Podcast- Augmented Reality

Below you will find my podcast where I discuss augmented reality.  You can find the script for the podcast below the audio.  The podcast is reflective of a project I had competed in my Summer graduate class. 

My name is Jordan Harrison from the University of Houston, Victoria and today I will be discussing augmented reality and its uses in the classroom setting.  Technology has become an essential teaching tool in the classroom, helping to make learning more engaging and encouraging collaborative learning amongst peers.  One type of technology, augmented reality, also referred to as AR is changing the way students learn by blurring the lines between real world and virtual objects.  But how can AR be successfully applied in the classroom setting and how does this form of technology impact student learning?

There has been an increase in interest and popularity of AR in recent years due to the ease of access mobile devices. AR is a way for teachers to provide students an engaging way to use technology to extend student learning both inside and outside the classroom walls.

One way I can see technologies such as AR being used in the classroom is with teaching difficult math concepts. We currently finished a unit on multiplication and division, concepts that these students have been exposed to in some shape or form since 1st grade.  What may seem like a simple concept to some is one that some students may never have true understanding and is a concept they may never learn even in adulthood, where such understanding of number relationships has real world applications.  According to a 2015 study titled he Effect of an Augmented Reality Enhanced Mathematics Lesson on Student Achievement and Motivation, conducted by Estapa & Nadolny, “Mathematics instruction is a natural fit for AR with benefits in manipulation, visualization, and authentic contexts” (Estapa, 2015, p. 40).

            As an educator, I am constantly seeking out new ways to make learning more innovative and engaging for my students.  A part of my personal teaching philosophy is that learning should be a journey toward understanding and should never be punishment.  Unfortunately, as students progress through elementary school, struggling students begin to lose their enthusiasm for learning and a mental block goes up.  This is especially true with the subject of math.  Learning is no longer seen as an enjoyable journey, but as a daunting, winding dark hallway that one is trying to desperately escape.  Going from teaching 2^nd grade to 5^th grade terrified me, but now that I am within this new and exciting environment, the uses for technology integration are blaring and numerous as we dive within and maneuver the curriculum.    

A 2013 meta-analysis by authors Cheung & Slavin that has spanned the past 30 years “determined that technology use in the math classroom does make an impact on achievement, varied by contexts such as duration of use, type of software, and student age” (Estapa, p. 40).  Also, with the increase of technology integration and acceptance within today’s schools, it is important to continue discovering new ways to implement a variety of technology tools within the classroom.  

My goal is to use technology tools, such as augmented reality, to strengthen understanding of number and operational relationships in math.    I would like my students to be engaged as they take on a journey that, while challenging, will be rewarding as they learn the relationships between fractions and decimals and are able to apply their knowledge to real world applications. My hope is this: that leading students on a journey through their education as they harness their strengths and battle their weaknesses will keep the kindled the flame of curiosity for learning.

Again, my name is Jordan Harrison from the University of Houston, Victoria on the subject of technology in the classroom.

References

Estapa, A. & Nadolny, L. (2015). The Effect of an Augmented Reality Enhanced Mathematics

Lesson on Student Achievement and Motivation. Journal of STEM Education, 16(3). Laboratory for Innovative Technology in Engineering Education (LITEE).

            

Encouraging Teacher Technology Use

I found the following article very informative in sharing how to combat any pushback teachers may get either from peers or from administration.  I know that I have unintentionally written on the topic of technology integration with a drip of bitterness, but I hope that, with the right tools, I can be resilient in my pursuit to integrate technology into my own classroom, as well as encourage my peers to do the same.

You can visit the article by clicking here.

Web 3.0

I believe we are entering Web 3.0 era.  Web 2.0 brought us together and helped us “own” the internet.  Because of Web 2.0, we became the creators and manipulators of content.  Web 3.0 is described by How Stuff Works as being “like having a personal assistant who knows practically everything about you and can access all the information on the Internet to answer any question.”  With Web 3.0, one would be saying farewell to using the internet as a searching tool and hello to a living, breathing web.  This is because with Web 3.0, “every user will have a unique internet profile based on that user’s browsing history” that it will use to “tailor the browsing experience to each individual.”

Now onto the Vogue and Target collaboration.  I had not yet seen or heard of this duo getting together to do some augmented reality marketing, but I am intrigued by the idea. Is this novel or gimic?  By using the Shazam app, consumers can see new images Target has created along with the original images that inspired them. According to Todd Waterbury, chief creative officer at Target, using augmented reality in the form of Shazam is “ an instant, mobile way not only to see each original Vogue image, but to access on-set video of the models, as well as an easy, on-demand way to learn about and buy the Target products featured throughout the pages.”

After examining what web 3.0 means to the future of the internet, I do not believe that the advertising tactic that Target and Vogue used involving augmented reality for marketing purposes fits into my personal definition of web 3.0.  The advertisement angle, while novel and engaging, does not reach each user on a personal level.  To reach the Web 3.0 advertising status, companies like Target could use their Cartwheel App to personalize their customers’ shopping experience and encourage them to buy their products.  The Cartwheel app by Target is already used by customers to snag deals. Unfortunately, the process is not personal and the user must search their cartwheel to see if the item is on sale or not.  What if we could have a personalized cartwheel based on our shopping history?  That, after scanning our Cartwheel, the app will then remember our purchases and make recommendations the next time we come in, or even suggest products for us based on what we have previously expressed interest in.  This, in my opinion, is marketing on the Web 3.0 level.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-30.htm

https://corporate.target.com/article/2015/08/target-style-in-vogue?clkid=4ac07996Nfa5fa0920c2b79e418fd4bbf&lnm=81938&afid=ShopStyle%20Inc.&ref=tgt_adv_xasd0002

Assignment 5- Virtual Social Media sites

When searching for virtual communities, I knew that I wanted to choose one that I could use to interact with my students in the classroom, as well as one that I could contribute to/ learn from for professional development purposes.

https://education.minecraft.net
I am excited to say that I got a one year prescription to Education Minecraft for being in a school district which has Windows 10 devices.  I hope to use Minecraft to engage students in social studies, science, and math.

https://www.edutopia.org/community
The following message board contains hot topics for education technology an I am excited about utilizing this resource to expand my own teaching toolbox.

My Education Philosophy

When writing your philosophy of education, one needs to think of two things:  Best practices and personal teaching style.  After being in the classroom for four years, my view on education has gone through many changes.  What started as a battlefield mindset for me (the horrors of teaching kindergarten) to where I am today in my fifth year of teaching fifth grade, my philosophy is finally something I can see as relatively static, but still fluid enough to be enhanced by further teaching experience.  

So here is my philosophy:

I believe that technology integration should not be merely a suggestion, a teaching "style" adapted by the few willing to think outside of the traditional classroom.  Fluid integration of technology into public school curriculum is a must for the success of our students, who are living in a digital world.  We must learn to adapt to meet our student's needs, lest we are doing our students a great disservice.  My goal is to help fellow educators make technology integration a reality in their own classrooms by seeing technology as a needed tool rather than a burden or added stress.  The classroom as we know it is changing, and it is time we begin changing with it.