1. Education:Transforming learning
and teaching
Augmented Reality
Steve Wileman - Chief Learning Technologist, South Staffordshire College
Terry Hammond – Director, Rethink Mental Illness

2. » South Staffordshire College’s partnership with Rethink Mental Illness
charity has led to significant progress being made in developing
Augmented Reality resources that promote and raise awareness of
hidden disabilities
» This PowerPoint showcases how the partners contributed to the creation
of high quality Augmented Reality resources allowing early identification
or self-referral of learners with hidden disabilities
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

3. Jisc FE and skills development and resource
programme - Innovation through technology
South Staffordshire College data shows
the number of young people referred
into the mentoring and safeguarding
service with pastoral support needs has
increased by 56% since 2010/11.The
issues that learners are dealing with are
not new society concerns; they have
been around for a long time - we
believe it is the improved awareness of
the support mechanism offered that
allows learners to disclose.
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’
Jisc funded project
Promote, engage and collaborate

4. Jisc FE and skills development and resource
programme - Innovation through technology
Young people with hidden disabilities
may still go undiagnosed for many
years. Despite attitudes about
sexuality, ethnicity and other similar
issues improving, discrimination
against people with mental health
problems is still widespread.
.
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’
Jisc funded project
Promote, engage and collaborate

5. » Rethink Mental Illness had been looking for new and innovative ways of
engaging with young people and get mental health awareness on their
radar
» South Staffordshire college was looking for an organisation that had high
quality health information -it was the perfect match
» Following discussion between the two parties, Rethink agreed to provide
the mental health material and give access to their website & South
Staffordshire college provided the IT expertise and mentor support to
move forward the initiative
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

6. » Rethink Mental Illness - Help millions of people affected by mental illness by
challenging attitudes, changing lives.
» Today they directly support almost 60,000 people every year across the UK to
get through crisis's, to live independently and to realise they are not alone.
Rethink Mental Illness change attitudes and policy for millions.
» With over 200 mental health services and 150 support groups across the UK.
From psychological therapies and Crisis and Recovery Houses to peer support
groups and housing services, they directly help thousands of people every year.
» Campaigning nationally for policy change, and locally for the support people
need.They have changed the law to improve life for millions of people with
mental health problems and we are changing public attitudes through the Time
to Change campaign, which they lead in partnership with Mind.
Rethink Mental Illness

7. » South Staffordshire College’s mentoring facility offers
learners an opportunity to talk about matters that are
worrying them (personal/social or course difficulties)
discuss options and develop skills and techniques to
empower, overcome and move forward from those
concerns.
» Last academic year 562 learners were referred to our
mentoring team and 272 were referred to safeguarding.
» Significant number of those referrals related to self-harm,
suicidal tendencies, threats, attempts, other mental
health concerns and homelessness.
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

8. » Themes and content relevant to our learners wellbeing had already been
created by Rethink on their website andYouTube channel.
» Rethink Mental Illness allowed SSC to repurpose and generate high
quality Augmented Reality resources and website support links
» This project helps to overcome stigma and the lack of knowledge about
mental health; a problem that affects many individuals but remains little
understood and is often treated as a subject which is difficult to discuss
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’
http://www.rethink.org/
email: info@rethink.org

9. » Following the introduction of
Augmented Reality at South
Staffordshire College, AR is
changing the way we teach, learn
and communicate to our 21st
Century learners making the
whole learning experience more
entertaining, rewarding, engaging
The Start of the AR Journey - App:
Redefinition: Tech allows for the creation of new
tasks previously inconceivable
Modification: Tech allows for significant task redesign
Augmentation: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with functional improvement
Substitution: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with no functional change
Transformation
Enhancement

10. » The technology is having an impact
particularly in practical subjects
such as construction and is driving
up their success rates!!
» See more at: jiscrsc.ac.uk/case-
studies/wm/south-staffordshire-
college-
wm66.aspx#sthash.7Ci5E8xM.dpuf
The App:
Redefinition: Tech allows for the creation of new
tasks previously inconceivable
Modification: Tech allows for significant task redesign
Augmentation: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with functional improvement
Substitution: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with no functional change
Transformation
Enhancement

11. » Utilised the Aurasma AR platform.
Created a South Staffordshire College
branded app.This allowed the
generation of content specifically for
curriculum areas and also apply some
corporate identity to the wider cross
college learner experiences.
Aurasma is currently free for educational
organisations.They helped us to set up a
‘studio’ for our college where we could
create AR content.
Aurasma studio allows you to link video
content, web page links and animations
(auras) to a ‘trigger’ image.”
The App:
Redefinition: Tech allows for the creation of new
tasks previously inconceivable
Modification: Tech allows for significant task redesign
Augmentation: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with functional improvement
Substitution: Tech acts as a direct tool substitute,
with no functional change
Transformation
Enhancement

12. » The college learners are familiar with the use of AR around the campus and we
see this as an opportunity to develop resources that deal with issues outside the
curriculum.These resources provide an excellent way to gauge the impact and
use ofAR as it is a new use of the technology.Currently hard evidence of the
difference this can make is limited and anecdotal.
» DFE requires FE colleges to promote/practice standardisation & sustainability
recognising ‘the role of colleges in this is perhaps greater than most since they
are responsible for the development and learning of the next generation of
citizens, and are an important part of the local community’
» UsingAR enables staff and learners to gain new skills and adopt new ways of
employing technology into the learning process, giving a rich, interactive
experience.
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

13. » Persuading young people to be more aware of their mental health is
crucial because:
› 1 in 4 at some stage in their life will be diagnosed with a mental illness
› Early intervention is crucial, it can make the difference between recovery and
years of ill health
» Augmented Reality is a unique tool that really does help young people to
be more engaged in understanding mental health
» The pedagogical evidence for improved engagement and learning from this area
is measurable.
» Although not purely attributable to the implementation of AR as a tool, the
College saw a massive improvement in retention and success in Level 1
Bricklaying in 2012, achieving 6% above national benchmark.
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

14. » The Learner Journey mentor
team immediately saw the
potential of AR and worked with
the learning technologist team
identifying ways that support and
guidance could be provided to
our learners in an unobtrusive
manner
» More mental health in cities than
rural areas but a high rate of
suicide amongst farmers. Many
of our Rodbaston learners
progress into this particular
profession.

15. » Good outcomes for young people rely
on interaction between their needs and
how well services can meet them.
» Many young people rely on their family
for help/support, which becomes a
problem if the family does not have the
skills or knowledge to manage such
complex needs.
» This becomes more noticeable in
deprived postcode areas and a number
of this fall into the catchment areas of
South Staffordshire College, placing a
duty on the College to fill that support
gap.
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

16. » The college recognises that well trained
staff are essential but what we wanted
to do is to widen support by creating a
series of Augmented Reality posters to
raise awareness for both learners/staff.
» The posters signposted where the
learner can go next for further support.
» Well-trained staff are essential, but AR
posters act as an additional first step in
mental health self-awareness from a
learner/staff perspective, providing
easy access to information.
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

17. Content
Augmented Reality (AR) posters
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’
Jisc funded project

18. Usage
» Facilitate easy and informal access to
short Rethink mental health videos
and support services intended to help
raise awareness of mental health
issues for staff and students
» Appropriate points signposting key
topics and messages
» Ongoing and throughout the learner
journey
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’
Jisc funded project

19. » Augmented Reality (AR) is a way
of superimposing digital contents
into the real world
» Our college app takes a device’s
camera-view of the real world,
understands what is sees and
then overlays this view with an
interactive layer of the virtual
world
What is Augmented Reality?

20. » It utilises the ever evolving mobile
communications industry
» AR has been predominantly be
applied in the areas of
entertainment, retail, travel,
advertising, and social
communication
What is Augmented Reality?

21. The App: :
» Learners can confidentially seek
information regarding support
and staff are more informed to
able to guide the learner towards
support provision and relevant
agencies

22. » The college’s learning
technologist and Mentor support
teams plus combined outputs
from the Rethink partnership are
allowing staff and learners access
to more inspiring, engaging,
innovative and modern self-
support / situated learning
communication methods and
mental action
Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality

23. » Posters carrying the AR logo are
placed in student areas and staff
rooms to deliver essential
information quickly and efficiently
upon access
» See more at: jiscrsc.ac.uk/case-
studies/wm/south-staffordshire-
college-
wm66.aspx#sthash.7Ci5E8xM.dp
uf
The App: :
Call to arms campaign

24. » 562 learners were referred to the College mentoring team and an
additional 225 learners were referred for safeguarding support inTerm 1,
during 2013/2014
› Term 1 in 2014/2015 - 508 learners were referred to mentoring and although
this has shown a 9% decrease, we have seen a 59% increase in our
safeguarding referrals - 358 learners were referred to safeguarding
» A significant number of those referrals related to self-harm (42%
increase), suicidal tendencies, threats or attempts (8% increase),
diagnosed mental health concerns (58% increase)
Statistics
Making mental health issues more visible is importantfor the college

25. » As a result of this work the College is continuing to develop teaching and
learning approaches and pedagogy across the whole campus through
their growing expertise in AR technology.This includes work on student
experience, the student learner journey and curriculum enhancement
» Examples
› Student Experience: InteractiveArtwork, Directions,Course Information,
Student induction trail,AR welcome from Principal
› Student Learner Journey: Surveys, Equality and Diversity messages,Advice
and Guidance, ProgressionTools,Tutorial messages
› Curriculum Enhancement: Practical demonstrations, assessment tools and
tests,learnerassessments,demonstrationsof otherapps,socialmedia and video
‘Raising mental health awareness through augmented reality’

26. » Through our collaboration with the charity Rethink Mental Illness, the
project has built upon our work promoting greater awareness of hidden
disabilities
» Using Augmented Reality has enabled us to do this in a way that is
comfortable and easily accessible to staff and learners developing a
college wide inclusive culture
Often stigma is attached to the perception of mental health issues

27. » AR poster outputs can be viewed
using the South Staffordshire
College AR app.
» Upgrade your QR to AR and
download South Staffordshire
College's Augmented Reality (AR)
app on an ipad/iphone or android
device.
» Open your QR code reader - point
your device at your smart phone
specific QR code to be taken to your
free AR reader .
»
The App:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/south-staffordshire-
college/id570972496?mt=8
#https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aurasma.skin
ned.south_staffordshire_college_ar&hl=en

28. » AlternativelyAR poster outputs can
be viewed using the unbranded
Aurasma app.
» Upgrade your QR to AR and
downloadAurasma app on an
ipad/iphone or android device.
» Open your QR code reader - point
your device at your smart phone to
be taken to your free Aurasma app.
»
The App:

29. » All of the Mental Health Awareness Augmented
Reality support posters (including the
instruction guide) can be downloaded here:
» https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ur2xecln3ec6lp2/A
AAuMWHuXwSQPQEAtJGj10Oza?dl=0
» Tiny url
» http://tinyurl.com/q75z2y3
» All outputs will be available on the UK's largest
repository for discovering and sharing Open
Educational Resources - JORUM
» http://www.jorum.ac.uk/
» http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/20104?_ga=1.
95262300.177064960.1433778088
The App: :

30. Find out more…
Contact…
Except where otherwise noted, this
work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND
Stephen Wileman
Chief LearningTechnologist
South Staffordshire College
stephen.e.wileman@gmail.com
LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/pub/stephen-
wileman/38/9b4/39a
Twitter: @Bluejam15