Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)...I was not even sure if these concepts were synonymous before creating this blog!
Last week I read Rob Power’s blog post on online tools and it listed “Virtual Learning Environments” as a Type of Online Digital Tools and Systems for Education. It was then that I realized I was clearly missing out on this tech advancement and how it could be applied to education.
I began my investigation on the matter through Twitter. Twitter’s use is also relatively new to me and so I thought using this platform may be a good place to start. I wanted to see what trends were circulating in the virtual world of education. I found some interesting tweets (Follow me @racheljimkats) and learned about Google Cardboard, Google Expeditions and how some universities are using Augmented Reality to run some of their courses/labs.
I was completely awestruck to say the least. An article by Wu, Lee et. al. (2013) introduced me to some of the ways virtual reality can be implemented in the classroom such as:
- enabling learners to visualize spatial relationships and abstract concepts
- enabling learners to interact with 2 and 3 dimensional objects
- enabling learners to experience phenomena that may not be possible in the real world
- enabling learners to engage in authentic explorations of the real word
I thought about what this might look like in my own classroom. I envisioned immersing my students in viewing the solar system, cells or even the process of photosynthesis right on the classroom table! I also envisioned helping many of my students with geometrical concepts many have a problem visualizing in their minds (rotational symmetry, reflections etc). Virtual field trips are other ways that Augmented Reality could play a role in my classroom.
My examples all apply to the K-12 education world, but then I thought about what this may look like for college and university students too. The possibilities are endless! Meaningful learning opportunities are literally in the palms of our hands!
As I kept learning about AR, I discovered its ease of portability and accessibility that is now possible through mobile technologies. While I understand that these are still not omnipresent for all students, I do understand that it becoming more and more common for learners to have access to these types of technologies. It makes me super excited to think about what education can look like and how we can take advantage of this emerging technological feat. I am also very curious to find out just how soon it will be more common to find in our classrooms.
References
Wu, H. K., Lee, S. W. Y., Chang, H. Y., & Liang, J. C. (2013). Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented reality in education. Computers & Education, 62, 41-49.
