Augmented and Virtual Reality (ARVR) is one of the MOST FUN tools to use with students during remote teaching. It is highly engaging for them and they LOVE creating and consuming content.
Augmented Reality (AR) is when you augment, or change, your reality. Virtual Reality (VR) is when you create a virtual environment that is different from the one you’re in.
When using ARVR with students, the enthusiasm and engagement is unmatched. Augmented and Virtual Reality are more than just a fun tool or gimmick to engage students.
Augmented and Virtual Reality engages students in media literacy skills. According to the National Association for Media Literacy, media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act in a digital world.
ARVR provides teaching and learning opportunities for each of those. As with any educational technology, it’s not about the app. It’s about how you use it.
ARVR can teach Media Literacy through:
Using a variety of media in school, included ARVR, flips the script on media. Students learn a new perspective of why and how to use technology.
Augmented and Virtual Reality are great for engagement, building background knowledge, developing understanding, and demonstrating understanding and application.
One untapped area for ARVR potential is research. Research, through a media literacy lens, requires students to access and analyze information in a digital form. ARVR is a natural extension of that.
Some ways to do that include:
Using these tools alone is enough to ensure engagement. This makes it easier to shift students’ ARVR consumption for research purposes. One way to enable this shift is through the use of graphic organizers.
Graphic organizers are a comfortable way for students to focus their learning experiences. Students are familiar with using graphic organizers. In the process, students learn that recording information assists recall.
ARVR research feels unnatural to students at first. They are enamored with the wow factor. To support this shift, it’s important to teach them how to use ARVR for research.
Before using ARVR for research, build ARVR familiarity. Students should be familiar with ARVR and any graphic organizers they may use during the process. Begin by teaching students what augmented and virtual reality are.
After students know what augmented and virtual reality are, they need to experience ARVR. This eliminates the awe factor, or what we commonly know as shiny object syndrome.
Give students an opportunity to explore the tools you will have them use for research.
Just like any other new app or tool, use discovery to introduce ARVR.
During discovery, students have a set period of time to explore the ARVR app. They learn tips and tricks, and consider ideas for using it.
Before students use ARVR to research, have them use necessary graphic organizers in a different context. Using familiar graphic organizers like box and bullets, or main idea and details, keeps the ARVR research more focused.
The 3-2-1 graphic organizer is a hit with students. They love using it early on in the research process. Take advantage of this when students research with ARVR.
Decide which content you want to use ARVR as a research tool. This is a great way to teach research and citation skills.
There are many ARVR apps available to support science curriculum. Even these apps engage students in research. Many students use apps like these to learn more about scientific topics or concepts.
There are apps and supporting tools for social studies topics. PopAR is a great resource for this as they have posters and other tools available to support social studies and geography topics.
If funds are tight, 360Cities is a great tool for students to gain cultural experiences. Can you say FREE Virtual Field Trip?
Get kids researching! Combine the best ARVR tool with the best graphic organizer and let them have at it!
Just like any other research skill or process, model it for students.
Think of it as insurance (even assurance) that they’ll stay focused with a highly engaging tool.
Using Augmented and Virtual Reality for research is a bit atypical. Despite that, it is an amazingly engaging tool for students to gain incredible amounts of information about specific topics.
The ARVR Research Activity Pack pulls everything together. It teaches the students the difference between augmented and virtual reality.
Once students are ready to use ARVR as a research tool, there are 8 research graphic organizers for students to use. Just choose a graphic organizer that meets the research skill or purpose.
There are 4 main idea / details sheets, 2 3-2-1 sheets, and 2 sensory note taking sheets. These are great for helping students understanding how fully immersed they are in their topic when using ARVR.
In addition, all of these research graphic organizers are available to use with Google Slides. This is a perfect fit for distance learning or learning management systems like Google Classroom, Seesaw, Schoology, and more.
