Education

STRAX FOR EDUCATION

StraxAR™ provides a controlled educational journey for impressionable young minds. Traditional educational online video content
can inadvertently lead students to less desirable, related video content. However, StraxAR™ Metaverse video content can be curated, controlled,
and exclusively distributed by the school district and connect students directly to the next step in the pedagogical journey.

IMAGINE A WORLD THAT’S ALIVE WITH INFORMATION.

The pandemic was an incredibly disruptive force for education: the rapid integration of new technology, the challenges of distance teaching, the volume of learning loss, and the psychic toll of persevering during a global crisis are only a few of the challenges faced by students and teachers.

Educators will be returning to the classroom this fall with many priorities, but perhaps the most important is this: How can we re-engage students in the joyful act of learning while keeping them connected in the digital world?

REINTRODUCE WONDER

Students are digital technology natives who use it to connect, communicate, and learn. Teachers know this: video has become a key tool for helping students master content. StraxAR™ allows teachers to encode images in digital documents, textbooks, and the physical environment, which students can scan to discover supplemental videos.

At school and at home, students using the StraxAR™ app have access to a teacher-curated universe of video, embedded right in the content they are learning.

MEET STUDENTS WHERE THEY WANT TO BE

Students are digital technology natives who use it to connect, communicate, and learn. Teachers know this: video has become a key tool for helping students master content. StraxAR™ allows teachers to encode images in digital documents, textbooks, and the physical environment, which students can scan to discover supplemental videos.

At school and at home, students using the StraxAR™ app have access to a teacher-curated universe of video, embedded right in the content they are learning.

WHAT EXACTLY IS AUGMENTED REALITY?

Augmented reality is often presented as a kind of futuristic technology, but it’s been around for years. Google rolled out Google Glass in 2013. In 2016, the AR game “Pokémon Go” became a sensation worldwide, with over 100 million estimated users at its peak. Industries from healthcare to manufacturing to fashion are beginning to incorporate AR. The early successes of augmented reality are the tip of the iceberg—in a short time, AR will be ubiquitous.

How does AR work?Unlike virtual reality, where users interact with an immersive, fully digital environment, augmented reality layers digital information over an existing physical space. This layer can be viewed or accessed through a mobile device like a phone or tablet.

How does StraxAR™work?While there are many complex applications for AR, StraxAR™ is straightforward and easy to use. When certain images (“markers”) are scanned with the StraxAR™ app, they pull up (“fire”) an associated piece of content, typically a video. Teachers can encode an entire textbook with curated video content that students discover by scanning different images—and that’s one just one possible application.

STRAXAR™ IN THE CLASSROOM

Some platforms are open environments—vast ecosystems that offer an endless scroll of content and discourse that can take the users on an infinite number of detours. These platforms—like YouTube, for example—offer some great content, but pose complex challenges for classroom use. StraxAR™ allows teachers to display this content in a distraction- and risk-free digital environment.

StraxAR™ is a closed ecosystem.Teachers use admin accounts to choose which images to encode with content, and what that content will be. Student permissions are limited to scanning and viewing. Videos play on the StraxAR™ app, with no off-ramps to less desirable content. Video content can be curated, controlled, and exclusively distributed by the school district. There are no comments, no sharing, no “likes” or posts—StraxAR™ is not a social network.

StraxAR™ works at home.Though students using StraxAR™ at school will likely be using school-owned tablets, the StraxAR™ app is free, widely available, and works on personal mobile devices. StraxAR™’s video compression process supports seamless play over limited or poor connectivity. Parents helping students with homework can view the videos too, benefiting from supplemental support that’s embedded right in the content.

StraxAR™ addresses differentiation and learning profiles.Technology is particularly helpful for students who reply upon multiple modalities to process information. StraxAR can support accommodations or modifications for students with Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs).

StraxAR™ sparks interest in technologyUsing StraxAR™, students instantly grasp AR’s exciting applications. Exposure to emerging technologies is incredibly valuable for students, who start to connect what they are learning to the real world. Teachers and students can collaborate on new and engaging ways to use StraxAR™ in lessons and projects.

STRAXAR™ FOR TEACHERS

Ms. Campbell is thrilled to be back in the classroom. She wants her students to have a memorable and joyful year. Technology is still a critical resource for her, but she also wants to integrate tools that will surprise and delight—not just “facilitate.”

She has a list of favorite videos that she uses to augment lessons. These can capture even her most distracted students’ attention, and they’re a great way to provide struggling students with supplemental “homework” that doesn’t feel like homework.

In the past, she played videos for the entire class or provided the links for students to view at home. This year, she went through the history textbook, and scanned key images in StraxAR™. She tags each of these images with an associated video.

On the first day of class, students receive their textbooks and Ms. Campbell passes out the classroom tablets, which are preloaded with the StraxAR™ app. She asks students to read the first few pages. “When you get to ‘The Iceman,’ hover your tablet over the page,” she says. The students are confused but intrigued.

They read the first few pages about the earliest human civilizations. When the students reach the first mention of “The Iceman,” an early human discovered in the Alps, they hover over his image with the tablet. Instantly, a captioned video pops up, showing how The Iceman was discovered and excavated. The students are delighted. After they watch the video, they start flipping forward in the textbook, eager to see what else they can discover.

STRAXAR™ FOR PARENTS

Carla struggled with math when she was in school, and helping her daughter Nina with math homework brings up some of those old anxieties. On top of that, the way math is taught has changed a lot since Carla learned it. The methods and tricks she remembers aren’t relevant anymore, and she feels like she can’t offer much guidance.

A few nights in a row, she and Nina have sat up trying to figure out how to do the homework in the right way, and it’s been frustrating for both of them. Nina is starting to say things like “I hate math.” Carla reaches out to Nina’s teacher for help.

The next day, Nina’s homework comes with instructions to download the StraxAR™ app. Carla downloads the app and scans the caretaker icon on her daughter’s worksheet, which opens up a video of Nina’s teacher, who demonstrates how to solve the first problem. Hearing directly from the teacher finally makes it click for Carla, and she’s able to help Nina understand, too.

For the rest of the year, whenever a new math concept is introduced, Nina’s teacher embeds a short video in the worksheet that shows students and caretakers how to solve the first problem. This has been a huge help for Carla, who can help her daughter with confidence.

STRAXAR™ FOR STUDENTS

Stephen is a ninth grader who loves performing. He plays piano, sings, and has been in every school play since first grade. This year, his class is reading Romeo and Juliet, and Stephen is really excited. He doesn’t know a lot about Shakespeare, but he knows it’s a very famous play.

After his first reading assignment, Stephen is confused. The language is dense and strange, and most of the time he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He tries to read the play aloud and stumbles.

The next day in class, he learns that most of his classmates had the same experience. His teacher passes out tablets and breaks the class into groups to read the play aloud. Their scripts included highlighted lines, which they can scan with StraxAR™. Scanning the highlighted lines brings up footage of famous actors performing the scenes they just read. Some of the performances are funny, some are emotional, some are powerful. Watching them gives the students context for the actions and emotions in the play.

As they read on, Stephen’s group tries out some hammy Shakespearean acting, but they also start to pick up the rhythms of the play. Stephen can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

STRAXAR™ IS CLASSROOM-READY

With StraxAR™, teachers can create a world that’s alive with information. Embedding video content right into textbooks and worksheets creates a digital layer that supplements the existing curriculum, sparking engagement and reinforcing comprehension. While schools consider investments in digital textbooks and learning tools, StraxAR™ can bridge the gap between existing resources and digital content.

StraxAR™ places supplemental help right where it’s needed, in context—no more digging in shared documents or emails to find links. Used creatively, StraxAR™ gives students the thrill of discovery, unearthing videos in textbooks, worksheets, even in the classroom. The platform supports endless creative applications, and the technology is exciting but easy to use, a great way to introduce students to an emerging and influential technology.

StraxAR™ is simple to adopt. Once uploaded onto a classroom tablet or mobile phone, it’s ready to scan and display video. And StraxAR™ isn’t a social or sharing network, so it’s distraction-free. Teachers or districts can create a curated video library in a closed, secure environment.

START YOUR JOURNEY TODAY!

Re-engage students in the joyful act of learning
Digital technology is ingrained in students, who use it to connect, communicate, and learn.
Students can interact in a physical world that’s alive with digital information.
StraxAR™ allows teachers to display this content in a distraction- and risk-free digital environment.
Embedding video content right into textbooks and worksheets creates a digital layer that supplements the existing curriculum, sparking engagement and reinforcing comprehension.
StraxAR™ is simple to adopt. Once uploaded onto a classroom tablet or mobile phone, it’s ready to scan and display video.

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