Marguerite Koole, professor in the ETAD program here at the U of S, led us through a fun and informative inaugural night of making. Starting with a “scavenger hunt” activity using the Aurasma augmented reality (AR) app, Marguerite created a series questions and related “trigger” images placed around the room. These images, when viewed through the camera of a mobile device running Aurasma, triggered videos and other media to play. This media provided the answers to the questions required by the scavenger hunt. This simple exploratory activity was a fun and interactive way for participants to gather information.

Once participants had had a chance to create their own AR triggers using Aurasma our attention turned to VR (virtual reality) technology. Marguerite provided everyone with a Google Cardboard VR viewer which we assembled and then downloaded a variety of VR apps including Google Cardboard app, RollerCoaster and others to try out the experience.

All-in-all a very informative and fun evening of AR and VR experiences. Looking forward to trying our these technologies with students soon!