1. An Augmented
Welcome
Using Augmented Reality
for Induction at the
University of Sussex
(Maybe!)
Helen Gaterell & Joshua Jenkin
H.Gaterell@sussex.ac.uk
J.Jenkin@sussex.ac.uk
8. Potential uses in Induction
• Information points in the library
• At the bookshelves
• On the desks
• Library equipment
• Treasure hunt
• Pre-induction welcome packs
9. Any Questions or thoughts?
Helen Gaterell & Joshua Jenkin
H.Gaterell@sussex.ac.uk
J.Jenkin@sussex.ac.uk
Notes de l'éditeur
Helen
Welcome & Introductions
Title is slightly misleading as we haven’t yet used AR for IL teaching at UoS. But we have trialled it and wanted to share our experiences and how we think it could potentially be used for IL teaching in the future.
What is augmented reality? – Not Virtual Reality. Merges reality and technology, but is not fully immersive and does not require a headset of goggles like VR. You just need a phone or a tablet.
Helen
Context – The Community Day (a fun day for kids/families to enjoy the campus) encourage members of public with little to no knowledge of University of Sussex to come visit the campus and learn more about its history and services/features (in its second year)
The Briefing – As part of the activities organized in the library, we were asked to make a visually engaging display to educate new users on the library’s history, the role it plays in the institution and the facilities and services it offers to students (we wanted to use technology as this is in line with the University’s new strategic frame work but also wanted something that was easy to use/intuitive and decided on AR which (quote) merges reality and technology. Decided to make a few posters to showcase AR, which have some sound element and give information about the library)
Josh
What we did – TEL put us onto using HP Reveal, went to The Keep to find interesting archive material, created a video to play. Designed the posters, which were our trigger images. Added Instructions on how to download the app + how to access wifi.
We have distributed these posters around for you to experiment with later.
And we had to make instruction posters
Josh to press play
Josh
What we learnt
Test the posters on staff with no context – see if they can follow the instructions
Test the instructions on Apple and Android
Don’t make the trigger images too similar
Position of the poster – slightly lower down so it’s not too tiring on arms, consider chairs with arm rests
Consider the size you are able to print – can you do A2? Do you need a larger no. of smaller images?
Make sure the app hasn’t updated after you’ve made the instructions (changing interface)
Helen
Student take-up and engagement (i.e. QR codes) – planned and embedded into teaching – full staff support to get students set up
Technological barrier – in initial set up – connecting to Wifi, downloading the app, following the instructions,
Technological barrier in actual service: need a mobile device (battery/signal/OSs) and headphones
Not being able to ask follow-up questions to a librarian in person
Potentially has a shelf-life as app changes interface or companies are sold (Aurasmas to HP Reveal)
Accessibility concerns – those who can’t use smart technology/visually impaired/muscle fatigue/hearing (need subtitles)/ epilepsy concerns (warnings for flashing images) -
Helen
Suggestions for IL teaching: We’ve only used for general interest video but could be used for:
Not used to replace IL teaching but to enhance it
Generally seems to work well in physical locations/spaces, so lends itself well to information points, which is why we have focused on Induction. However any ways that AR could be used to develop IL skills concerning good searching, evaluation, academic integrity, referencing etc.
AT THE SHELVES:
Explaining classification
What to do if the book is not on the shelf – what should I do next? (ILR/go to infohub)
How to consider seeking out alternative titles: browse the shelf – anything by the same author? Same key words in the title? Check the publication date/edition/table of contents. What information can you find on the publisher page of a book?
At the bookshelf/on your desk – how do I reference a book?
Video demonstrations of library technology (issue/return machines, accessibility room equipment, microform/fische, photocopying
Teaching exercise in adding Eduroam
Could form part of a fun treasure-hunt type activity for Welcome Week/school visits
Once HP Reveal channel followed by student – you can use it for the rest of the year.
Pre-library visit. Use trigger images from a welcome pack to ‘visit’ the library in advance – help break down barriers (Students with accessibility needs or le)/international students – other languages)
Information about where you are currently standing (footprints on the floor)
“Get started any time” – if you missed Welcome Week inductions
Exciting future possibilities?
Digital Waymarking
Connecting book covers to catalogue information
Connecting publisher pages to referencing software