This document includes the complete script for the "In Search of Educational Applications Using Augmented Reality" slideshow presented as a technology Brown Ba session at Johnson County Community College on Wednesday, April 11, 2012 (noon).

1. Script for “In Search of Educational Applications Using Augmented Reality”
(Technology Brown Bag at Johnson County community College at noon on
04/11/2012), by Jonathan Bacon (jonathanpbacon@gmail.com)
1. The last three Horizon Reports (for 2009, 2010 and 2011) have listed Geo-
Everything, Augmented Reality, Mobile Computing, and Mobiles as
technology that will impact education over the next 2-5 years. This session
will chronicle the presenter's search for a relevant instructional use of this
technology. The journey includes an exploration of mobile tools for
geocaching and waymarking that ultimately led to the discovery of mobile
apps (TagWhat, SCVNGR) that use augmented reality (AR) and can be
adapted for educational purposes.
2. As a faculty member, suppose you could send your students into the field
armed with a cell phone and enable them to explore important locations or
objects while having instant access to supplemental information that you
provide on each site visited?
3. Suppose there was a green, paperless approach to providing that
information? Since 2008 I’ve followed the Horizon Report as it forecast the
instructional impact of new technologies from mobile computing to geo-
everything to simple augmented reality. The Horizon Report produced by
the New Media Consortium and EduCause is published “…to identify and
describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching,
learning , or creative expression within learning-focused organizations” like
JCCC.
4. This year, the Report suggested that, “One of the most prevalent uses of
augmented reality is to annotate existing spaces with an overlay of
information.” Can you image instructional activities that could utilize a cell
phone’s ability to determine the user’s current location with the ability to
overlay information on that location?
5. In 2009, the Horizon Report forecast that within 2-3 years “The camera and
screen embedded in smart phones and other mobile devices [could] serve
as the means to combine real world data with virtual data; using GPS

2. capability, image recognition, and a compass, AR applications can pinpoint
where the mobile…is pointing and overlay relevant information….”
6. The 2012 Horizon Report only mentions Augmented Reality once but
focuses on the mobile computing and tablets for near-term adoption and
game based learning for mid-term (2-3 years out) adoption. Those are all
necessary components or possible implementations of augmented reality.
The single mention of AR comes in connection with a University of Virginia
mobile computing app that was developed through WillowTree apps. In
addition to the week in photos, sports scoreboards, a directory of students,
information on admissions, the health system and courses; the app includes
a campus map using Augmented reality that allows users to “Search for
buildings on Grounds, use GPS to pinpoint your location, or use Augmented
Reality to identify that building over there with the dome and the
columns.” The maps can also be personalized by the student.
7. Now it’s 2012 and the earlier Horizon Reports were right on target. Early
last year I began researching Augmented Reality browses running on
mobile devices (including smartphones to tablets) that would enable the
typical faculty member to create points of interest or to tag specific
locations with supplemental information.
8. I must confess that my earlier exploration was sidetracked by exploring
geo-caching followed by Waymarking before I stumbled on AR Browsers
and specifically TagWhat. My search was really for a way for faculty to use
AR for out-of-classroom experiences and projects with minimal cost and
complexity. TagWhat, an app available through the Apple App Store and
the Android Market, is free which is a key requirement for student
adoption.
By the way, just for clarity “Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure
hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches,
using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online.” Check
out http://www.geocaching.com for more details. The weakness I saw in
the system was that each geocache includes SWAG or “Stuff we all get”
that is trade items left in caches be geocachers. So there’s no way to be

3. sure that what you want your students to acquire in the geocache will be
there when they arrive.
[click] Waymarking was a closer match in that it “is a way to mark unique
locations on the planet and give them a voice….Waymarking is the toolset
for categorizing and adding unique information for a location.” The “goal is
to give people the tools to help others share and discover unique and
interesting locations on the planet.” More information is available at
http://www.waymarking.com. While Waymarking could be used in concept
for a location-based educational search, it is limited in the tools available
for use and relies more heavily on GPS coordinates.
[click] So I ended up researching AR browsers and specifically TagWhat.
9. TagWhat encourages tag creators to “Tell Your Story.” You can create
points of interest or tags. They prefer that tags be more than photos with
captions. Each tag should include a narrative…that is, it tells a story. Notice
their tagline: they claim to be “The mobile encyclopedia of where you are.”
[Click] and you can establish an account and add your own tags for free.
10.As a demo project, I began using TagWhat to create a JCCC campus tour. I
used an established TagWhat channel because there’s no cost to add tags
to an existing channel. They have channels for Art, Books, Education
(formerly called Class), Events, Food, Heritage, Movies, Music, Nature,
Science & Tech, Sports, and a recent addition Wikipedia. The Wikipedia
channel includes tags for locations mentioned in Wikipedia entries.
11.Private channels are also available, at a cost, but I was more interested in
"free" access; so I created several tags for the JCCC campus on the free
Heritage channel. Here you see my TagWhat account with three of several
published tags, [click]. When you create a tag, prior to submitting it for
review the status will be “Draft.” Once you submit it for approval by
TagWhat, but receiving approval, the tag is shown as “in review.” You’re
notified when the tag is published.
12.To use TagWhat your students must install it on their mobile device. [Click]
after starting the app, it determines your location and then displays

4. thumbnails of all published tags within range. From my home, the closest
tag is 2.68 miles away.
13.As you scroll down, you'll see tags that are further away. The furthest tag
from my home is for the Sedalia Visitor’s Bureau, 93.31 miles away.
14.Let’s return to the closer tags and examine one in more depth. On the JCCC
campus or from several miles away, you'd see the building tags I created
with related photos and links; one each for the Carlsen Center, the
Billington Library, the Student Center, the Gymnasium, and the Red Barn.
At the bottom of the screen you can see the TagWhat controls for selecting
nearby tags, selecting channels, viewing Featured tags and Settings. [Click]
Let’s look specifically at the tag for the Red Barn.
15.Once you see a tag for a site that interests you, simply touch it and
TagWhat displays more data. The additional information includes text (you
can swipe up or down to read more), a photo, the channel name, a
directional indicator pointing to the building’s location and sometimes links
to an email contact or to a related website. If there are additional pages of
information, you’ll see a large arrowhead to the right of the photo and you
can swipe right to left to see the additional pages.
16.Here’s the Barn and Windmill page from the tag.
17. Here’s a page about the former Equine Studies Program at JCCC.
18.The next page talks about the Hex design on the barn painted by Linda
Carlsen, wife of the former JCCC president.
19.The next page of information includes a video; see the play button on the
clip.
20.The final page includes a Share button.
21.It can be used to send a postcard to an individual. This could be used as a
method for the instructor to verify that the student has at least visited the
tag site or read the information online.
22. The Postcard includes a photo rom the site, a map, the text for the first
page and a place where the sender (student) can add a personal message.
23.To publish one or more tags, you first establish a free account at
tagwhat.com and then [Click] complete an online form for each tag. The
form prompts you for a title, up to 96 characters, a description, up to 1024

5. characters, an attribution, select a channel, add a main image (JPG or PNG
with a minimum resolution of 320x320 pixels) and add keywords.
24.You can also add up to six additional media items per tag which can include
images, audio, or video. You must assign each media element a title,
description, with an optional attribution.
25.Each tag can also include an action item or link to a website, to call a phone
number, or send a message by SMS or email.
26.For each tag, you must also establish the tag location using a Google Maps
window.
27.You can overlay satellite photography and zoom in to pinpoint an exact
location for the tag without having to know its geo-coordinates or having to
actually visit the location.
28.When finished, you submit each tag for publication and approval before it’s
posted. It’s not unusual for the TagWhat staff to offer suggestions to
improve your story, or media that would enhance the narrative or to
suggest spelling and grammatical corrections.
29.TagWhat can be a free, easy tool for faculty to annotate historic sites,
provide campus tours, create “local games” set in real life neighborhoods
and ecological habitats, provide supplemental information on architectural
structures, historic sites, art objects or even geological formations.
Anything that is stationary can be tagged.
30.Can You Be More Specific?
31.Yes, Let’s Be More Specific:
 Architecture: Buildings, Firms
 Campus Orientation: Buildings, Offices
 Childhood Education: Exhibits, Libraries, Field Trips
 Fashion Design: Exhibits, Historic Buildings, Vendors
 Fine Arts: Concert of Lecture Venues, Art Objects, Galleries
 Geology: natural Formations
 Graphic Design: Graffiti, Billboards, Posters
 History: KC Historic Buildings, Civil War sites, Monuments
 Hospitality Management: Restaurants, Menus, Suppliers

6.  Literature: Sites Related to Authors, Fiction, Non-Fiction
 Political Science: Political Events, Polling Places, Campaign Stops
32.There Are Other AR Browsers Too!
a. Layar see www.layar.com
b. SCVNGR see www.scvngr.com
c. Wikitude see www.wikitude.com
33.Questions?
Without TagWhat browser on mobile device, you can still see the JCCC tags at:
 "Carlsen Center, JCCC Campus" http://tagwh.at/t/2167
 "Student Center, JCCC Campus" http://tagwh.at/t/2168
 "Billington Library, JCCC Campus" http://tagwh.at/t/2054
 "Gymnasium, JCCC Campus" http://tagwh.at/t/2044
 "The Red Barn, JCCC Campus" http://tagwh.at/t/2043