Diary of a Techie Chick

Descriptive Writing via Augmented Reality & Quiver's Pumpkin Page

For the month of October I started challenging other educators in how many ways could they use Quiver's pumpkin page in their classroom. I posted a few ideas that come to my mind such as having students write out step-by-step instructions in how to crave a Jack-o-Lantern and writing a spooky story with their pumpkin creature a character of the story. After having some interesting conversations with other educators and reminding me that everyone do not always celebrate holidays or the same holidays. This really made me think how can I include those students so that they can experience the augmented pumpkin. It hit me, have students do a descriptive writing project and then record themselves describing the pumpkin using Quiver's video recorder. There will be a creepy sound recorded, but I think it is only activated when you tap the screen. You can always do a recording with no sound and pull that video into iMovie and then do a voice over recording within iMovie if you are worried about the creepy sound.

There are many ways of doing a descriptive writing of a pumpkin. My thoughts are to have students write describing a pumpkin with of course not telling people what it is. Using descriptors such as vertical creases running from the top of the object all the to the bottom, a hollow sound when you know on the object, etc... Once students have written their descriptive paragraphs then I would activate the Quiver pumpkin and have students record via the Quiver app themselves describing the pumpkin. I would then take their recordings and upload them to my Google Drive and create a QR code. I would put the QR codes on their written out description with "Scan the QR Code for the Answer" posted on each writing project.

Another way would be to have students write a poem about a pumpkin or a pumpkin patch or even a riddle. Then have students record and make a video clip using the Quiver app explaining their answer. Save the video clips to an online folder such as Google Drive. Then create a QR code for each video clip. Past the QR codes on a bulletin board along with the students written out work.

My friends and I hang out all summer playing in the dirt.
We start off very small. So small sometimes you don't even see us.
Most of us are green with smooth skin but start to change after the being in summer sun.
By September and October we start to change.
Some of us become very short and fat while others get tall and just chubby.
Our skin starts to change color and some of us start to get bumpy.
What do you think we are?

Resources:

Quiver's Pumpkin Page

Writing Scary Stories with Quiver .....

It's October and it's time for scary and spooky stories. Why not spark your student's creativity with Quiver's augmented pumpkin coloring sheet and turn it into a scary story writing prompt. Below there are some writing prompts that might help spark that scary story in your students. I even have a "How to Write a Scary Story" brainstorm worksheet to help organize students' thoughts. Using Quiver's pumpkin sheet have students use the sheet to design one of their characters for their story.

After students have written their scary stories have them record their voice telling the story via the Quiver app. Quiver has built in a video clip recorder as well as an audio recorder. Students can interact with the pumpkin character while they record their scary story. While they are recording their scary story they can tap on their pumpkin character to include sound effects.

There are several ways to share your students' scary stories. You could upload their video clips to your classroom website, classroom Facebook, classroom Instagram, classroom Youtube channel, etc... Once they are online you can create a QR Code to redirect people to the stories. You could post the students' pumpkins on a bulletin board along with each QR Code. How ever you share them your students will love listening to each others scary stories.

For more ideas on how to use augmented reality in education join us every Thursday at 8pm for #AR4Learning Twitter Chat.

Resources:

Quiver's Pumpkin Sheet - https://goo.gl/fz2gu7
How to Write a Scary Story Brainstorm - https://goo.gl/0ZRdqW

Scary Story Writing Prompts:

It was a cold Halloween night when I saw the...
The mad scientist was creating a new monster that could...
The large cauldron of purple liquid started to boil when...
I got an eerie feeling when I heard...
The mysterious object started floating in the air and...
The Halloween pumpkin turned into a...
The black cat started to crouch and hiss when...
Something in the closet was making a strange noise, so I opened the door and...
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw...
As I carefully entered the haunted house, the door shut behind me and...

Making Augmented Jack-o-Lanterns via Quiver ...

When I was growing up I had to learn how to write out step by step instructions. The best way my teacher had us learn was to write out the process in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. During the demonstration the person following our instructions could not do anything unless we said it and we couldn't say anything unless we wrote it out. By the end you knew you where successful if the person following your instructions made a successful peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

When I saw Quiver's pumpkin carving augmented coloring page, I thought how fun would it be for kids to type up steps into creating a jack-o-lantern. What tools would you need to carve a Jack-o-Lantern? How would you clean out the pumpkin seeds? What would you do with the pumpkin seeds? How many seeds might be in their pumpkin? What should they do first carve the pumpkin or clean it? How would they carve the pumpkin? What shapes would they make?

If your class was doing a science or math experiment say in comparing a small pumpkin to a larger one and which one would have more seeds you could incorporate it into this augmented activity. Better yet add it to your interactive student notebook. While they are writing out their instructions you could have them include how many seeds they think would be in their pumpkin. As a class you can then do ratio of seeds to pumpkins. You could make a chart of the different shapes used when creating the Jack-o-Lanterns, how many Jack-o-Lanterns have teeth, sunglasses, etc..

After students have typed up their instructions, which I would use Google Docs for. Create a QR Code that will redirect the viewers to the instructions and place the QR Code with each Jack-o-Lantern. If using Google Docs you can either make the page shareable or make it view-able on the web. I would make the instructions view-able on the web. As a class you can decide which step of instructions might make a successful Jack-o-Lantern by voting or making persuasive speeches and try to follow the instructions to the letter on a real pumpkin. For younger students I would have them read off the instructions while the teacher follows and does the carving.

Join us every Thursday at 8pm central on Twitter for #AR4Learning to learn more ways to use augmented reality in the classroom.

Resources:

How to Make a Jack-o-Lantern - https://goo.gl/NmllPe
Quiver's Pumpkin Carving Page - http://www.quivervision.com/coloring-packs/#halloween-pumpkin-carving

Augmenting the Ancient Times ....

Have you ever thought about having students create a newspaper featuring news from ancient civilizations? There are several ways for students to create newspapers that can feature articles from the ancient civilizations. SMORE an online digital Flyer, Magazine, and Newspaper creator is a great tool for students to use to create a digital newspaper or flyers. Using Blippar's Blipp Builder students or you can add digital content that the reader can interact with via the Blippar app.

For me augmented reality needs to be interactive. If you are planning on linking the ancient newspaper or article to a single website or video then you should use a QR Code. With Blippar you can add several different digital content to a single trigger. (An image or item you scan) For example a couple of video clips, a few links to a websites, pictures, and an audio file, etc... can all be added to a single trigger. Make it interactive not just scannable.

There are other online creators that students can use to create their digital newspapers, articles, magazines, flyers, brochures, etc... No matter what the tool you have students use to create and show their learning just have a rubric for students. Give them a clear idea on what you are looking for. You might to want to also talk about effort and what a quality piece of work looks like.

Resources:

News Article Rubric - https://goo.gl/dVMs94
SMORE - https://www.smore.com
Example of Ancient times - https://www.smore.com/q67nc

For more ideas on how to use augmented reality in your classroom join us every Thursday on Twitter for #AR4Learning at 8pm central.