AR in the academic sector is steadily increasing in prevalence amongst schools all over the globe. By leveraging AR, educationists are able to enhance learning outcomes and retention via enhanced engagement and increased levels of interaction. That’s just for starters. AR has VR beat with some fascinating advantages to boot. 

This blog explores some of the ways in which AR imparts advantages to education, and then provides a few scenarios of where it has proven itself. 

Augmented Reality (AR) in academics consists of facets that improve learning of capacities such as problem-solving, collaboration, and creation to better equip students for upcoming challenges. It is also beneficial for conventional pedagogy concentrated on technical know-how and proficiency. 

AR is still somewhat of a nascent technology. Particularly when contrasted with virtual reality, which has been doing the rounds for decades in several applications. However, AR does provide more affordable avenues to institutions with stringent budgets – while still imparting many of the same functionalities and advantages. 

The advantages of AR in education 

AR’s comparative seamlessness with regards to electronic objects within the physical world fosters increased interaction and engaging experiences. It optimizes learner’s capacity to utilize their time studying curricular topics while reducing the time expenditure in working the new technology. 

Additionally, as detailed in Stanford News on VR’s use cases within the learning environment and “the influence of the body’s actions on the mind”, AR can additionally compel empathy in students. It provides two dimensional strategies with regards to presentation of data as opposed to the conventional one-dimension. This conjunction of increased interaction and engaging content laden with emotion, could subsequently improve the capacity of learners to retain what they’ve studied – and potentially leading to quicker acquisition of info and KSAs. 

Hence, AR imparts possibilities to learners to enhance their KSAs within various spheres, such as: 

• Reading 

• Manipulating numbers (Quantitative aptitude) 
• Spatial concepts 
• Playing 
• Content Development 
• Real-life environments and scenarios 

This can consist of everything ranging from field excursions to being exposed to training across various vocations. When used in conjunction with assignments consisting of collaboration, AR likewise assists in providing new avenues for learners to increase awareness with regards to communication and collaborating, with each other. It could possibly be the case that they work with similar technologies when they enter the labor force. 

During adoption of AR there is also no requirement for a comprehensive curriculum overhaul; it can be even more efficient in complementing existing pedagogical methodology by merely adding more experience with the relevant context. It can be leveraged to merely foster interest and discourse in various subject areas and be the foundation for classroom-based activities. 

Connecting the learning to action research – research carried out to provide solutions to pressing issues is advised. What are the advantages of leveraging AR/VR? Students should be direct to collate information in the process to research VR and AR’s efficacy. 

AR requirements in a classroom setting 

• A connection to get online 

• Smart mobile devices 
• AR apps targeted at education applications 
• Triggers, or markers – embedded items that initiate an action on the gadget or its screen through the AR application 

AR apps in academics to get the 3D ball rolling 

To impart additional guidance to teachers seeking feedback, listed below are organizations and programs that enable learning via AR – all of these are recommended by employees in the education sector. 

Apps with readymade AR content 

Listed below are instances of apps/programs for educationists who want an easy inro for AR or desire AR content readymade for deployment in a classroom environment; this consists of pre-developed triggers and markers. 

Quiver – 3D Coloring App; Adding to the factors listed previously, this AR program will also need learners to take out their coloring pencils. 

To leverage Quiver, educationists will be required to have printed copies of coloring pages which learners color in. This imagery is then breathed life into through a smart device by displaying them via the app’s viewer and hitting play. 

An educator specified in one of her online postings that the Earth coloring page would have been advantageous increased engagement levels with regards to her first graders who had just learned about the planet’s various continents. The program enables kids various viewing options, the capacity to play with the image, and even capture pictures and videos. 

The current thinking revolves around allotting assignments to learners that enable development of storytelling skills, integrating classmate collaboration, and additional technological abilities. 

Additionally, the following suggestions are with regards to educationists who are seeking organizations that cover several learning topics. 

DAQRI and Arloon are two organizations that developed AR programs encompassing more than one learning discipline. 

DAQRI’s Elements 4D and Anatomy 4D Maps encompass topics in biology and chemistry. Arloon Plants, Arloon Mental Math, and Arloon Geometry concentrate on various other subjects. 

As is the scenario with Quiver, these applications additionally consist of triggers that can be printed on paper. DAQRI’s web presence even consists of learning plans for the Elements 4D App. 

Advantages particular to these variants of applications vary: 

• Enables learners to undertake experimentation in a secure setting than using chemicals in real-world scenarios would otherwise enable 
• Studying about plants and their interactions with their environments via digital growth cycles when space, season 
• Cost savings with regards to budget which would typically restrict learner’s capacity to make these observations and analyses within the classroom 
• Enhancing comprehension of abstract, spatial, geometric concepts via management and multi-angle observation of virtual 3D objects. 

Applications for AR content development 

Academic AR applications further impart avenues for educationists ready to develop their proprietary AR content and lesson plans, or even for ones who wish to foster student engagement by doing something similar. To put it in different words, to do this, educationists and learners will be needed to leverage AR applications with baked-in studios to develop their own presentations they’re interested in. 

Blippar and Aurasma are both examples of tools that enable the development of AR experiences. For instance, art learners in attendance at Sao Paulo, Brazil’s graded school, leveraged Aurasma combined with a green screen program to develop an improved exhibition for visitors to their galleries. Via such an experience, attendees could engage in learning about the influences and strategies underlying every work through videos featuring the artists themselves – clips that seemingly popped out of the artwork directly.  

Conclusion 

AR is going on to become more affordable, with improved accessibility, and effectiveness, basically becoming a centerpiece of any modern learning plan. Kids are grounded with the KSAs and traits they need to engage in collaboration with others and get the edge in their upcoming careers. 

An aspect that can enhance their efficacy and confidence in these spheres will be to develop open-ended lessons that facilitate them to go after their own spheres of interest. One noteworthy rationale for doing this is taking up ownership of work enables improve a student’s feeling of accountability and engagement with the content. 

AR can even bring down the lines between learning material and the educator; or student developed content.