Enhance Mail Communication through Augmented Reality

Our annual tradition of mailing postcards home for information and to notify parents of students’ teachers saw an innovative twist the last couple of years by adding augmented reality.We use HP Reveal (formerly Aurasma) to turn the front of the postcard into a ‘trigger’ image so the app recognizes it and automatically overlays a preset video that we choose over the image or in this case, the postcard while they are holding it. Our tradition is to have a video of our falcon mascot showing off something interesting in school. The purpose of using augmented reality for this communication is two-fold. First, it is so vitally important to model for our families what we want our teachers to use in classrooms for instruction. Second, we try to send a clear message proactively to our students that school is fun and we hope that they look forward to starting the school year with a positive tone.

Here is our 2018 postcard we sent home below. Use HP Reveal, a free app, to follow my channel by searching for Andy Jacks and then clicking follow. Once you follow someone, you will always be able to refresh and see any new ‘auras’ they have added. Scan the image below using HP Reveal to the video!

Postcard

Here is our 2017 image of a section of our postcard that will reveal the video we sent out last year.

If you are stuck, watch this video I made using DU Recorder that explains how to follow me and scan for an image using HP Reveal. DU Recorder is an app that records your screen and your audio at the same time to create a video.

Check out my other ‘auras’ to reveal more fun tricks. One example is scanning my Twitter profile to see an introduction video. It’s like magic and a lot of fun. We are going to make an augmented reality scavenger hunt this year around our school. This will add to the already existing augmented reality art gallery that we have created by our students and Mrs. Keen, our amazing Art Teacher! More on that later.

For now, check it out, let me know what you think, and enjoy!

Posted in Leadership Lessons