Abstract
The proposed project is to enhance the AR/VR development projects at CUHK by providing the ‘bridge’ or ‘backbone’ for developers to easily add interactive components into their projects.
The ‘backbone’ will be based on our work on uReply. uReply is already a highly functional platform for promoting classroom interactions on its own. It is already proven to be a popular tool among our teachers too. The new backbone will provide openings (API in technical terms) for external projects to integrate uReply functions into their own developments.
In other words, the interactive component will be web-based, dynamic and user-friendly enough for teachers to make changes even after the development. Unlike interactions that are hard-coded and built into the development and thus are virtually impossible to change by the teachers themselves, the backbone concept requires teachers to put ‘action points’ onto the AR/VR environment instead and then link each of these action points to a uReply question/quiz. Changes by the teachers at any stage are easy as what they need to do is to go to the usual uReply Question Bank and change the question/quiz.
The project will have a proactive servicing element such that our programmer will actively liaise and collaborate with various teams at the University to make better interactive VR developments.
Brief write-up
Project objectives
The project enhanced the AR/VR development projects at CUHK by providing the ‘bridge’ or ‘backbone’ for developers to easily add interactive components into their projects. The ‘backbone’ is based on our work on uReply. uReply is already a highly functional platform for promoting classroom interactions on its own. It has already proven to be a popular tool among our teachers too. The new backbone provided openings (API in technical terms) for external projects to integrate uReply functions into their own developments. With the new backbone and our proactive strategies to connect with developers and relevant project holders at the University, we enabled the interactive AR/VR learning packages leap to a level matching with many other major developments in the world.
Activities, process and outcomes
The APIs set has been developed and relevant information has been launched on the uReply Website. A documentation set is ready and downloadable for the AR/VR developer to use. We also provided the API to various parties for development as well as testing. The API information page (https://www.web.ureply.mobi/ureply-api) which containes related information has been launched on the uReply website which allows the developer to access and get the materials to use it. A nursing project has integrated and used this API in the VR application which shown uReply questions on the VR scenes.
Deliverables and evaluation
The first and second version of APIs have been released to the website. We have provided the API to different parties for development as well as testing. Self-help resources as well as documentation for development have been built and uploaded to the website. One teacher VR project has adopted this API. And several meetings have been arranged to introduce the integration on using uReply API during the year 2018 and 2019.
Dissemination, diffusion, impact and sharing of good practices
To disseminate the work, we have put the materials on the website as well as liaised with Information Technology Services Centre and different parties to introduce them the possibilities to use uReply on their own development on AR and VR. Meetings and consultations with related parties have been arranged to discuss and introduce the integration of uReply using uReply API during the project years.
