Session 3 at the MindLab: Virtual and Augmented Reality and Innovations for the DCL course and implementing Technology Innovation in the classroom for the LDC course.

My new buddy at MindLab 

Well, the elephant in the room this week has to be the first assessment which is due in on the 30th November. EeeeK!  I have to admit to feeling a little uneasy and overwhelmed at managing and balancing my time and lifestyle at this stage. 

It's one thing being a student the first time around. Although for my first time around at University I was in fact a 'mature' student, affectionately known by my peers as the 'immature' student, as I lapped up every moment of student-hood and I am told was much 'naughtier' than all the other normal aged students. This was understandable (and justified?) after being stuck in a unskilled job for 10 years previously it was like I had been reborn! Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy my time working as a postwoman (that just never sounds right, but then nor does being called a postman, when I was a young 21 year old female) and there is most definitely nothing wrong with being a, mmm lets call it a postal worker.  
But, the fact remains, being a student the first time around was an amazing experience and a breeze compared to what I am feeling right now. 
So lets try to get things into perspective, top of my priorities is (always) my family, then of equal disposition would be work and my MindLab study - although maybe work should come above, seen as without it I would not be able to afford to take part in this study and I wouldn't be trying out all this new stuff if it wasn't for my job. 

Anyway, I digress..again! So first stop is the 'to do' list..that will calm things for a while.

So what did we get up to yesterday? Now your talking, WOW! WOW! WOW! I stuck with my motto 'new week new table'..that is each time I go to MindLab I make myself sit somewhere new so I get to meet and collaborate with new people. I have to say I was very pleased that Meeta and Kim came and joined me again as I had such a laugh working with them last week. If you missed the video of it, see the last post - I reckon we rock at being naughty children in a classroom....Funny that. 
It was also nice to meet someone new, Hannah...who had a wealth of information on 'Google Cardboard and 360. This weeks session was all about Virtual and Augmented reality and innovations.
Virtual is defined as unreal environments Augmented reality means it adds things to real reality. I was pleased to get a definition of both as I don't think I really understood before this time what either were, even though I had been instructed to make myself an 'avatar' at smallworlds.com as part of last weeks homework. You might know this word from video games, where you create an avatar to represent you on screen. I now have a 'mini-pretend me' with a strange name.

Once I was clear with the above, and I had made my google cardboard, oh ok, so I didn't managed to construct it fully....luckily I had Hannah next to me who had Google Cardboard people into her school last week

...abracadabra!  

We then set to work exploring google cardboard. The idea is you can go to Google street view or Google 360 on you tube and with the google glasses on you can experience a 'virtual' environment, walk around the roads, visit famous ICONs, hang-out with some wild animals, explore cities and even go surfing...whilst trying not to bump into the 'real-life' furniture!

Below are a couple of the other Virtual and Augmented reality innovations we tried out. Remember all these apps are free but are in their early stages of development!




https://www.aurasma.com/  This was my favorite and I could see so many uses for this at school. Here is a website that talks about the uses in more details. http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/06/20-ways-to-use-augmented-reality-in.html




http://quivervision.com/  This consisted of printing off 'ready to colour' in pictures free from its site and then once coloured holding them over the app and the picture turns 3D in front of you. They have many different pictures from Science and Educational to just fun colouring in activities.

So, enough of all this fun! As well as educational in schools and lots of fun where else can this technology be applied? Check out this video, you can put on this helmet and be able to service and repair an airplane!

Once, we had the fun then we had a little look at 'Adaptive Competence and the SAMR... This linked into the implementing Technology Innovation in the classroom for the LDC course. I haven't had much time to look at these yet (too busy playing?) But will get onto this shortly. I would love to hear back from anyone who can 'educate' me a little more on the SAMR or the experiences they have.

Right, back to the MindLab assignments, school reports, lesson planning and most important the family...mmmm how come the family came last there? 

Have a great week everyone and I look forward to seeing you all at the next session.