Augmented Reality

In the past, I’ve explored Aurasma / HPReveal many times; but since it will be going away in June, I’ve found Metaverse in Elementary Music to be an exciting alternative. Metaverse, a FREE Augmented Reality Platform, is being used by thousands of teachers to build all kinds of interactive learning experiences for their classrooms. It is so easy to create Augmented Reality experiences with Metaverse without needing to write any code. Metaverse is Easy Creating AR experiences is easy using the “Storyboard” in the Metaverse Studio. After watching a few tutorials found on their updated home page, I was up and running. There are hundreds of scenes and blocks that can be combined to create almost any experience. Sounds can be added, as well as images, gifs, videos, and 360º videos. Questions can be asked, polls can be taken, and so much more. In fact, I can’t wait to take each feature and build an experience around it so I can master the interactive options. Building Experiences I know this is a lot to take in, but bear with me…In the Metaverse Studio, scenes are what you end up seeing and the blocks are all the behind-the-curtain gizmos. Here’s a look at the storyboard for one of the trombone experiences I created. The tiny blue blocks make things happen in the background. The other pieces, called scenes, are what is visible during the experience. By linking them all together, it makes this incredible augmented reality experience that totally engages students. It’s Augmented Reality in the style of Pokemon Go. Virtual objects can be displayed over your real world so that you can interact with them; you can hunt for them and walk through them. Metaverse Tutorials It’s not as complicated to build as it is to explain and it’s worth the effort to get started! There are many helpful tutorials and examples to use as a guide; plus, there is a live chat person who is actually excited to answer questions. Just look at all of the tutorials that have been uploaded in the last two months. I’m probably the only one who gets excited about new tutorials, but you have to remember; I met my husband on a blind date, and when he asked me what I liked to read, I said, “Manuals!” He still married me!! Metaverse in Elementary Music There are several ways I’ve used Metaverse with my students this year, but in this post, I’ll focus on how I created interactive adventures in the orchestra unit and share two sets that you might find interesting. Start with the pedagogy As with any integration of technology, it’s best to start with the pedagogy. I mapped out what I wanted my students to review or learn about each instrument BEFORE I started making the experiences in Metaverse. Once I mapped everything out, I realized that there was enough information to create several experiences per instrument and throw in some creative twists along the way. Learning as I went along, it was so much fun to create! Metaverse Tutorial Here is a video tutorial I created to demonstrate how I built one of the clarinet experiences. At the end, there is even a test using the QR code and my iPhone. It’s so much easier to show the process than describe it. Metaverse Studio vs Metaverse App Metaverse Studio is the online site for building interactive experiences. After the experiences are built, there is a QR code that links to your activity. Unlike HPReveal, it is not necessary to join a channel before you scan the QR code. With the Metaverse app, simply scanning the QR code activates the Metaverse experience you have created. That’s refreshing!! The Metaverse Studio works on the iPad as well. Roll the Dice! There is an option to share the experiences you create, and a QR code is included in the share screen. Because I wanted to do something creative with the QR codes, I chose to copy the URL and add the logo with this QR code maker. I ended up turning the 5 clarinet experiences into a single die by attaching the QR codes to a “Rubik’s cube” purchased at the Dollar Tree. It was much sturdier than the paper die would have been. In class, each group of children received a die for each instrument explored with Metaverse. With a roll of the dice, magic happened. Here is a little of what my students experience with the clarinet and the trombone: Metaverse in Action Here is a look inside my classroom as my students interact with augmented reality. Is AR a Gimmick? How do we know if something like Metaverse (or any bit of technology) is a gimmick or if it has real pedagogical value? Certainly, if all an AR app does is overlay a picture I could have shown my students on the IWB, what’s the point? AR is worthless if it just delivers static information. In these examples, the use of augmented reality gave my students an undeniably better experience than if I had just lectured them on the development of orchestral instruments. It engaged them differently. Instead of looking at a picture of a black clarinet, I took my students (via 360º videos) deep into the Mozambique forest to hunt for the Blackwood or Mpingo tree whose wood is the color of chocolate, dense, fine-grained and resistant to cracking when finger holes are drilled. For my students who are designing their own instruments, understanding the specialness of the heartwood used to build a clarinet, helps them make more informed choices about the construction of their own instruments.  Additionally, Augmented reality enabled my students to hear instruments played in different genres, from classical to jazz to marching band. What other way can I replicate teleporting my students to sit in the brass section of a 360º philharmonic orchestra so they can watch the slide trombone and compare it to the valve-playing trumpet? There are so many exciting and