I’m thrilled to provide the #31DaysofARVRinEDU event! Each day in March will include an augmented (AR) or virtual reality (VR) resource to bring into the classroom.
The app I am sharing with you today has literally brought me to tears. The WDR AR app (iOS & Android) describes the life of children during the Second World War between 1933 and 1945. Those children are now over 80 years old, and this project captured their stories to explain what it was like during the Nazi regime. WDR is a German public broadcasting institution.
I don’t pretend to understand many of the struggles that we see in these augmented reality experiences, but my empathy for others has undoubtedly grown. I do believe this technology can impact our students when our textbooks alone fail us. Using AR, the developers allow you to bring these stories into your living rooms, your classrooms or anywhere. For the moment, you forget where you are as you drift into the stories that come to life all around you.
Using ARKit/ARCore technology, the app will look to place the scene on an available flat surface. When the narrative begins, you can walk around the person speaking, get a close view of the artifacts that show up and get captivated by the 360 scene that appears around you from time to time.
The app currently contains three stories and one preview of Anne Frank project that’s upcoming. I will warn you that each video requires time to download and the app can consume much of your space.
The website offers valuable resources to include these stories in your classroom curriculum. While the site and documents are in German, I used Google to translate the page and uploaded the documents into my drive to translate to English.
I hope you have a chance to explore these unbelievable stories in WDR AR and please share the word with other educators!
Share what tool has/will impact you the most on social media using #31DaysofARVRinEDU.