Introduction to Augmented Reality in Education
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced teachers to explore latest tools and methods for distant education. One technology that has shown great promise but stays out of reach for many educators is augmented reality (AR). AR allows for each visual and hands-on instruction from any setting, making it a super tool for education.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality is a technology that overlays digital content onto the physical world. It might be delivered on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and head-mounted displays. For example, using AR, you possibly can hold your smartphone camera as much as your lounge and rearrange the furniture in 3D. You also can play a video game where characters appear in your kitchen table.
The Challenges of Using AR in Education
Despite its potential, AR continues to be in its infancy, and its use in education is restricted. The foremost roadblock is authoring content. Currently, creating AR content requires highly specialized software developers, 3D artists, and computer programmers. This makes it unattainable for many educators to show using AR.
MetaAR: A Solution for Educators
To address this challenge, a team led by Purdue University has developed an app platform called MetaAR. MetaAR is an authoring platform that enables educators to create their very own AR apps and collaborate with students remotely. The platform enables instructors to create AR content as easily as making a PowerPoint file and presenting it themselves.
How MetaAR Works
MetaAR allows students and teachers to collaborate easily using AR. For its test case, the researchers built an easy STEM education kit: a small model of a city designed to show the fundamentals of circuit boards. Using MetaAR, students checked out their desks through tablets, which showed them tips on how to orient the physical pieces. The system also alerted students once they placed the physical pieces incorrectly. If students had a matter, they used video and pictures of their work to ask for help, and other students chimed in with suggestions.
The Benefits of MetaAR
The real magic of MetaAR is its collaborative platform. Teachers can integrate student suggestions immediately and update the AR content instantaneously. All of this happens within the cloud, which suggests that teachers and students might be situated anywhere and still get the identical hands-on education. Students can learn at their very own pace, and teachers can incorporate feedback in real-time to enhance the lab.
The Future of AR in Education
As distant education becomes increasingly prevalent, AR can function an important tool, especially for STEM education. The earliest way we learn things is by seeing and doing, and AR enables us to scale up and deliver that interactive experience to anyone, anywhere. Even if it’s virtual, hands-on education can still be hands-on.
Conclusion
MetaAR has the potential to revolutionize the best way we learn and teach. By making it easy for educators to create their very own AR content and collaborate with students remotely, MetaAR can bring the advantages of AR to a wider audience. As the technology continues to evolve, we will expect to see more revolutionary applications of AR in education and beyond. With its ability to capture an motion in the actual world and deliver it to people within the virtual world, AR can extend the capabilities of humans and enable latest types of learning and collaboration.
