Like a number of New Zealand schools, we have a wharenui on our campus. Our whare is called Aronui – named after one of the baskets of knowledge. There are number of beautiful carvings, both outside and inside, and along with a number of tukutuku panels has some rich stories to tell. We have a comprehensive document that details some of these stories but we were wanting to get students to create something that was more engaging.
Like the start of many projects, there were a few ideas bubbling away. Rach Duckworth was exploring something similar for her Google Innovator project at #SYD19, the gorgeous VR tour of the Waitangi Meeting house came through my PLN feed, and my co-teacher was keen to do something with our class on a localised curriculum bent. Sometimes you just need a spark to prod you into action!
My spark came from Raranga Matihiko – in particular the Marau Pāhekoheko Mentor Programme. At the workshop they hosted in Tauranga, one of the pieces of work was a VR / 3D tour of a class created wharenui where each student had a pepeha and pou inside (see video above). So I reached out to the team at Raranga Matikhiko for some more guidance and got a detailed reply from Kerry that I reckon is worth sharing in full here:
The virtual world you saw was made with a collection of CAD (Computer-aided Design Tools) and the virtual reality set itself (VIVE) with the use of the Tilt Brush VR app. The whare was built in Tinkercad. Worth noting, is that with Tinkercad, you are able to view as a Minecraft build and then configure block size and material before exporting as a schematic file which can then be imported into Minecraft.
The best way to experience the worlds such as we create, is to do so with a Virtual Reality interactive set. The Tiltbrush app now enables video to be imported directly into a PC world and developers are continually adding functions that allow users greater control over their own content. Unfortunately, although prices have come down significantly over the last few years, sets like VIVE are still too expensive for schools and educators to use widely and single sets only accommodate one user at a time. Alternatively, some good progress has been made with handheld viewers such as Google Cardboard. You would possibly have to work on creating an app that supports your requirements but it may also be worth looking into what apps are already available. Some developers are open to working with users on specific requirements if that is something you think would be worth doing with your students.
If the end product of VR creation is your main focus, I would suggest the above. However, if your learning intentions are more about the content of the video or the creation of a Digital Learning Object, I would consider simply adding CAD created objects to your student videos. For example; a student carving a pou whakairo using SculptGL and uploading to a 3D object repository, like Sketchfab. An audio recording of the student telling their story can be added to each object. You could also go on to use a screen recording of the object being rotated to see all sides in a Green screen background for their content video as they then retell their story (like a news report might do).
From Kerry Leaf – Gallery Educator
I then reached out to Steve from Google NZ as I had a play round with Google Earth projects for another resource on Tauranga’s first migrants as part of an ancestry unit. Here’s the transcript:
The tip off to try Thinglink was the secret sauce that I wouldn’t have come to if I hadn’t been in touch.
First iteration: I used a panorama image and inserted the interactive just to test the basic concept. But I wasn’t able to embed the student video which was frustrating. So after doing some searching I came across an example of sort of what I was after so I reached out via Twitter which got a response in less that 24 hours!
YouTube embeds will not work in a Sandbox. It's a YouTube thing. You can use html5's video tag. See github https://t.co/ftuyDpcLpo for panel example. Sample Earth Project with both full and large panel html. https://t.co/WA30FSlnsT Feel free to copy project and grab html.
— jwilliams (@geteach) August 9, 2021
So after more trial and error I now have a concept that works!
After using the Streetview app to take a 360 image, this latest artefact shows the concept. Starting with a 360 Thinglink, going to the full video and then link to Google Earth Project which contains the embedded video.
So a great example of how collaboration, seeking help and having a go can lead to better outcomes. Our next step is to get our students to record high quality videos of carving stories as well as have them create their own Google Earth project of their story. Once these are done we will collate into one comprehensive resource for our school and use as an example for other story telling projects (we also have a grove of Totora tress planted on site for each of the Old Boys that fought and died in WWI).
