iPads are ubiquitous in today's classrooms, but it takes some work to find educational uses beyond games. A donation of iPads to my second- and third-grade combination classroom last year had me searching for new and exciting ways to implement them.

I set out to find ways to use QR codes in my classroom and discovered the augmented reality (AR) app Aurasma. I was overwhelmed with the potential of using augmented reality to support instruction. While QR codes act as two-dimensional bar codes that hyperlink to various types of printed information, augmented reality uses technology in which an image (marker) is linked to a 3-D video that appears directly on the image. The image appears to come to life once you hover the iPad (or iPhone) over it like a magic wand.

I was hooked. But how was I going to implement AR technology in my elementary school classroom? And how would I integrate it with my instruction? I needed something more kid-friendly that would tie into what students were learning. Ultimately, I settled on a simple way to incorporate AR into students' research and creative writing projects.

First, find an appropriate AR marker for the writing topic, which students color (if necessary). Have them research and write their stories or reports. Then use an iPad to view 3-D video on the marker using the app. Afterward have each student step behind her marker and start the video again on the iPad, taking a screenshot while it's running. It makes a great picture of the 3-D object of the story with the student in the background.

These apps became my go-to apps for AR resources:

• Quiver (formerly ColAR Mix): This free app has a variety of markers that are downloaded from its website and colored. Not all the markers are free, but the project examples included here feature free ones. This app has had a very recent makeover, and it appears the developers are marketing it to education users.
• Spacecraft 3D: This free app has a number of markers (no coloring necessary) with 3-D videos of a variety of spacecraft, as well as information students can use for research.

Here are five of my students' favorite augmented reality projects:

1. Use a National Geographic Explorer article to write a simple report on tropical birds and then color Quiver markers of a tropical bird. Take a screenshot and make posters of the reports with the markers.
2. For Fire Safety Week, have students draw a map of their home escape routes. Then they can color the Quiver fire truck marker. Make posters of the maps with the marker and photos or screenshots.
3. Use the Quiver globe marker to identify and label the seven continents. Color the marker with colored pencils, take a photo or screenshot, and then mount it on construction paper.
4. Right after the holidays, have students write a story about their "Favorite Gift" (given or received). Students color the Quiver gift marker and take a photo or screenshot just as confetti starts coming out of the box. Mount the photo and story on construction paper and fold it like a book.
5. Students use the Spacecraft 3D app to research a spacecraft. They can use Popplet to make a graphic organizer, placing facts about the spacecraft around the photo or screenshot.

We all love doing AR projects! It feels like a bit of magic to share and take home. (I always send home the child's marker so that parents can download the app and watch the 3-D video.) I look forward to using more AR this year as a tool for student engagement with their writing, social studies, and science projects.

End of an Era

Today the space shuttle returned from its final mission. The shuttle program has officially ended, as well as ending our national program of space exploration.

Having come from the beginning end of this national journey into the vast reaches of a heretofore unexplored universe, I am immensely saddened by this.

It was not so very long ago that I watched with hope and awe as the Mercury and Gemini astronauts would blast into orbit around the Earth with my dad on our black and white television in our living room. Dad's livelihood centered around the space program, and he understood the significance of man entering outer space with little more technological support than paper and pencil and a slide rule.

Dad didn't live to see the Apollo program begin, and he wasn't there with me to see Neil Armstrong land on the moon. But he certainly lived long enough to give me an immense appreciation for what pure scientific discovery can provide each of us in our everyday lives.

Much like Columbus and other discoverers of their time, those that traveled to unexplored lands gained much from their discoveries. But so did those who never left their homeland. Finding the New World brought many new plants for foods and medicines, access to materials like cotton and tobacco that were limited in availability. For all intents and purposes, those back home gained a better quality of life as a result of that exploration and the technical discoveries which came as a result.

Solving the problems of making space flight happen has resulted in so many discoveries, as well. Some are obvious and well-known: computers and their components, which have led to remarkable, inexpensive electronics, freeze-dried foodstuffs, and disposable diapers. But this just scratches the surface. The list is enormous. Some of the discoveries the shuttle program itself brought about were LED lights, carbon monoxide detectors, sensors to detect harmful materials in the air, and microlasers. The Apollo program not only put men on the moon, it set into motion the development of cordless tools, water filters, and home insulation. Smoke detectors were developed for Skylab.

The space program has initiated the development of windshear predictors and collision avoidance systems for airplanes. Its need for specific technology has brought about digital mammography with lower doses of radiation, laser heart surgery, needle breast biopsies, CAT scans and MRI's, lightweight artificial limbs, hand-held on-your-skin thermometers, composite forceps which protected infants when they were born, transmitters which make fetal monitors possible, and the technology that allows computers to arrange human chromosomes to detect genetic abnormalities quickly.

The space program brought us moonsuit fabric which makes foldable covers for stadiums and shopping centers, helmet padding, and better golfballs. Firefighters have breathing equipment to keep them safe, GPS and photography that can help end wildfires, and they can use their "jaws of life" to help extricate you from a crushed vehicle, all the result of the space program. It lets you watch television with instant coverage of faraway events through the use of satellite technology. Satellite technology helps with world-wide fishing and crop management, and space program discoveries helped improve crop dusting, providing all of us with more and better foods.

All these discoveries, and far more besides, come from our national space program, for approximately 0.6% of our entire federal budget. A real bargain.

And a lifetime of memories for one little girl. Priceless.

The Math Queen Speaks!

Math Queen? A pretty audacious name for my blog, but an endearing title given to me by friends and colleagues since becoming a state finalist and ultimately an awardee of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. This is a spot to share some of the wonderful experiences which have accompanied the award and some ideas about best practice in mathematics teaching for elementary students. Hope that it is enlightening and encouraging!