AR Playground: CoSpaces

Introduce Students to the World of Extended Reality!

Give your students the power of web-accessible augmented reality!

AR Playground: CoSpaces is a course that shows students how to use free web-accessible applications on their browser to create 3D models, record audio, and import these digital assets into a 3D engine to combine them into one cohesive interactive Augmented Reality experience. It also introduces students to basic programming concepts using the CoBlocks coding system to introduce interactions, movement, properties, and functions.

We place heavy emphasis on design thinking, encouraging students to create a storyboard of a digital interaction, helping them prototype this interaction, then playtesting their application with other students to give and receive feedback.

This course consists of 12 one-hour sessions and is ideal for students in grades 5 through 9 to introduce immersive development and design.

Teach your students 21st century design skills!

An example of what students can create: We have a fountain cove environment with a tour guide bird that flies around showing off the different areas.

Topics Covered

History of XR, XR Industry, XR Hardware and Accessibility
Product Design
User Interactions
Playtesting
Storyboarding
Prototyping
Augmented Reality World Tracking
3D Modeling
Animations
Audio & Video Recording
Variables, Functions, and Loops
Programming Movement
Physics Simulations

Hardware/Software

Web Browser | This course was designed for schools with Chromebooks

Apps

Zoom (or similar)

Websites

CoSpaces
Tinkercad
Pixabay
Google Drive

Below is an example of a storyboard:

The first box shows the environment setup (a target in the distance with a table of throwing stars in front of the user).
The second box shows the interaction being performed (user is throwing the stars at the target)
The third box demonstrates the reaction of the environment when the interaction is successfully performed (fireworks go off, a voice announces “Bullseye!”, the target lights up, etc.)

By the end of the program students will have…

- ✓ Created a storyboard of a digital interaction and used it to make a prototype, in accordance with the modern design process for XR and other digital mediums

- ✓ Designed their own virtual environment using the CoSpaces content library, downloaded assets, and their own 3D models created in Tinkercad

- ✓ Made their digital assets interactive using tap interactions and physics simulations

- ✓ Taken advantage of the hardware built-in to their phones including the microphone and camera to record their own sound effects and make screen recordings

- ✓ Practiced giving and receiving feedback by playtesting another student’s app

- ✓ Used free video editing tools to create their own portfolio demo video of their experience

Are you a teacher interested in learning about using VR/AR in the classroom? Check out the XR Foundations for Educators course provided at no cost to teachers in the US!

Tinkercad

Tinkercad is a 3D modelling software available for free as an iPad app or on their website. Once your students have made their first 3D model, there is nothing stopping them from going home, opening a web browser, and continuing to design their own models. Because Tinkercad uses a solid-modeling workflow, your student’s designs can even be 3D printed!

Online Digital Asset Libraries

The internet is full of libraries containing free digital assets your students can use for their projects. We teach them to find royalty-free music, 3D models, and explain the Creative Commons licensing system. We show them how to import these assets into their CoSpaces project so that they can be made interactive. Show your students the power of internet access!

CoSpaces

CoSpaces is an application that allows users to create interactive augmented reality experiences which can be shared with anyone with web access. As a 3D engine, it comes with a prebuilt library of models, characters, and animations that students can use to create their own story. It allows users to import their own custom models and sounds to create their very own digital environment.

CoBlocks

CoSpaces comes with a programming system called “CoBlocks” which uses action blocks to help simplify programming concepts for beginners. We use CoBlocks to introduce students to variables and properties, functions, loops, conditions, triggering animations and sounds, and much more.

All students with an interest in learning to develop or design for augmented reality and virtual reality can succeed. No prior computer science is required.

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XR Foundations: Designer