What is augmented reality?

Augmented reality is when the real world is turned into an interactive experience with the aid of technology.  This can be seen in games like Pokemon Go, has applications for design or planning, for real time instructions in industry, and that is only the beginning.  Augmented reality relies on some sort of technological assistance, which today is commonly a smart phone or tablet, but wearables are increasingly common.

What does augmented reality do?

By using the camera on a device, AR overlays a computer image on to what the camera is viewing.  If the camera is pointed in a different direction, the viewer can see the image from a new angle, or will see a new image.  In a game like Pokemon Go, the viewer can look around and actually find a Pokemon in the wild.  For commercial purposes, it is common for furniture companies to use AR for a customer to put an image of a piece of furniture in their home.  These are the basic levels of AR, as the technology increases the ability for the viewer to not only see the images but to manipulate them will increase and add additional functionality.

How can it be used in the classroom?

The potential for augmented reality in an education setting is almost endless.  With smartphones or tablets becoming increasingly ubiquitous in classrooms, the opportunities to take advantage of using augmented reality to supplement lessons and foster creativity are legion.  For examples, if students are reading about ancient Greece, they could use augmented reality to not just look at a map of the Parthenon, but use their device to actually turn their classroom into it.  While this capability would also be available with virtual reality, augmented reality allows them to experience it with their classmates as well.

How else can it be used?

In a science classroom, the opportunities are seemingly boundless.  As seen on the opposing page, eventually AR could help textbooks come alive.  Instead of limited chances to get real world experiences doing a lab, students could find greater understanding of how things work in physics, chemistry, or biology by view the virtual images in their textbooks.

Google Translate

An application that could be incredibly useful for ELL learners could be Google Translate.  While I discourage its use when translating longer writing pieces, the ability for beginner learners to do a scavenger hunt to find either labeled items or print outs with different words and to instantly translate them could be a memorable activity.  

Freedom Stories

The Harriet Tubman Institute has created a fascinating set of lessons that allow students to use Apple products to view AR supplements to provided texts.  Most students are familiar with Triangular Trade, but by bringing those stories to such an engrossing visual and helps draw students into not only the facts, but the stories of the people who enslaved and fought for their freedom.