There were plenty of excited faces and joyous interaction when Sam the Bear arrived at Coedpenmaen County Primary School in Pontypridd.

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Sam is a loveable cartoon character who appears in an Evoke Education portable unit, controlled remotely and discreetly by teaching staff.

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Students at Coedpenmaen were enthralled with how much this holographic Bear knew about them!

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Headteacher Mrs Loveridge said of Sam: “He certainly has the ‘Wow Factorʼ.

 

The children’s responses were wonderful. It was a joy to see the look on their faces when he knew their names and information about their family and siblings including likes and dislikes ".

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However, Mrs Loveridge was also quick to point out that this interactive holograph does his fair share of work too! 

 

She gave the team at Evoke Education a breakdown of some of the learning situations this technology was able to support.

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Information sharing

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One of the primary aims of introducing engaging immersive technology into classrooms is always going to be increased attention and learning.

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Coedpenmaen School’s head explained: “In a number of year groups, when Sam shared some information on any number of subjects, the children were able to recall that information more readily than when basic facts were shared in class during ‘carpet time’ type activities. 

 

They excitedly shared their ‘newʼ information with adults at school”.

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She also reported: “In Foundation Phase, children sat and listened for a more extended period when Sam told them an assembly story and responded to their questions about the story".

 

Again, these younger children appeared to recall facts related to the story – and could recall them the following week when questioned again"!

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Mrs Loveridge added: “Children were talking about Sam Bear on the playground and in the classroom and were very excited that he knew things about them and the school”.

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Improving response to classroom commands

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The school also found that students responded well to instructions issued by teaching staff, via Sam the holographic bear. 

 

This included entering the hall for assembly quietly!

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Perhaps most significantly though, was the difference noted when Sam gave one group of children an educational task.

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“We were very pleased with the higher level of enthusiasm shown by the children who had the task set by ‘Sam Bearʼ. 

 

We found that Sam Bear had a very positive impact on motivation and reluctant emergent writers responded more effectively to Sam than the class-based session.

 

They eagerly put pen to paper and confidently ‘read’ their work back to Sam Bear to let him know what they had written.”

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Practical aspects of classroom technology

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This and other anecdotal evidence from Coedpenmaen show that Sam made quite an impact on the school community. 

 

How easy was this technology to set up and employ in classrooms?

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According to Mrs Loveridge: “The training session we had at the beginning was thorough – it was very useful to watch how Bear worked first and then to try it out on a small group knowing that support was available if needed. 

 

The teacher was also able to share this easily with another teacher who picked up the controls quickly and effectively. 

 

This has allowed us to ensure that more children could experience ‘Bear’.

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Having witnessed the ways this teaching technology increased motivation and enjoyment in a learning environment, Coedpenmaen School is hoping to have Sam the Bear back on a longer-term basis in the future.

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The staff also provided excellent feedback to help our efforts to improve and enhance the uses of this groundbreaking technology for education and beyond.