I’m thrilled to provide the #31DaysofARVRinEDU event! Each day in March will include an augmented (AR) or virtual reality (VR) resource to bring into the classroom.
When ARKit apps first started to roll out in the App Store, I ran across the Catchy Words AR app. I didn’t give it much credit initially because I didn’t think it was more than a 3D hangman game. After testing the game, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed playing. In the first release of the app, the words were unable to change. Shortly thereafter, an update to the app allows users to add any word they’d like or need.
I witnessed this app impacting my own family. My ten-year-old daughter has dyslexia. I decided to allow her to try out the app after studying spelling words for several frustrating hours. My daughter took several minutes to get started and much longer to complete the activity. I began to doubt the impact of this app for spelling until she finished and was able to spell the word perfectly. I asked her again several hours later, days later and she was able to easily spell the word correctly. I had to sit back and evaluate why she was able to learn in this immersive activity better than the traditional ways we were expected to learn.
I realized that this way of learning activity required her to get up and actively play. The Catchy Words AR app was fun! She enjoyed playing and the challenge even though it was directly targeting her struggle. The second part of the success is in the way the letters spread out and are twisted. For her, she struggled to make sense of the letters, because her brain had to work extra hard to make sense of the letters and word as a whole. Because the activity made her brain work so hard, her brain retained the information.
While the app is specific to iOS mobile devices, we all hope to see it expand to Google Play one day!
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