Educational Technology News

Why Use Agmented Reality for K-12 Education? Tools, Apps, Tips and Training.

"Distance learning can impede hands-on learning experiences, but AR has potential to increase virtual student engagement"

"Even before the pandemic, XR technologies were proving their value to education. In the changed circumstances that colleges and universities face today, XR can play an even more significant role."

We identified five core challenges facing the path to widespread adoption of mixed reality in education. All will require time and resources to overcome.

Augmented reality connects our digital lives with the real world. Learning as we know it is set to become augmented learning in the near future.

"While his students work in collaborative groups, Mr. Jacobs reviews recent achievement data for each student. He’s looking to see how students answered questions on each objective for their last curriculum-based assessment, but he’s nowhere near his computer or a printout. Instead, Mr. Jacobs is wearing smart glasses. The data is right in front of his eyes. His glasses also audio- and video-record, display texts messages from parents and colleagues, and allow for Internet navigation. Transition to augmented reality will become seamless"

There are a number of inexpensive augmented reality apps curriculum directors and teachers can test in the classroom for a taste of what the tech has to offer.

For teachers who have always wanted to use augmented reality (AR)—tech that overlays content on top of the real world—but haven’t had the chance to explore it, Jaime Donally has heard you.

"Reading from textbooks and filling out worksheets simply doesn’t bring the material to life for most students. Teachers and students would both find the classroom curriculum more engaging if there was a better way to breathe life into old topics. Unfortunately, most schools lack the time and budget to send classes on more than a few field trips each year. With the invention of more virtual reality edtech, teachers may have more tricks up their sleeve to garner this much-needed enthusiasm for learning."

Some schools invest in technology but never find the right way to teach with it. Here, a school library specialist shares how she turned teachers and students from skeptics into evangelists.

"Wearables, AR, and VR have the potential to support educators and other education stakeholders in creating experiences characterized by immersion, embodiment, contextualization, and self-awareness, all vital for developing deep self-knowledge, and individual and social awareness."

Today’s children and youth are very tech savvy and easily use tablets, laptops, and smartphones to access the Internet, play games and consume media. AR can put that on fast-forward.

"As I completed a recent piece that detailed what teachers needed to know about augmented reality, I started to think of what the future holds for this powerful piece of tech."

"Augmented reality (augmented reality) in education is not a new subject, but it is an area that is being increasingly discussed and explored, and for an excellent reason. New developments have made augmented reality more accessible than ever before, blurring the lines between the physical and digital world."

AR is here. Is your classroom onboard? AR is still far from being present in day to day teaching, but its usefulness can easily be seen.

"While the concept of “on-demand” eLearning is not new to Instructional Designers, the use of Augmented Learning (or AL) is fast catching currency within learning content creation circles. For those of us who are new to this concept, augmented learning is a technique that helps Instructional Designers adapt learning environments to a particular learner. In this article, we will talk about Augmented Learning (AL) and look at some use cases and tips for augmented success."

"Augmented Reality (AR) has exploded in the past few years, mainly due to the easy access provided by our mobile devices. Digital images once reserved for high-cost headsets are now seen through the camera on our phones and tablets. And thanks to Pokemon Go and Snapchat filters, we’re finally witnessing the use of AR on a mass scale."

Bringing distant places closer to students and boosting retention through enhanced visual cues, AR/VR adds value to teaching and learning.

Listen to our podcast with Microsoft's Dan Ayoub to learn more about how AR/VR could revolutionize learning, and how educators are using it today.

By: Katrina Youdale - Learn more about the introduction of AR technology in Kindergarten and the advantages for both teachers and young learners.

"ARTutor is an Augmented Reality Educational Platform developed by the Advanced Educational Technologies and Mobile Applications (AETMA) Research Lab at the Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace in Greece during the last 3 years. It is available free of cost to all the educators and the students around the globe in order to help them to develop technology-enhanced educational material."

"The world we live in is becoming more accessible and adaptable, incorporating technology to help better the lives of consumers and students everywhere. Augmented Reality combines digital content with real-world images, providing viewers with interactive experiences that can be tailored to any audience."

"Rapidly evolving augmented reality technology creates opportunities for innovation in education, as demonstrated by Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic's HoloAnatomy curriculum and teaching and learning breakthroughs in a multitude of disciplines."

The technology giants of the world have found ways so that the average person can create their own AR and VR worlds with very little training or gear.