Augmented Reality & Kinders

Augmented Reality (or AR) might be a mouthful for 5-6 year olds, but our students didn't have any trouble using AR yesterday during their library time! We downloaded a new app called Chromville onto our library iPads, printed out pages for the students to work with, and they just jumped right in! As with most new things, I learned of Chromville from my Twitter PLN members. Shannon Miller & Andy Plemmons had both used it with their classes and I was excited to try it out. One thing I liked immediately was that it was user friendly and my youngest library visitors would be able to use it easily.

On Monday, before Kinder came in, I had the iPads loaded with the free app. I had also printed off several different pages for them to work with. You will have to go to their website to print off the pages for the students to use. There are several different pages to choose from and one that is customizable.

During library time, I showed the kinders the Chromville app and how it worked. We talked about 3D and what that looks like. After showing the students my example, and talking about making sure they did their very best work, I turned them loose. They worked hard to create a picture they would be proud of, and when they were finished, they were able to use the iPad at their table to bring their picture to life.

Here is a short video that explains the Chromville app and how it can be used.



I shared this video by Paul Hamilton with the teachers on our campus during a faculty meeting.




It shows how students can use the customized page to create a story character, and then use a graphic organizer to plan the story before writing.  This was something the kindergarten teachers have been working on with their students, so they were very interested in this aspect of the app.

I can't wait to see how the teachers use this and the wonderful stories the students create!