Exploring using AR and VR- Round 1

Welcome to round 1 of my explorations with AR and VR. For this week's work, I have randomly picked 5 AR/VR tools to play around with. The tools I picked were Adobe Spark, Google Translate's AR feature, Google Earth VR, Civilisations AR from BBC, and the Xennial Digital Portal.

To be quite honest, when I saw the name Adobe, I did not think it would be very creative. Most of us, or at least maybe just me, know Adobe as a PDF viewer. To my surprise, once I began exploring with Adobe Spark, I felt my eyes lighten up. There were so many possibilities of creativity to choose from. For one, you can create social graphics. You simply just pick a photo, add text, and apply design filters or animations to make it pop. You can also use this tool for web pages. You can turn words and images into magazine-style web stories which definitely look stunning. In addition, you can create short videos by adding photos and videos while adding your own voice. You can also add other sounds and music. Adobe Spark absolutely seems like a great innovative tool.

The next tool I explored was Google Translate's AR feature. Right off the bat, this sounded like a very helpful tool to have. I read an article and watched a video about a man who went to a local Japanese grocery store but could not read any of the Japanese labels as he was a tourist. He used this magnificent google translate app with the AR feature and was instantly able to see the labels in english. It's amazing because it happens in real time, it doesn't take long to process at all! This seems like a very handy tool for people who are traveling to different countries and may not understand or read the native languages.

Another tool I explored was Google Earth VR. This one seemed like a such a wonder. You can literally virtually travel to any place in the entire world. Whether it's visiting the holy site of Mecca, the ancient Giza Pyramids in Egypt, or the busy buildings of Dubai. I think this tool is incredible because you can explore the whole world without leaving your couch. I presume this tool might also be ideal for people who are not able to travel the world as much, but still have a desire to see what's out there.

Civilisations AR from BBC is another tool I explored. This one ties nicely into the previous tool of Google Earth VR. Civilisations AR is similar in the sense that it gives a chance to view history and artifacts from all over the world in the comfort of home, school, or literally anywhere. It has the power to bring art and culture from across the world. For example, you can explore beneath the surface f Renaissance masterpieces, or discover the secrets of ancient Egypt. This tool spans 31 countries and covers 5000 works of art across human history. Again, this is a great tool for those who cannot always make it to museums and art galleries. 

The last tool I discovered was the Xennial Digital Portal, which is a lab-style learning opportunity. This is a powerful and secure XR platform that has a STEM-based library of educational experiences. This technology allows students in the classroom to be able to visualize complex concepts and perform interactions in order to help them improve their engagement. Using this tool might help students to focus on learning through these engaging VR experiences. Also, if this tool is used to replace some labs, it may help to eliminate the physical risks that come with lab experiments. Ultimately, using Xennial digital portal might enhance student engagement and offer them multiple learning environments through the VR labs. This tool stood out to me because I will be certified to teach Biology, and I feel like this could be very useful in completing some labs. I believe that this could enhance student learning by giving them the opportunity to view science from a different lens.