admin / July 28, 2022
Technologies and science have opened the floodgates of opportunities for humanity. It has made our lives more convenient, comfortable, and easy by offering brilliant applications in healthcare, retail, communication, learning, and education.
One such technology that has become a game-changer in the education sector is Augmented Reality. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are already making noises in manufacturing, engineering, space, eCommerce, and healthcare. Yet, even in the education sector, these technologies are being used to facilitate students with new, highly functional, and scalable learning solutions.
As per a recent survey, 95% of American teenagers use smartphones.
Furthermore, as per the report by IDC, the AR/VR market is expected to grow from $16.8 billion in 2019 to a whopping $160 billion by 2023.
The above statistics show that AR’s future in education is quite promising.
This post will shed some light on the below topics:
So, let’s deep dive and explore each of the segments.
As the phrase depicts, Augmented Reality is an experience you can have of a real-world environment where computer-generated, high-quality sensors and cameras enhance real-world objects to offer perceptual information.
The AR technology uses mainly four components to show superimposed images of the existing environment- camera and sensor, processing, projection, and reflection.
All these four components have different roles to play.
For example, if you want to check out the depth of an image or an object, you can use cameras and sensors. Projection helps users to see any virtual information over the actual view.
Below is how Scott Belsky defines AR as revolutionizing everyone’s life shortly in one of his interviews.
“Well, we believe that augmented reality is one of those new mediums that could be as big as if not bigger than the web. One of the areas where consumers adopt something new is when it makes something drastically easier. When I think about augmented reality, I think about instances like finding your way somewhere, finding your friends in a stadium, or going to a conference and looking around and knowing who everyone is because theirprofile is hanging over their heads.” — Scott Belsky.
We all have seen the deadliest pandemic in the form of Covid-19, which forced schools and educational institutions to adopt virtual training and learning operations.
Though the trend of online classroom training is increasing globally, AR technology can add innovation and engagement to their training programs.
However, you cannot assume that all the schools and educational institutes are equipped with such content or the medium to implement the technology. Still, they can start thinking in that direction, at least.
With AR in classrooms, many learning objectives can be achieved, such as:
Well, there are many benefits of Augmented Reality in Education. Let’s discuss them one by one:
When you come up with creative and interactive ways of learning, you will be able to engage your students more as they will love to participate in the learning process.
You can create interesting virtual worlds to teach new concepts, develop a new understanding of different topics, and create their interests in other subjects. Even if a particular subject bores your students, with the help of AR in the classroom, you can make it enjoyable for them.
Gone are the days when teachers are speaking, and students are listening. This traditional education method has become irrelevant in the new century.
Students also want to participate in the learning method, and you can incorporate AR in the classroom to get their engagement and improve the overall learning experience.
The AR technology facilitates you to develop new, real-world experiences and examples that students can easily understand.
Students can understand even tricky concepts if you teach them with a pinch of entertainment. The AR technology can help you achieve this goal by offering highly immersive educational experiences in the classroom for your students.
For example, teaching human anatomy theoretically will not solve the purpose. But on the other hand, if you teach them a real-world video presentation of different body parts with explanation, they would be able to grasp concepts more easily and effortlessly.
AR content is digital and can be shared effortlessly with other teachers, students, and stakeholders. Here, multiple players can contribute to refining the content.
Such collaborative efforts with the real-world learning environment will motivate students to participate in the learning process and will help to understand concepts in a more meaningful manner.
The traditional teaching methods have failed miserably in this area. However, with AR at your disposal, students don’t just understand concepts very well but also remember essential details for their exams.
For example, learning about different American cities in your history class with many photographs on a projector is a dull experience. When a teacher uses AR technology and comes up with innovative and interesting stories, students will be able to understand and remember them very well.
The biggest barrier cited by educational institutions in adopting AR technology in the education sector is the cost. However, as students already have their smartphones in their possession, it is no longer an issue.
Smartphones have all the features and hardware necessary to run AR apps; it is convenient and cost-effective to implement AR in education. Furthermore, you can reduce your educational costs to a great extent by replacing costly textbooks.
Yes, it is one of the most important benefits of using AR in education. Here, students can use real-world imagination to learn and understand difficult concepts. In addition, it will allow them to understand them better as they are experiencing concepts in the practical, real-time world.
When using AR technology, you don’t have to involve a heart patient to practice heart surgery. You can operate a space shuttle in the virtual world. You can learn critical theories and concepts without putting anyone in danger. This is the power of AR technology.
We also need to discuss some challenges to implementing AR in education.
Not all teachers are tech-savvy. Some might struggle to put the new technologies into real-time practice for various reasons, such as lack of skills. You might need a dedicated tech person on the premises to help teachers learn the technology.
You will need a different set of hardware to facilitate students with this technology. Not all students might have the latest smartphones, and in case, it might not be easy to implement this technology in the classrooms.
The AR models you develop must work responsively on all platforms and devices. You need to hire AR developers for this objective. However, the experience might deviate from device to device even if you hire the best developers.
Thanks to the fact that kids can learn any technology easily, using AR technology to educate kids is the best way to teach them educational concepts and subjects.
Companies and educational institutions are developing different AR applications, especially for kids. AR app development is increasing among AR vendors to facilitate children using technology to understand arts, learn concepts, read books, and experiment in real-world labs.
NarratorAR is a classic example of an AR app for kids. This app is developed for kids aged 3-5 and helps them write in a fun and engaging way. It makes handwriting a perfectly and truly fun-filled experience.
This is the best and the most direct form of adopting AR technology in education. What can be more convenient than using the technology directly in the classroom?
With such apps, teachers can explain a subject by representing objects and concepts in a visual form and help students learn in a dynamic environment. Hire an AR developer for education app development, and that is all.
Just check out your app store on your smartphone. You will find many apps for different subjects such as zoology, mathematics, science, botany, chemistry, biology, and other subjects.
AR technology facilitates distance learning. Students can easily learn even when not in the classroom with technology. With AR-aided educational and training materials, students can learn at home. However, the learning must not stop.
The best example of such an education type is Mondly. It is a language-learning app that has an AR-enabled virtual teacher. Students can access this virtual teacher at any time, irrespective of where they are.
They can learn language skills by creating a real-life setting within the app. Isn’t it an intuiting experience to learn languages in such a manner?
It is not a new thing. Many American colleges and universities are already using AR technology to help their students learn marketing concepts and fundamentals. You can create virtual AR tours to grasp different marketing concepts and principles with AR.
You can also use AR to teach your staff about procedures and processes, especially new employees. They can easily pick up other required skills when trained in real-world scenarios. For example, you can teach a machine supervisor how to handle a machine and safety measures without actually using the machine. All you need to do is hire app developers to develop such apps.
Augmented reality is the future of education. The technology has already started showing its potential in healthcare, retail, IT, and other sectors. Even in the education industry, AR has some promising possibilities. AR in education is no longer an idea; it is becoming a reality with each passing day and will soon revolutionize the industry.
