Turning lego into an AR experience

Wind them up and let them go

I have a bit of a reputation around school as the VR and AR guy (I don't know why?) so it was no surprise when a grade 10 student came to me asking for help with his MYP Personal Project. He was in a bit of a panic and sent me this email

He had created several Lego models of buildings in Kuala Lumpur in the Lego Digital Designer program. He has examples of old style buildings and new buildings. The problem was that the Personal Project Exhibition was fast approaching and he didn't have time to order the bricks and build his model. He was hoping he could turn his model into an AR experience.

When I met him I checked out his models (he had put a lot of work into them) then explained that I didn't have a clue how to turn these models into AR. 

We sat together and started searching online for possible solutions (it was a strong example of me being able to model my searching techniques and show me being a learner) after a rather tedious and long search, we came across this post AR augmented reality Lego. There were some sketchy details of how to do it.

We played and finally worked it out

• we had to open the .lxf (lego digital designer) file in the Mecabricks.com website
• download the file from Mecabricks as a .stl file
• on a computer download the edrawingsviewer app and open the .stl file
• save the edrawings version as an .eprt file
• download the edrawings app on an iPhone
• transfer the file to the iPhone (the files can be rather large) open the file in app
• using the downloadable mat from the website bring your model to AR reality

The effect was pretty cool, you could walk around it, zoom in and out, it was AR, while it took a while we did it. The only real issue was that is wasn't a colour version and we needed the mat. The student went away pretty happy. As the AR guy I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself, as per usual when you start getting over confident a dose of humility soon follows.

The best bit

A couple of days later I got this email from the student.

Hi Mr. Derry,

I have been playing around with the different formatting when exporting the files as I had found out that the .stl format takes all the colours out (which was the main problem). After looking through a few ways - I have successfully transferred both my buildings from the Lego Digital Designer, into AR, with colour (it doesn't even need a QR code!). I found another website which supports 3D modelling called Sketchfab, and uploaded the files through a .dae format from Mecabricks, and got Sketchfab on my phone as well, which allows it to be seen in AR and VR. I have attached all the pictures of how they turned out. 

I am very excited to show you everything in school soon (perhaps in innovation tomorrow right after break time), and would like to thank you for all the help you have given me. I wouldn't have managed to pull this out without it! 

Have a great day,

Jordan. 

On his own, he found another way to do it, a better way with colour and no need for a mat or a QR code. You could even go close up and inside the AR model and check out the interior, something you couldn't even do in real life. This is what I love about empowering students with technology, as a teacher I showed him a thing or two and showed him how to search and what is potentially possible. He then took this knowledge and skill and built on it.

I like to call this "wind them up and let them go" get them enthused and excited and watch what they create.

I love doing this with programs like Scratch and GarageBand, just the other day after showing all the grade 5 students live loops,  I had a grade 5 student say to me "Mr D I love live loops in garage band on my iPad. I can't stop playing with it, my parents don't believe I am making such cool music".

We are also doing this in a big way at school through our innovation time, which is 2 blocks per week (the same as every other subject) of passion project time in secondary school, we certainly are winding them up and letting them go. That is a whole other post and we have some great examples to share.

Long may schools and teachers empower students with knowledge, skills and the time to explore their passions.

Learning 2 it's true it is all about the learning

In 2010 I had just started teaching overseas and was based in Suzhou (just outside of Shanghai). I had a job as the Middle school Tech integrator. I had only been at the school for two months when the school had the foresight to send me to Shanghai for Learning2.

I had attended large edtech conferences in Australia, but they were the usual keynote speakers and workshop type conferences nothing innovative, new or exciting. Learning2 was different, I was placed in a cohort with people in similar positions to me (great for networking). There was also plenty of time to network and the quality of the workshops was second to none, (I even got to meet some of my edtech heroes) with some really big names and the unconferences were completely new and intriguing. It was conference like no other and upon leaving I thought I am going to the next one no matter what (and hopefully bringing some more teachers with me). It was worth going just for the networking.

I was lucky enough to attend the next 6 learning 2's and presented a variety of 1 hour workshops. I missed Learning 2's return to Shanghai in 2017, (I had already spent my PD budget and had a few other goals that year.

In 2019 applied to be a L2 Leader and was fortunate enough to get the call up. This was something I was keen to do since attending L2 2012 in Beijing where 2 hr extended sessions were first run and the workshop leaders gave pecha kucha talks. At each L2 since then I thought I would love to be up there in front of a large crowd and give a more in depth workshop.

After being a tech coach for 8 years overseas (and a few years in Australia before that) I had presented at a heap of conferences, workshops and school events and had even given a 12 minute TED style talk to over 1800 Heads of schools at the IB world conference in Singapore. I had ticked a few boxes and was a fairly confident presenter. Regardless I was still excited to be a L2 leader and I was going to Japan. I knew the calibre of the sessions and the rigour of the L2 talks.

From my first acceptance email, this was different, I had to sign a contract and commit to a process (including a three week online training course) rather than just showing up and running a one or two hour session. The organisers were constantly in contact and the whole process was super professional.

I had a fairly good idea of what my extended session (AR and VR creation tools) was going to look like. I had done my Google Innovator project on this topic and had already presented at Edtech summits, 21CLHK and the AIMS conference in Malaysia on exactly this topic with good feedback. I also had a couple of ideas for a L2 talk.

Then the pre conference training started and everything changed.

I loved the fact that my preconceptions were challenged and that I had to clearly articulate a set of goals and objectives for my extended session. It made me rethink things and empathise with my learners (that people who would attend my session). The three week online course also allowed me to get to know the other leaders and revisit was L2 and adult learning was all about.

I already felt that I was better prepared for my session than any other workshop I had ever run. Part of the process of being a L2 leader is that you spend a couple of days before the conference starts training and refining your presentation and talk. I was looking forward to working with some super professional coaches and picking the brains of people who know what they are talking about.

The onsite training and planning time was like nothing I had done before, having time to practice my L2 talk and to work with other educators hearing what they were doing and watching them prepare, share and collaborate was one of the best learning experiences of my teaching career. Everyone was focussed on the conference and how to make it great for the participants.

The social aspect was also second to none, a great opportunity to catch up with friends and meet new and dynamic people in a relaxed setting helped build bonds and foster new friendships. I was already getting so much out of this conference before it even started.

Once we did start I felt confident, ready and couldn't wait to get my participants playing with and creating their own AR and VR experiences and I felt like I was giving them a variety of tools and strategies they could take back to their classrooms straight away.

My first two and a half hour extended session went so quickly and it was refreshing to not have to rush through activities and give the participants time to explore, play and create.

Even better though was that an hour after we finished we had in our hands the feedback from participants and the L2 leaders as a team debriefed our sessions and shared successes and failures in a safe environment with the sole purpose of improving ourselves. Like having time before the conference to acclimatise and prepare this immediate feedback and debrief time was new for me and was probably the most valuable part of presenting at the conference. Other times I had presented I might get a spreadsheet back a week later with some scores and ideas on how to improve, not as useful as the immediate L2 feedback and debrief.

Then I got to do my new and improved session again acting on the feedback, although it must have been OK the first time because I had a few people come to me and ask if they could sneak into my second session because they heard from other people how good it was the first time round. Needless to say my feedback scores were even higher the second time.

Finally it was my turn to get up on stage, My L2 talk had been chosen to be done on the last night as part of the closing, talk about pressure. I really couldn't relax and unwind until I was all done. I was nervous as could be, but still had a heap of fun presenting and enjoyed the fact that I had opportunities to workshop my talk and even practice on stage before I did it.

(photo credit to Dave Caleb - a fellow L2 leader)

I got some good feedback, had lots of fun and learnt so much about myself as a learner and presenter.

The entire process (and yes it is a process and not just an event) of being a Learning2 leader was one of the most valuable learning experiences I have had as an educator. Simple things like making a video to advertise my session helped me to clarify my thoughts and ideas. I also had a blast and made a heap of great friends.

It is true that Learning2 is all about the learning

Google Innovator (still working on it)

It has been a year since the Sydney 17 Google Innovator Academy and talking to many of my fellow #syd17 alumni the common theme is that things are going slow. Honestly the same is true for me, although in the last couple of months I have managed to get a bit of momentum.

A couple of things have happened to help get me moving including

I have led teacher workshops at various conferences on how to get students creating AR and VR experiences, including 21st Century Learning in Hong Kong, the AIMS conference in KL, an apple innovation day as well as teachmeet KL and staff meetings and PD sessions here at school.

I was also asked to speak at the IB Heads world conference, just a small group of 1800 heads of schools and teachers from IB schools all over the world.

The most important thing I have been doing is testing out ideas and lessons with real life students here at school. I have been pushing AR and VR, especially AR and VR creation as an alternative to posters and wasteful paper displays that get pulled down a week later and can't be shared or stored for other people to see in the future.

We have had students playing with VR and AR all over the school including

Early years students using a merge cube to hold a beating heart or a brain when learning about body systems

Grade 3 students using Metaverse to create interactive AR experiences about a body system they have researched

Grade 4 students have been using Google Streetview to explore different cities and communities around the world

Grade 5 students have been using Google Expeditions to explore the effect that humans have on the rainforest

Grade 5 have also created AR and VR experiences for their PYP exhibition, several students used Metaverse to create AR experiences including a bullying simulation where participants were given scenarios and they had to decide what to do. Other students use roundme.com to create their own VR experiences, mostly to increase empathy and show their understanding by creating VR tours of the ocean and the rainforest.

In secondary school we have been using AR and VR in design classes, students were given the design problem of creating an AR or VR experience for someone at school. We explored several tools for creating VR and AR experiences including roundme.com, metaverse, creating 360 videos hosted on youtube and cospaces. (Google expeditions tour creator wasn't yet released)

The students created some incredible experiences including

• VR school tours 
• AR Fire Drill experience
• VR tour of the school Gym, with instructional videos
• a series of VR tours for our Grade 4 students on different types of religions
• VR tour comparing dive locations (reefs) around the world

While none of these are perfect or even in a format that can be published (yet!) they are a good start and the students came up with creative ideas. I even had several students teach themselves how to use the unity game engine to create AR experiences.

Now that Tour Creator has come out of beta, we have started playing with that as a student creation tool. I have some projects for students in mind and can't wait to get back into it.

My final product for my Innovation Project is my edu-create.com website, which is a selection of creation resources for teachers and students, including a database of students submitted experiences where students, teachers and parents can showcase all the cool things they have made using VR and AR. It is still being built but I hope to have it up and running before the EdTechTeam Singapore summit.

This should prove to be a great resource for teachers to get ideas on how to get students creating AR and VR experiences and a place where students can showcase the incredible work they are doing.

On the weekend I watched the Innovation Program Sydney Cohort showcase

And this really got me motivated to finish my project and get this thing running.

While watching this one of the things that stuck with me was when Les reminded us to fail often and fail fast, that is something I haven't been doing I have been living with the fear that maybe my site won't work, no one will use it, someone will do it before me. That is going to change now, I am going to get this site up and running and if need be I will fail, very fast and then innovate and modify and try it all again.

Watch this space.

MetaVerse - create your own AR Experiences

AR is certainly a buzzword in education (and elsewhere) at the moment just look at the updates coming soon to Google Maps to include AR and the new Google Expeditions AR is very cool

AR is getting promoted pretty heavily as the next great education tool, apps like hologo, Jigspace and civilsations AR add extra features and the feeling of being there when it comes to students engaging with content.

I love this stuff, BUT even better I prefer students creating this stuff, I want students creating as well as consuming AR experiences in the classroom.

Creation encourages higher order thinking and requires both the subject knowledge and the tool knowledge as well as promoting a more thorough understanding of the subject matter, this is why it is a the top of blooms revised taxonomy.

So how can we get students creating their own AR experiences.

One tool we have been using is Metaverse, while many may say that this is not true AR nor is it as cool as some of the purpose built AR apps. Metaverse is cool in many other ways. The main way being is that students can use Metaverse to create their own AR apps. It fits my paradigm of more creation than consumption.

In it's basic form it is pretty easy to use and students can start to use it straight away, when recently using it with grade 3 students, It took me about 7 minutes to get each group started and then they played for the next 30 mins creating AR experiences on their chosen body system.

A Metaverse experience is made up of a series of scenes, these scenes can be 3D images, text, uploaded images, audio files or recordings, links to youtube videos, 360 photos and portals, polls plus a heap of others.

These scenes can then be connected together to form the experience, you can add multiple choice buttons, text questions, timers or even just press here buttons to allow the user to navigate the experience.

There are a heap of youtube tutorials on the Metaverse Youtube channel . So I wont go into details on how to make stuff with Metaverse (I will leave that up to the experts). Although here is a sample of a couple of their excellent tutorials to get you excited.

The important stuff

I will share how we have used it to add value to our teaching and learning. Innovation is not about the tool, it is how the tool can be used to improve teaching and learning.

Our grade 3 students used a simple scene with a graphic 3D or 2D, some text and an audio track of them giving more information. Like any of these activities, the hardest part is the content research, writing the script and planning out the scenes. Once the kids had this it was easy enough to create their AR experience.

The kids, their parents and their teachers loved the experiences and there were QR codes (pre made in Metaverse)

In grade 5 for their IB PYP exhibition several students created Metaverse experiences to share their understanding of their chosen topic, one I particularly enjoyed was a Metaverse game that showed a series of bullying scenarios where the user had to choose what to do if they were being bullied in different places or in different situations.

In our Grade 9 design class students had the opportunity to create a VR experience or an AR experience for a client at the school using the design cycle. Some of their projects include

• a choose your own adventure style game
• a game to help students find evacuation routes / fire exits depending on where they are in the school
• a game for grade 9 students to revise some of their maths content
• a quiz for grade 5 students to check their understanding on environmental issues
• adding quizzes to picture books to add extra content and to check comprehension

We have only just touched the surface fo what we can do with Metaverse and student created content and I can't wait to see the projects and experiences our students will create next year. Viva the AR creation revolution.

Innovation in Education - what is it?

I am lucky enough to be chosen to do a short TED style talk at the upcoming IB Heads of Schools World Conference in Singapore. I am presenting on innovation and how IGBIS is implementing an Innovators Mindset.

Before I started writing (or talking) I wanted to get a good working definition of what is "Innovation in Education"

I started by re-reading George Couros' excellent book "The Innovators Mindset" reading it again has reminded me of some of the excellent ideas I have forgotten and some things I have missed the first time round.

I love George's definition that innovation is a mindset, a way of thinking and that innovation has to be better, it is not good enough to just have or do new things, these new things have to make education better.

To broaden my perspective I asked my PLN (Personal learning network) via twitter how do they define innovation, I got some excellent responses.

 I love that most of the replies I received included the concept that innovation in education is more than something new, it is more than the technology; it is creativity, change and taking into account the learners needs.

Next I asked the staff with a quick one question Google Form. I got 12 responses but reading through those responses, they were pretty good.

Once again the topics of creativity, change to benefit the learners, improvement and because we are an IB school "Risk Taking".

AT IGBIS we are lucky to have educators with this innovators mindset, it is not about all the cool toys, gadgets, computers, iPads, subscriptions and resources. It is about what we are doing with them.

Sure it is cool to have VR headsets, students can participate in virtual field trips using Google Expeditions or visit landmarks using Google Street view, but we don't want to fall into the trap of doing the same old things in new ways. That is why we are exploring student creation of AR and VR experiences, taking these cool new tools and toys to the next level.

We have students in kindergarten using Panoform to draw their own VR scenes, older students are using the same app smashed together with Quicktime to create 360 movies of scenes they have drawn.

We have students creating AR experiences using Metaverse for other students to revise mathematics or to provide younger students a fun interactive way to check their comprehension.

We are also using roundme.com so that students can create virtual school tours or virtual art galleries where students work, reflections and and creation videos are shared in a 360 environment.

The best thing is that because of our innovators mindset, this is only the tip of the iceberg (so to speak) we will have lots of new and improved learning opportunities for our students constantly being trialled and developed.

Merge Cube - AR in your hand

Late last year, I was reading someones Christmas wish list and it included a Merge Cube. This was from a thread about AR on twitter. My interest piqued, I did a quick search for Merge Cube. It was brand new, Augmented Reality and looked like a lot of fun.

Quickly searching all the online retailers in Malaysia and I couldn't find any, a quick check of Amazon found a seller that was willing to ship to KL (it was about 3 times the price you can get them in the US). I figured it was still worth having a look at. To my extreme pleasure the Merge cube arrived in less than a week.

The Merge Cube is a foam cube about 7cm by 7cm it acts like an AR projector screen. Using any of the Merge Cube apps, you can project a 3D image on to the cube, as you move the cube the image moves.

The kids and I got straight into it, we started downloading some apps and started playing. Some of the apps were not available on the Australian or Malaysian App store, but we still managed to find a few.

One of the first apps we played with was Anatomy AR+

It was pretty cool to be able to hold a beating heart in your hands or to turn a skull around to see it from every angle. The cube is very responsive and tracks the image very quickly.

We then downloaded Things for Merge Cube this is basically a set of 16 demos and game, you select the demo by turn the cube and selecting the game you want to play. My son loves the fireworks demo and my daughter loves being able to see the moving people and cars in the city

We downloaded a few other apps Mr Body and Defused, but the above two are my kids favourite.

My son who is in early years (3 and 4 year olds) wanted to take the Merge Cube to class to show his teacher because they were learning about bones. Once we showed the teacher she got excited and asked me to bring it back so the whole class could experience holding a skull when their grade 6 buddies came to visit.

We used an iPad air in a stand so that the kids didn't need to hold the iPad and the cube, sometimes they found it a bit tricky to see the image and hold the cube, but they got there in the end.

The kids had a blast, holding different body parts, turning them around and experiencing first hand what a heart, brain and skull look like. The next best thing to actually holding these things (not that any of us want to hold an actual beating heart)

It was just good timing that the Early Years class were learning about the human body when the Merge cube arrived.

My next challenge is to try and find a way to get reasonably priced cubes here in Malaysia and explore other apps that could be used in other classes and subject. It would also be very cool to use a Merge cube in a breakout.edu and maybe even get a merge cube VR headset.

Sidenote - I just started playing with defused and it is excellent, great problem solving - this is one app I want to use in class.