It was related to weight and categorising objects from lightest to heaviest. It was the all too common problem for parents. When to step in? What have they covered in class? not to mention the bigger question of whether or not young students should have to do homework at all!!!
Anyway, back to the dilemma. It was then that I realised it would be so beneficial for the teacher to come home with my daughter so that both Isobel and I could ask questions.
In my role as Primary ICT Coordinator I am exposed to new technologies on a daily basis. My mind automatically looked at Augmented Reality as a solution to meet my daughters problem. So I started the process of putting together a worksheet that would allow a virtual teacher into my home, using Augmented Reality to put the process all together.
Whilst not perfect and still having to deal with the entire class personalisation, the result was amazing. My daughter was able to engage fully with the homework task, receiving instant feedback on each problem. The situation was also personalised, having already seen what my daughter was having problems with.
Watching her interact with the work sheet gave me an insight of where we can fully utilise Augmented Reality in Education. Our children learn differently than I did as a child and we need to explore such technologies and the potential they have for making a significant contribution to the way students learn.
Paul Hamilton
appsbypaulhamilton@gmail.com