Bringing AR and VR into the classroom
One of the joys of childhood is developing one’s imagination. Through books, stories, movies, videos, and computer games, kids are encouraged to think and express themselves. This could be as fantastic as an epic fight with a dragon, or as realistic as watching a volcano erupt from the inside. Nowadays, classrooms have a new tool — augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Let’s first check out what exactly these are, and then how they can be practically applied.
AR digitally adds elements to the live feed from a camera. This is most often used on smartphones. You may already be familiar with Pokemon Go, or a Snapchat or Instagram filter that adds in elements around you, such as butterflies around your head or a dancing frog on the floor in front of you.
VR is much more immersive, but also tech-intensive. This totally surrounds you with a device, such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, and offers a more complete dive into a virtual world. Though some games and tools have been seen as gimmicky in the past due to shortcomings in technology and responsiveness, recent years have seen really incredible leaps forward in immersion, such as the popular video game Half Life Alyx.
Now for the real question. Why exactly should we bother with bringing AR and VR into the classroom? Let’s explore some tangible examples.
Supporting active learning is one great reason. Learners (yes, even you) generally come in 4 types: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinetic. Traditional educational norms typically most often apply the first three types. Think watching videos, listening to lectures, and writing essays. AR and VR tech, however, allow children to get a more hands-on experience, and let them not only see and hear, but interact (kinetically) with a plethora of phenomena.
Encouraging kids to pursue STEM careers is another benefit of these tools. STEM, or “Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics”, can be notoriously boring or obtuse for some young learners. With AR, kids can compare the size of a pigeon to a golden eagle, or with VR, they can mess around with atoms to form various elements.
Arguably one of the best reasons to bring AR and VR into the classroom is to allow children to do the impossible. This is not only referring to the aforementioned volcanoes and elements, but something more tangible. Not every school is equipped with the same educational capabilities or financial support. Bringing in portable, powerful tech such as VR can allow kids to experience things first-hand (in a sense) that they might have never done otherwise. AR, on the other hand, allows them to take these tools into the real world, and experience their environment in a whole new way.
Let’s now check out some programs and apps that are already making use of AR and VR, and bringing a whole new universe of curiosity to classrooms all over the world.
Thinglink is a mobile app developed by Ulla-Maaria Koivula. Available on both iOS and Android, this tech is essentially an easy-to-use AR creator, turning 360-degree images into interactive learning tools. Thinglink is already seeing widespread use in both classrooms and the workplace, thanks to its ability to “magically” add elements to the world around you. One example is in language learning. Imagine a young learner pointing their smartphone at various objects in the room around them, and each object prompting a mini-quiz, or something like a flashcard to study.
Flipgrid has a lot of potential for getting kids engaged in sharing knowledge with their peers. This program gives teachers the power to both share content and links easily with their class, but also gives the students themselves that power. Teachers can generate QR codes for students’ work, so for example, a student can print out a QR code for a book review they wrote, and paste it up in the school hallway for their peers to scan and read.
Thyng is another mobile app, available on all devices. Users can either “animate” everyday objects around them, or “add” new objects. With a lot of potential in the natural sciences especially, this is a great tool to give educators the power to develop and tweak their lessons based on their students’ needs, and create truly unique learning experiences.
The fact of the matter is, AR and VR are nothing new or revolutionary. However, the essence is not in the creation of the medium, but in the application of it. Just like a simple pencil can solve a complex mathematical equation or sketch a beautiful image, so too can this amazing tech bring a whole new world of immersion and engagement to young learners now and in the future.
