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PSP-based augmented reality turns school into an adventure worth writing about
Kids at Mansel Primary school used PSPs to escape from the real world and go on fantasy adventures while at school -- as part of an assignment. The "Imaginary Worlds" project used the system with AR software to allow kids to design fantasy landscapes (like the "Tower of Doom") at school by finding art online and matching it with scannable codes that were hidden around the school. The kids then took camera-equipped systems around the school and embarked on virtual "quests" in these self-made locales, finding items to defeat a monster, and writing about the experience afterward. According to a subsequent evaluation, the experimental program was met with enthusiasm, and kids behaved well and cooperated while taking part. The evaluation notes that the kids played Invizimals first as an introduction to the AR tech, which proved to be a "useful hook-in to the project." We think the project is onto something -- not just as a teaching tool, but as a game. We totally want to go have a quest and then chronicle the hardships of said quest.
