Our school invested in Inspyro, whose aim is to create content that is exciting, dramatic, engaging and creative, whilst providing real learning opportunities. The main one that we have used is their First World War Worksheet Pack. They are a collection of 8  information sheets that also use augmented reality so that the sheets come alive! In total, there are 10 augmented reality that include video, audio, 3D models and animations as well as 7 QR code resources and activities.

The sheets describe various aspects of World War One. So many times, research involves reading worksheets or going online to find information, but finally there was something different! We were learning about memorials and remembering the dead and the children looked at information about the Cenotaph in London and then using their iPad with the Inspyro app, a 3D model of the Cenotaph appeared on screen. The children were able to walk around the sheet and get a full 360 degree view of it.

On another page, they learnt about recruitment and what it was like in the war. They could then point their iPad at a recruitment poster and the poster becomes a semi-animation of a talking veteran describing what it was like in the war.

We also investigated the importance of music in the war. We listened to music of the war and an animation of a gramophone popped up and started playing the Ivor Novello song, Keep the Home Fires Burning. On the same page, they can play an audio track of The Last Post.

There were many more great examples that we used but the most important aspect was the fact that it had the ‘wow’ factor. This ensured that absolute engagement in a research lesson was achieved and ultimately improved learning and more complete final pieces of work. The children thoroughly enjoyed using the active worksheets and wanted to know if there were any more for other topics!