Show Notes

In this episode of The Staffroom, we were lucky to speak to talented Apple Distinguished Educator, edtech pioneer and author, Paul Hamilton (@PaulHamilton8) about Augmented and Virtual Reality in education. Paul also spoke to us about his popular coding picture book, ‘If I Were A Wizard’ and his app, Wizard AR and the way they enhance learning in his primary school classroom.

Our chat with Paul gave us some real insight into the potential use of AR and VR and what future learning technologies have to offer.

Here’s a break-down of our chat complete with time-stamps:

• Who is the character Hazel and how did Paul bring her to life? (4:50)
• How does the character Hazel help students learn coding and what examples does Paul give? (6:15)
• How does Paul believe primary school students have responded to Hazel and coding concepts? (7:40)
• How does Paul explain the differences between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality and what examples does he give in the educational workspace? (9:00)
• How does Paul believe the instructional experience should differ between the two (AR and VR) in the classroom? (11:10)
• Does Paul believe that AR ‘fits better’ and is more practical in the classroom than VR? (12:40)
• How does Paul believe AR (and his work with Hazel) has enhanced storytelling and literacy in primary school students? (14:15)
• Does Paul believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) can have a positive impact on education? (15:50)
• How has Paul been experimenting with AI in his own projects? What examples have really excited him? (18:10)
• Where can people find Paul’s work online? Where is his book available to buy? (21:00)

If you’d like further information about Paul, you can check-out his website, www.appsbypaulhamilton.com and follow his posts on Twitter (@PaulHamilton8). Also, if you’re interested in coding with your students, check out ‘If I Were A Wizard’ available to purchase on Amazon – we highly recommend it!

We hope you enjoy this episode of The Staffroom and found Paul’s innovative ideas and resources as inspiring as we did. We’re excited to dig into the world of AR and VR and explore its potential with our students.

Until next time!

Jamie, Michael and Tessa

Twitter:

@XpatEducator

@Michael_Royall

@tessa_johnson2