Author note: This blog is not part of the assessment, it is merely for my future use and other colleagues that may find it helpful. It is not part of my assessable portfolio; it was written out of personal interest.
Introduction
The virtuality continuum: an exciting realm of creative possibilities for the primary school classroom.
But it can be so expensive!
Whilst I will admit that the vast majority of AR, MR, and VR technology does not come cheap, there are ways of making it more affordable for an entire class (let alone a school). Aside from many free apps and software available, there are a handful of free, or at least relatively affordable, hardware supporting options. Essentially, whilst you will always need a device or computer to run the software, you also need various other tools that support said hardware and software. This blog lists a handful of these, acting as an instruction manual for DIY kits that I have accumulated. Please feel free to comment with any other great DIY tips that you have found on your own AR/VR journey.
Merge Cube
The Merge Cube is…. AMAZING! You can hold the world in the palm of your hand, manipulating it as if it were physically within your grasp. It comes with its own ‘Miniverse‘ of apps and is beginning to be integrated with other platforms, such as CoSpaces Edu. Whilst it usually comes in at $19.99, I was shown a free template on one savvy educator’s blog that enables you to print and create your own! His template is included below, but if you visit his blog he also has detailed instructions, several spreadsheets detailing apps to use with the Merge Cube, integrations with CoSpaces, and even instructions for making a giant Merge Cube!
You will need: the printed template (above), glue, scissors, and cardboard*.
* The cardboard thickness is rather important. Too thick, and it is difficult to fold; too thin, and it is not strong enough to hold the shape (let alone withstand the excitement of 30 children!). Be sure to give yourself a test run first if you plan on doing this activity with your students.
Time – no longer than 30 minutes, once you have the cardboard.
Cost – cardboard is the only expense! Depending on your schools bulk-supplier, for an entire class this activity would likely cost less than $10.
Difficulty level – relatively easy, most students Years 3-6 should be capable. It is essentially a maths activity making a cube, which is already commonplace.
Google Cardboard – VR goggles
If you’ve ever looked into VR goggles you will understand how expensive they can be. Depending on the type you’ve looked at the prices do vary, as do their quality, but even so, I imagine it would be very rare indeed that a school would be able to afford a full class set, let alone several. And what a shame! VR goggles can provide students with a world of possibilities to explore (see my blog VIRTUAL REALITY IN EDUCATION via Google Cardboard and CoSpaces). But never fear, here to save the day, Google has designed a set of VR goggles called Google Cardboard and made it open-source… free templates and beyond! Admittedly, having used other VR goggles, the quality provided by my personally crafted Google Cardboard was far lower, however it was still serviceable.
You will need:
- The basics – glue (relatively strong paper glue, too cheap and the paper peels off the cardboard whilst you’re constructing), scissors and a ruler.
- Crafty items – a cutting mat, an art knife (or something else that allows for precision cutting) and a rubber band.
- A pair of bi-convex lenses – I was lucky enough to be donated a pair, but they are available at many online retailers.
- Cardboard – a very tricky balance needs to be found. Think of box cardboard but a little thinner. And if you attempt to do this with the type of cardboard students use for posters, it will never work. This cardboard needs to be strong enough to hold the weight of a phone, thick enough to cut slots out of, and thin enough to control the fold. I tried a few different types, but in the end, the art and craft supply store Eckersley’s was my saviour.
- 2 x disk magnets – roughly the size of a 5c piece, these magnets act as a “switch” of sorts. I did not have strong enough magnets and as such my creation is very limited in what it can do. They are available at many online retailers.
- Optional item: velcro – to encase the phone into the goggles, some velcro is extremely helpful, especially for young students. It is not essential, but certainly worth considering.
Time: this took me roughly 1.5 hours, which is not including sourcing the various materials.
Cost: If sourced in bulk, each personally crafter headset would, I imagine, cost approximately $5. Buying retail for one, this project costs a little under $10.
Difficulty level: I actually found both the construction process and the preparation for this project more elaborate and, at times, frustrating and confusing. I do not believe crafting your own from scratch would be realistic or safe for primary school aged students, especially because, if your folds or cuts are anything more than slightly inaccurate, the goggles do not come together. I do, however, think it could be possible for students to assemble the Google Cardboard kits in a reasonable amount of time, which can cost as little as $4.63 per DIY kit (which includes everything you’ll need). Failing that, Google Cardboard itself sells for a low $15 or $25 for two; in comparison to all other VR headsets I’ve come across, this is far and above the cheapest finished product available.
With all of that in mind, if, like me, you’re wanting to try the free template, the following is a breakdown of my construction process. I hope you find it helpful. Though I will say on reflection, if $4.63 on eBay doesn’t also involve a lot of problematic delivery costs and so forth, the materials cost me about the same, and I had to go to various places to gather them, and I ended up missing some as the template hadn’t specified everything. Thus, it may be worth your while to look into kits available online. Either way, before doing any of this, make sure that whatever device you have is compatible with the goggles/viewer you end up with. I’ve managed to make mine work, but it would be difficult for tiny hands to hold two objects that don’t really fit together whilst also moving around in a virtual world!
Step 1 – Gather the necessary items
After you download and print your template, you’ll need to spend some time gathering the necessary materials listed earlier.
Step 2 – Glue your printed template onto the cardboard.
I found it easier to slightly cut the template so that it fit onto my cardboard more efficiently, but this was just what worked for me.
Step 3 – Cut your glued template.
I deviated from the instructions here (see below) because they didn’t quite make sense to me. I decided to cut the template out and then try to figure out how it all glued/folded/assembled together afterwards. I’m glad I did, as I still don’t really understand how Step 2b demonstrated below would have worked at this stage!
Step 4 – Precision cut and make initial folds.
This is where you will need a precision cutter and a cutting mat to finish the job from Step 3. If you want to ensure accuracy, this is the way to go. For safety, children could not do this, however, I honestly do not see how the goggles would assemble without precision cuts. Additionally, use a ruler to help guide your initial folds to, again, ensure accuracy.
Step 5 – Find a helpful instructional video!
I got to this point as was a little lost. The instructions provided on the template were minimal, there was nothing helpful on the website, so I searched YouTube. I found a great video and though it was for an older generation model, it was close enough that I could extrapolate the necessary instructions.
Step 6 – Glue and assemble.
Concentrate! How horrible would it be to glue the wrong piece and have to start the entire process all over again.
I also elected to rip off a lot of the glued on template after I’d figured out the specifics as my glue was cheap and it was ripping off. It’s at this point that you could take this to a whole extra level though and personalise your headset.
Finally, gentle hands! the assembling is very fiddly… and have that rubber band ready!
Step 7 – Celebrate!
Bask in the satisfaction of making your own VR headset! And, obviously, try it out immediately!
What’s next?!
You tell me 😉
Yours in enthusiasm,
Miss Wilkes
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM 