Each year we celebrate International Dot Day in the 5/6 art room. International Dot Day is inspired by the book The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds. Not to give the story away, but when the main character, Vashti, is consumed with “artist’s block” upon seeing a blank white page, her art teacher encourages her to make a mark, a dot, and see where it takes here. No, I won’t reveal what happens next, but let’s just say it’s something BIG.

These are the participation stats for this year – yes, that’s one million eight hundred sixty-four thousand three hundred twenty-six participants from eighty-two countries!:

In recognition of International Dot Day, we have completed many dot initiated projects over the years. One of the most exciting parts of Dot Day is sharing our work with schools around the world through the Dot Day Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InternationalDotDay. Last year, we colored in dots using the supplied template and made a little video: Dot Day 2013 This year we kicked it up a notch.

Take a look at this video to see what we did: International Dot Day with Augmented Reality You might want to watch it again, because you may want to download the app to see what your child has been up to in art class. In class today, I showed finished student drawings using my iPad, mirroring them to the projection screen as the Augmented Reality came to life. You can view the modified drawings at home, you simply have to download the free app to your iPad or phone, and there IS an Android app. Here is the link to the colAR web page: colAR Mix App

Once you download the app, you can view the Augmented Reality effects on your child”s Dot Day drawing through your device at home. If you want to view another drawing, you have to purchase the in-app Dover Publications packet for $2.99. This is completely optional and there is absolutely no pressure to do so. I showed as many of the “extra” drawings as I could in class, so chances are, your child has seen his/hers come to life. Here is a trailer to see what the shark looks like:

I hope you enjoy having some fun with Augmented Reality!