Bulletin Boards on Steroids
How can our students experience another culture without going there in person? How will they ever truly compare the things that are the same and different with just pictures? Using augmented reality and iPads, the culture of France came to life for each of our students this year when I created a bulletin board on steroids. I used Aurasma + iPads to create an extraordinary global exploration.
For 17 days this past summer, I traveled throughout France with a mission to bring back stories, pictures, and information to share with our elementary students during this school year. Our school selects a faculty member from each division to send to another country, and in return, those selected are charged with leading the year-long study of that country; I was lucky enough to go to France.
Using technology to do the inconceivable!
My mind was set on experiencing everything in France through the eyes of my elementary students. What would they notice? What would they want to see, touch, and smell? What would they think when they saw all of the different foods? Where could I go that would capture their interests and how could I explain the adventure in a way that they would remember? I took hundreds of photos, but pictures are so boring, so stagnant. With the use of technology, I created a bulletin board on steroids as I was able to do something previously inconceivable. I used the Aurasma app on the iPad to bring every picture to life.
Through augmented reality, my students saw everything I saw, they tasted and smelled right along with me, they walked on the bumpy streets of Paris and the pebble beaches in Nice; they turned on the lights and flushed toilets; they climbed the steps to Sacré-CÅ“ur, saw the breathtaking view, and giggled at the accordion player on the subway back down.  My students walked down the dank passageway and touched the stacked bones in the Catacombs; they even counted sculls and estimated bodies: perfect for Halloween!!  They saw the “Sharks” swimming around the motes of the castles, walked through a secret passageway, and noticed the sharp edges of the meat cleaver used over 1000 years ago. French school children sang, “Let it Go” for my students and we watched them play and learn just like we do at our school.  A famous pastry chef, a candy maker, and many others welcomed our students to France. How was this possible? I used the Aurasma app to link videos to the pictures . The AURA, created  magically when scanned, brought experiences from my travels home to our students and connections were made.
Bulletin Boards on Steroids:Â Same or Different in France?
Here is one of the “Same or Different” bulletin boards on steroids in the hallway. Each image is linked to a corresponding video that begins playing when the image is scanned with the Aurasma app on the iPad.
*Aurasma + iPads: Extraordinary Global Exploration
Here are just a few of the examples.
If you would like to experience the Aurasma aura like my students, follow these directions and then return to scan each image. 
Bulletin Boards on Steroids:Â Food in France
I  created another bulletin board on steroids with videos of my experience eating the food while in France.  If you follow these directions, download Aurasma and follow my channel, you can see a few of my experiences buying, tasting, and eating French food.FYI,  I did NOT care for the white asparagus.
Bulletin Boards on Steroids: Endless Possibilities
Just imagine all that can be learned using augmented reality when studying another culture! With the ability to turn a stagnant image-filled bulletin board into a living, breathing adventure, exploring everything outside the reach of our school becomes an adventure like none other. Think of it: I can show a picture of the fluffy, runny eggs at Le Mont–Saint–Michel, but my students would never hear the rhythmic sounds of the whisks whipping the eggs to just the right consistency.
I can show a picture of a little boy playing with his remote control car in the park, but when my students watch that same little boy teasing a toddler by keeping the car just out of reach, they realize that children across the pond are just like they are: playful and mischievous. My students know all about going to the sandy beach, but when I show them our feet actually walking, with great difficulty, on the pebble beach of Nice, their minds are filled with questions. The examples are endless and the possibilities are too.
Making Connections:
What if students used the interactive bulletin board auras as writing prompts to journal their discoveries about the country of study? Our students have a much better understanding of and curiosity about the country of study after interacting with the Aurasma images. Making connections across all subjects is much easier when students have done more than just look at an image. Yes, we can show images and videos, but when the image actually goes with the video in a magical augmented reality way, our students are completely engaged. We are doing the inconceivable!
Go Forth and Create Auras!!
What about you? What stagnant images, what boring bulletin board can you bring to life for your students? What experiences can you bring into your classroom just by creating an augmented reality aura? Use augmented reality to ignite curiosity on multiple levels. Use Aurasma + iPads to create an extraordinary tale of global exploration and be sure to share your story with others!
Plan ahead! If not this year, dream BIG and do it for next year. Let’s brainstorm all of the ways we could use Augmented Reality in our classroom.
I’ll help you!!
*Update 1/24: The Aurasma App is no longer being supported and the company has morphed into something else. However, I have rebuilt these images using the EyeJack app and it works almost the same. If you want the same interactive AR experience, EyeJack is the way to go.
P.S. If your country of study is France, I have many, many, many Aurasma images to share.
Cherie Herring
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2 thoughts on “Bulletin Boards on Steroids”
I’m so inspired by this and will begin integrating the interactive boards in to my elementary curriculum this summer. Thank you for the amazing ideas and sharing. Looking forward to joing you soon and sharing some fun boards and students crazy excited about learning 😀
Thank you, Sherry for the kind words. I’m glad you found ideas to use. Using Aurasma is the best thing for bringing the world closer home for the students. These videos from France would never be seen more than once, but by making interactive boards, the children could learn about so many different aspects of life in France. This was for the entire school and it would be a great way to work across the curriculum. Writing prompts galore. It was a ton of work, but so worth it. By the way, building Aurasma Auras gets easier with practice. If you need any help in the future, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned. It might save you time and trouble. Let’s keep in touch and learn from each other!
Cherie