven’t most classrooms evolved to reflect the changes that have occurred in all other areas of industry over the past 200 years? Why don’t classrooms consistently foster the timeless principles of learning that we know to be true – principles governing successful collaboration, communities, and relevant learning?
On the outside looking in, it seems so easy. However, any teacher or administrator will testify that’s one of the biggest obstacles to overcome. Why are there two dichotomies?
Read More5 Innovative iPad Apps That Will Evolve Your Classroom
As a teacher, I enjoy looking for new ways to engage students. Some methods employed may be novel; I know their effectiveness will wear off over time. Other methods are structured around solid principles of learning and have lasting value. Striking a balance amongst both novel and lasting methods helps establish an evolving, engaging and enriched classroom experience.
Below are 5 iPad apps that capture this experience and enhance the teaching and learning experience across all content areas.
1. Garage Band
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