So far we have discussed some of the applications of
Augmented Reality (AR), such as in medicine, in this post we will be discussing
AR in education. In the area of education AR has incredible potential, so
far there has been some advances, but there is a lot more that can be done in
order to increase significantly the value to the learning experience on every
level. There is no better way to learn than interacting with the
objects we are learning about. Imagine a second grade teacher reading a book to
their students, as she mentions some of the characters of the story they
come alive and kids can interact with them. This will bring storytelling to a
whole new level.
Now imagine a student trying to study the human body and
its parts reading and listening are essential for education, no question about
that, but education deepens when we include creation and interaction. It is not the same for students to read the content from a textbook than interacting with a body. There are
apps already in the market that do exactly this. For example, Anatomy 4D,
which you can download from your smartphone or tablet, allows you to print out images from the human body just as the ones we
see in regular textbooks. But the magic happens when you use the app and
overlay your device over the previously printed images, the student can then engage into an active learning experience getting to know the body parts in a
more interactive and fun way.
We could think of many other topics such math,
science, history and many others where augmented reality will revolutionize the
learning experience making it more digestible, interactive and certainly more
fun.
The following video is a perfect example of little girl
in third grade using her iPad to solve a math problem. The moment she overlays
the iPad over the paper where the problem is, she can watch an interactive
explanation helping her to figure out the solution.
Every day we continue to hear how school systems, all over
the world, should put more effort into fostering problem solving skills into
students from all ages. We think that AR could bring many solutions to this
global need. AR could be used along with
Project Based Learning, which is a method where students gain knowledge and
skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to
a complex question, problem, or challenge. AR is the perfect way for groups of
children to thrive in a project based learning environment. Each child can use
their Augmented Reality capable device to build or help solve problems.
Nowadays practically every teenager owns a smartphone,
teachers in schools and universities battle every day to prevent students from
using their smartphones/tablets during lectures. Wouldn't it be more beneficial
if teachers could leverage this fact to encourage students to use their
devices to learn on different topics through AR? We see a lot of opportunity in AR
in the future, we wouldn't be surprised to see textbooks replaced by this
technology or at least watching them working together in every classroom.
Books in the future will most likely be adapted to suit this technology. So we
must ask, is AR the future in Education?
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