Augmented Reality vs. 8th graders — Insights from a day in school

We were recently invited to act as guest teachers in an 8th-grade art class to find out how the students reacted to working creatively in AR. They were given the task of creating and sharing their own AR experience with Hololink’s editor. We learned some valuable lessons that we’d like to share with you.

Motivation is the Key to Success

As with anything that you ask a 13-year-old to do, the quality of the results is directly linked to the level of motivation that the young person feels when going into the task; this is as true for AR creation as it is for writing an English essay. But not all young people understand what AR is or what it can do beyond Pokemon Go or face filters for social media, so creating this understanding was an important motivational factor.

We decided to start by letting the students try out an AR experience that we had prepared for them and placed within the context of their classroom, more specifically on a large graffiti-like wall piece that they had all contributed to making. This got them curious about what AR is and when we told them that they would be creating similar things within the next 45 minutes, their reactions ranged between eagerness and incredulity, but they were all up for the challenge.

Interactivity

What makes a really interesting AR experience is the possibility of interactivity, with the end-user being able to choose different possibilities or make the experience act or react by giving input through touch, typing, or maybe even just by moving their device.

The experience that we had prepared for the pupils had interactive elements, allowing them to explore and see the inside of planets, which caught their attention on an extra level, compared to just seeing a 3D object on your screen, which in itself quickly gets gimmicky.

Ease of Use

But the above are only the first steps toward motivating them because once they’re excited about creating AR, the next reaction is that it seems daunting and potentially impossible or very, very difficult. This is where an easy-to-use tool is essential, as the goal is to get the students creating freely, as quickly as possible, and not to sit them down to several hours of tutorials before they are able to create anything.

A drag and drop tool can be immediately rewarding by giving them visible and tangible results in minutes, letting them play their way to success through a free creative process. We are in no way downplaying the importance of hard work or learning to use advanced software, but simply stating that when you give kids a playful and easy tool, the fact that they can focus on being creative with the end result at an early stage in the process is an important motivational factor.

Access to Digital Assets

If you were to ask a young person to draw or paint something, you would supply them with all of the materials needed, such as paper, pens, crayons, paint, and so on, so that all they have to do is use their imagination and drawing/painting skills.

In a digital AR context, the materials are not only the tool used for creating the AR experience but also the assets used to populate that experience. If the students don’t have access to a plethora of 3D models, videos, images, and audio, or have the skills and tools to create these themselves, it is akin to giving them a blank canvas and asking them to paint on it without telling them where to find paints and brushes.

In other words, the only way of letting young people explore their creativity in an AR setting is to make sure that they have access to (almost) anything they can imagine. In our editor, we have thousands of 3D models within any genre you can imagine.

The Process

Once started, students can fall into several modes, from being fully engaged and working autonomously to giving up at the slightest inkling of an obstacle, and anything in between. Not surprisingly, we found that the super autonomous pupils should be left to their own devices while those who easily got stuck needed a push. But it is essential not to tell them what to do, or do things for them, but to ping pong ideas with them, show them examples, or engage them verbally, so that they get their imagination going.

Showing them examples of AR artwork or AR campaigns while encouraging them to use their imagination freely is a great way to work while being sure to praise them for the smallest effort to make them feel that this may not be all that difficult.

Presenting

When the lesson is nearing the end, it is time for the young people to present their work. A little time before this, it’s a good idea to go round and tell them to finish or even help them find a way to finish their work so that it is ready for presentation. Maybe they should let the experience loop back to the beginning, or add a 3D button that takes the user to their favorite youtube video or website.

Conclusion

When introducing young students to AR as a creative learning tool, the most important thing to remember is that they must be motivated by being given the opportunity to see why AR is a fantastic medium. Also, the tools used to create AR should be intuitive and easy to use.

Once they are motivated, they need to have access to lots of assets and digital materials, so that they have the freedom to be creative, and when the process begins, don’t hesitate to nudge them along the way, without helping them too much. You can motivate them all the way through the lesson.

Remember to make sure that they use interactivity to create a more immersive experience for their audience and finally help them understand the importance of ending the experience in a meaningful, fun, or interesting way.