Delivering an immersive Grade 5 exhibition experience

Each year, Grade 5 students hold an exhibition where they demonstrate a cross-curricular theme that they have researched over a number of weeks. The theme in academic year 2020/21 was “Heroes Around the World”.

This exhibition usually dons the glass corridor at ACS Cobham, where parents and families visit the showcase and join a presentation in the theatre. Due to COVID restrictions, however, this was not able to take place in person. But, as opposed to cancelling the event, Leslie Taylor, 5th Grade Head of Year, Social Studies Teacher and Lyndsey Stuttard, Digital Teaching and Learning Specialist had an idea to use Augmented Reality (AR) to bring the showcase to life. It was big and ambitious, but with the skillsets learnt through the year with other AR projects, it was a challenge they were happy to take on.

Students had completed a number of tasks linked with this project, including an essay and oral presentation for English and Language Arts, Memojis in Science, Math surveys, Keynote presentations with image and captions about their heroes. The challenge was how to collect each of these components, then present this visually and practically so that families could enjoy an interactive experience.

 

With 81 students across grade 5 involved, setting up the AR rooms was the first obstacle. The number of files linked with each theme and project meant that it wasn’t possible to house all students within the same room due to the processing power required, so 7 different rooms were set up to enable a seamless experience. This enabled each student to have an audio file explaining their project, plus a mix of other media including videos, Keynote presentations and images.

With augmented reality, I have learned that the possibilities are endless and hope that other teachers learn to embrace the opportunities!”

- - Leslie Taylor, Grade 5  

As well as giving students and their families the opportunity to explore an Augmented Reality world from their iPads, this cross-curricular exhibition is a culmination of all the skills they have gained and their work through the year, especially their research and writing skills. Students were given ownership of their topic, the task to research different formats and mediums for the AR exhibition, and engaged students in a new way of presenting their work, with each student designing their own emoji for the showcase rooms.

Whilst in-person events are looking likely to return for the next academic year, this project has showcased how AR can bring exhibitions to life in a new, interactive way and give students an immersive experience as a part of their curriculum. Lyndsey Stuttard who champions the use of AR, is hopeful that this form of immersive experience will continue to thrive at ACS Cobham.

Discover more about the ACS Cobham International School curriculum