Augmented reality education gaining ground
Augmented reality has gotten a lot of attention recently for its uses in gaming and entertainment. The technology is often used to provide consumers with engaging experiences that are meant to focus their interests around certain products or activities. Indeed, this is one of the major features of augmented reality that has proven attractive to technology companies like Google. Augmented reality has more practical uses, however, as exhibited by students at the Calgary Science School in Alberta, Canada. These students are drawing more attention to the concept of augmented reality education.
Educators begin turning to technology to teach students
The concept is straightforward enough: Use augmented reality to enhance the learning experience. Technology and education has long gone hand-in-hand, and many educators believe that interactive technologies could help students learn more effectively. Augmented reality education is a representation of this belief and, thus far, has produced promising results. The apparent successes of augmented reality education could make the concept more commonplace in the world of education.
Students use iPads to learn through augmented reality
Students from the Calgary Science School have been using augmented reality equipped iPads for over a year now. Several augmented reality applications have helped students understand lessons and have enabled teachers to present knowledge in a new way. Because of the interactive nature of the approach, students are able to learn through participation rather than through cognitive absorption. This turns the learning process into something dynamic instead of something passive and increases the effectiveness of teaching.
Augmented reality education may be the future of learning
Dan McWilliam discovered that augmented reality could be used in the classroom and researched platforms like Junaio, Layar, and Aurasma before introducing the technology to the Calgary Science School. The initiative was an immediate hit with students and eventually won the favor of parents and other faculty members. Now, augmented reality education is growing in popularity around the world, especially in countries where tech-savvy students are the norm.
