Page 160 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

LEARNING TRANSPORTED

Select the material for the structure by touching the spinning cube and then place
the plus sign in the middle at the location where you want to add the cube. Select
the large button with the hand to place the cube in that spot.

ArCraft
Building games are popular with students mainly because they offer creativity. The
blocks are versatile enough to make just about anything, and students seem to
enjoy the challenge of undertaking the most difficult builds. ArCraft takes the con-
cept of building within a 360° environment and places the building on top of your
own trigger image using augmented reality.

When starting ArCraft, the app will show the options to play or load a game. When
selecting load, the game will load any previous builds made in the app. Again, this
preservation of previous work is another great and rare feature. If play is selected in
the app, a new build will begin. The first requirement to start a new build or load a
previous build is selecting an appropriate trigger image. A quick reminder, trigger
images are best when they feature high contrasting colors and are scanned in good
lighting. When the proper trigger image is selected, the building can begin. The
trigger image can be different each time you come back to the app to build.

Similar to Minecraft, the blocks vary as they have different purposes. However, the
ArCraft app uses different blocks to create a theme for your build rather than to dis-
tinguish functionality. The blocks are found in the chest, called the “sandbox” and
resemble grass, dirt, brick, wood, water, and more. These blocks can build struc-
tures, animals, plants, and just about anything else. Showing knowledge through
3D objects makes the learning more fun, relevant to student interest, and is flexible
with any content or grade level. An elementary student can build a structure that
measures a specific width and height, while a secondary student may design a func-
tioning house that conforms to a specific surface area.

AR Circuits
The AR Circuits app brings together fun and learning by exploring the basic con-
cepts of circuits and electricity. No electronics kit in your classroom? No problem.
The AR Circuits app brings the experience through your mobile screen using
augmented reality. The app has a small cost to download in both the Google Play
and App Store but is well worth the price. The printable trigger image cards have
symbols to represent components. Each card serves a different purpose to make
working electric components. When viewing the trigger image cards within the AR
Circuits app, the cards turn into realistic simulated components.

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Learning Transported: Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality for All Classrooms 160