Our second LIVE broadcast with STEAM School featured SwapBots and aired on Tuesday 18th June at 2pm.
The British startup SwapBots brings toys to life using the magic of augmented reality. By swapping pieces of the SwapBots, the player can influence the video game. The toy is ‘scanned’ by a mobile device to unlock it in the game using an advanced version of marker-based augmented reality. As the digital animation is overlaid onto the physical toy, it gives the appearance that the video game has broken out of the screen and arrived into the real world. The SwapBots toys can be assembled in hundreds of combinations, each of which results in differing in-game abilities.
See 'The Making of SwapBots' below:
[embed]https://youtu.be/S3XP941sqN0[/embed]
During the broadcast, @LGfL schools who were watching live, were encouraged to tag in @thesteamschool and use the hastag #generationtech to share their thoughts. Here are some examples from LGfL schools below:
The creator of STEAM Schools, Jade Parkinson-Hill hosts all the broadcasts; she asked Niall (from SwapBots) a number of questions including:
Why did the team at SwapBots want to create a tech toy?
What are the first steps in creating a tech toy and video game?
What creative and technical skills do you need to create a video game?
What are the key job roles in the SwapBots team?
How do you think young people should best prepare for a creative careers in tech?
What do you think are some of the most exciting augmented technology applications of augmented reality technology?
Schools taking part in the STEAM School pilot project are invited to submit questions for the broadcast, interact LIVE and compete in a ‘Generation Tech Challenge’ (set at the end of the live broadcast). The winner of the challenge will receive £250 prize money for their school’s STEM budget.
We hope that the second broadcast has inspired you and your pupils; perhaps some will undertake the Generation Tech Challenge to build and create a prototype toy. Remember it is not too late to sign up to this exciting pilot project; visit lgfl.steam-school.com and we hope even more LGfL schools will join the next LIVE broadcast on 25th June.
To continue the discussion about augmented reality with your pupils, remember to explore LGfL's mixed reality resources with them. Below is a video on LGfL TV entitled - 'How can AR be used to enhance educational outcomes?'
Bob Usher Content Manager for LGfL shares why the AR VR channel on LGfL TV is so vital “The AR VR Channel on LGfL TV offers a unique insight into the latest developments in both Augmented and Virtual Reality from those leading the development within the schools sector. The future of AR and VR is in fact a mixture of both realities and the opportunities for collaboration within a ‘mixed reality’ are becoming very real for both teachers and learners”.
If you do take part in the Generation Tech Challenge (building and creating prototypes) or indeed have participated in the pilot study, do let us know by posting on LGfL’s Twitter or Facebook.