Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive and immersive experience of a real-world environment using enhanced and advanced audio-visual computer-generated perceptual information. It is sometimes conveyed across multiple sensory modalities. It is a trending pattern among organizations engaged with portable registering and business applications specifically.
The world of education involves the usage of innovative AR. Augmented reality is the new normal today. AR aids the educator in the making learning more fun and ensures increased engagement and interaction in the classroom.
In the current times, the traditional way of teaching has gone out of trend. Due to the demand for online learning, digitization driven technology innovations are utilized in the field of education. With the growth of the education and technology sectors, the education technology industry is expected to reach a very high amount within the next five years, growing at an annual rate of 18%. In fact, AR in the education-tech is prophesied to surpass $5.5 billion within the next few years, opening many educational institutions and businesses opportunities.
In this blog, we will take you through the various advantages of AR when it comes to learning & education.
The Significance of Augmented Reality in Education
AR tools are designed in such a way that it adds the seamlessness of digital aspects within the “real world” and enhance user experience. Through AR, students are able to learn and understand concepts much faster and better. This also aids in understanding complex topics. AR introduces students to new opportunities for learning, communicating and collaborating with one another. The best part is that it promotes contextual experiences that stimulate interest and discussion in-class activities.
Here is a list of advantages of Augmented Reality in education:
Flexibility in learning
One of the most important advantages of AR is that students can access learning anywhere in the world at any time. With online education, anyone can learn from anywhere in the world at any time on any topic. Augmented reality is replacing physical textbooks and physical study material with the digital mode of learning. Through AR, students can access education using just their mobile. Everything is stored in a digital form. AR adds new technology and techniques to the existing learning model. Hence, augmented reality in education is gaining more traction and will continue to grow.
Simple to use
It is a misconception that AR technology is very complex and requires a special skill set and knowledge for usage. However, the AR phenomenon promotes a hybrid learning facility. In the recent times, most students own a smart device, and AR technology can be easily accessed through those devices without any difficulty. It is extremely easy to use and makes learning fun. All you need is a mobile phone or laptop to gain the benefits of AR technology.
Combines education with entertainment
Learning becomes difficult to follow and challenging to enjoy if it’s only notes and lectures. AR follows the idea of education combined with entertainment or “edutainment”. The aim is to make learning more enjoyable for students. AR technology help students retain study material better due to simulation that engages all senses. Gamification can be introduced to enhance the benefits of AR. Advanced gamified AR learning makes a positive impact on students and helps them learn new concepts easily and quickly. Additionally, it creates such an engaging ambience in the classroom. Engagement increases productivity because students comprehend and perform better.
Promotes teamwork
Augmented reality promotes teamwork because AR can create group assignments and projects. This will inculcate in them a sense of team spirit and help them develop skills and knowledge while learning. When all students are learning together, they eventually learn what teamwork is. Moreover, with AR, teachers can assign group assignments to students to develop skills while learning. It helps to visualize a concept by integrating virtual objects into the real world. AR technology displays these virtual objects to enhance learning. In fact, current AR applications promote demonstrative learning through which one person can interact with others.
Focuses on practical knowledge
Due to the traditional way of learning, the practical applications are often not given too much focus. Most of the subjects taught in educational institutes emphasize more on theory and less on practical knowledge. As a result, students lack practical skills, which are very essential in the real world. When schools and colleges implement AR as a means of teaching technique, teachers can impart practical skills along with theoretical knowledge. This can be done using gamified elements. Hence, through augmented reality, one can ensure overall personality development.
Interactive content
A part of teaching is to make any concept interesting and ensure that students understand the concept well. But even today, most of the educational institutions follow the same old format of lecture notes. It becomes immensely monotonous for students as well as for teachers to teach the content. It is the least effective and super tedious way of learning. But with AR, teachers can create an immersive educational ambience for the students. AR enables students to understand and learn curriculum content on their own. In this way, students will be invested in learning new topics and remain interested in the concept. We can only bring positive changes to the education system by making learning exciting and fun rather than making it monotonous and tedious.
Cost-Effective
Just because it sounds complex, it doesn’t necessarily mean that augmented reality is expensive. It is pocket friendly, and hence, schools and colleges can easily afford it at a low cost. Not only this, educational institutions can equip AR technology with minimum effort. This also helps to reduce educational expenses and is a much more effective educational technique than traditional learning.
Conclusion
Augmented reality is gaining traction worldwide and will continue to develop. It is being used in various industries, including marketing, technology and educational firms. AR creates an interactive and engaging learning experience. AR creates an atmosphere that enables students to learn at their own comfort and pace. It also helps them develop teamwork. They learn to take ownership of projects and become responsible. Additionally, they learn to engage with their peers. With AR, teachers can ensure an intriguing and insightful learning experience for students. AR users are estimated to increase by approximately 2.4 billion globally in the next two years. The demand and interest around the usage of augmented reality in education and eLearning applications is awe-inspiring. We are well aware of the use of augmented reality in games and technology, but now is the time to welcome AR in the sphere of education. Time to welcome AR!
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