GE Smart Grid Augmented Reality!
What it is: Okay, sometimes I just have to share things because they are off the charts amazing. Augmented reality is something I was introduced to by my graphic artist husband. Until I found this GE Smart Grid site, I wasn’t able to share it with others and let students play with it. What is augmented reality? Basically you print off a sheet from the website that has a bold graphic on it. When you hold up this graphic to a web cam, a 3-D model is produced on screen, by moving the paper you can look at different views of the 3-D model, zoom in and out, and in some cases cause the model to react to other inputs (like blowing into the microphone). The GE Smart Grid Augmented Reality shows a digital hologram of smart grid technology in the form of wind turbines and solar energy.
How to integrate GE Smart Grid Augmented Reality into the classroom: I am introducing this site to my students as a discussion starter for where technology is going and brainstorming what augmented reality could be used for. The Smart Grid site can also be used when teaching students about alternative energy sources like wind turbines and solar energy. They can actually see 3-D models of each and interact with them. This would be a great introduction and attention grabber for an energy unit in science classes.
Tips: Augmented reality is still relatively new technology, it is starting to pop up in the advertising world and in baseball trading cards. Hopefully the education sector will jump on this technology, how amazing would it be to hold up a science worksheet to the computer and be able to see a 3-D model of a skeleton, or a beating heart?! (I’ll see if I can talk my husband into working on a few augmented reality education goodies). 🙂 Mac users, if you can’t get it to pick up your camera, ctrl + click on the popup window and choose the USB camera option. Enjoy!
Leave a comment and tell us how you are using GE Smart Grid Augmented Reality in your classroom.