Augmented reality in education and training is beginning to become an influential force throughout classrooms and onboarding programs across the world, and it’s only getting started.
Through AR solutions, educators and trainers alike are capable of improving learning outcomes through engagement and interactivity, and may ultimately become more favored than virtual reality in delivering immersive learning experiences.
The benefits of AR learning are clear. In education, technology has the power to enhance skills like problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity to build the capabilities of users of all ages.
It can also be a great tool for traditional pedagogy geared towards technical knowledge and proficiencies.
Although augmented reality is still emerging as a technology, it can still bring strong cost-effective solutions for schools and enterprises operating on tight budgets.
As a relatively cheaper and simple solution in comparison to virtual reality, AR stands as an excellent resource that still delivers the same level of impactful features and benefits to users.
How AR Delivers a Brand New Learning Experience
Augmented reality has the ability to fundamentally change how we interact with smartphone apps and other visual graphic experiences.
Because AR can augment computer-generated graphics into a field of view, it’s possible for users to virtually walk through animated history tours in museums, solve 3D math mysteries in classrooms, or gain a visual walkthrough of complex machinery when training in a new manual role.
This technique delivers a revolutionary new experience that can replace real-world objects with virtual renderings to deliver a hybrid environment that isn’t as obtrusive as VR but is every bit as immersive.
With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look at how AR applications are revolutionizing learning and training experiences alike on a global scale:
Immersive Classroom Education
There’s an ever-growing number of use cases that’s seen AR solutions revolutionize the learning experience for pupils in classrooms.
The benefits of embracing augmented reality can be clear for both teachers and students, with it becoming more possible for educators to better explain the subject matter through a visual representation of the learning material.
Furthermore, learners can adopt a more practical approach to education as opposed to solely theory-based learning. This can help teachers to resonate with a variety of different learning styles to keep pupils engaged.
There are also a range of AR applications that are already available today which have evolved into excellent teaching resources for students covering subjects like chemistry, physics, geometry, grammar, zoology, and programming.
Some of the leading examples of AR learning applications today include:
Elements 4D by DAQRI, which is an app that helps users learn about various elements on the periodic table and their respective properties.
By pointing the app at wooden blocks, Elements 4D springs to life, offering visual demonstrations of how each element looks and works–bringing a more engaging aspect to science class.
QuiverVision takes the form of an augmented coloring app that’s capable of bringing drawings to life for pupils to interact and play with.
The technology relies on trigger images that can be printed and colored in by learners.
It’s then through the QuiverVision app that users can see their drawings become animated.
Arloon Chemistry is another example of a science-focused app that’s changed how learners can understand formulas and how they work.
Using the app, pupils can arrange 3D molecules on their screens and learn chemistry in a more impactful way.
When it comes to classroom environments, augmented reality can be a powerful tool in making learning more accessible to all students.
Different learning styles can carry a profound impact on academic performance, and AR technology has the ability to deliver a means of learning that transcends traditional, more theoretical approaches.
While AR app developers and school boards may need to be wary of the impact of so much digital exposure could be on the eyes of young students, augmented reality has the potential to make education considerably fairer and more inclusive.
Making Complex Industries More Accessible
Augmented reality is also changing how training can be delivered effectively in complex and high-risk industries like healthcare and manufacturing.
For medical students, AR has the power to deliver opportunities to watch live surgeries taking place in real time, while students can deepen their understanding of human anatomy through simulations and 3D models.
In manufacturing, where precision-driven input and the assembly of many assorted components are essential in building functional products, augmented reality can play a key role in delivering greater accuracy and productivity for workers.
The impact of AR has been especially felt in the automotive industry, where human error can lead to costly losses from preventable mistakes in the car manufacturing process.
Where car manufacturers formerly spent millions in skill development and training programs to repetitively assert each detail of the process, augmented reality has emerged to transform the landscape.
Now, AR-powered training has helped to mitigate the risks associated with the job.
Today, many car manufacturing facilities utilize AR goggles to deliver a multilayered interactive vision of car components, machines, and the broader environment to guide employees on how to precisely weld and fix together for the highest quality results–resulting in a dramatic fall in human error within the production process.
Looking to the Future of Impactful AR in Learning and Training
Given its immersive capabilities, it seems logical that AR will become a key component in the future of education.
In providing a more accessible means for students of all learning abilities to develop in a cost-effective and less intrusive manner than virtual reality, more institutions should seek to incorporate augmented learning into their syllabi.
As for enterprise-level training, the adoption costs of augmented reality programs are likely to be mitigated over time by a decline in human error owing to more effective and impactful training programs and on-the-job support from AR eyewear and augmented applications.
Collectively, augmented reality can not only be a tool to help all learners to achieve their potential but also help to make employees more productive and better engaged at work.
For a technology that’s still at its fledgling stage, the future certainly looks bright for AR.
