BENEFITS OF AUGMENTED REALITY IN EDUCATION

BENEFITS OF AUGMENTED REALITY IN EDUCATION

 

The growth of technology over the past decade has seen the rise in the use of Augmented reality in education. Augmented reality surfaced as one of the viable options to make learning faster and as easy as possible, thereby improving productivity and educational achievements of students. It’s use in educational institutions around the world have proven its effectiveness in that aspect.

Over time, Augmented Reality has been able to help improve the retention memory of students and learning skills of students including Problem-solving, productivity and team work through the numerous features offered by Augmented Reality. This is viewed as a major upgrade on the traditional education which students receive year in, year out. The fact that Augmented reality is a technology based tool also prepares students for the future, which is dominant predicted to be technology inclined.

There are lots of benefits that schools and students stand to gain from the integration of Augmented Reality as a medium to transfer knowledge. Some of these benefits will be explored through this article, and you will surely see one or two that will make you clamor for the employment of this technological tool.

Enhanced learning process

According to results from institutions where Augmented Reality is used, the introduction of the technology created an environment of fun for the students. This is a welcome improvement from the dull environment experienced in traditional education. The fun environment created by the use of Augmented Reality provides students with added zeal to learn, thereby stimulating an improved learning process. Augmented Reality provides students a new horizons that is yet to be exploited and this sense of purpose to know more about new ideas increases the strength of their imagination, thus speeding up the learning process. We all know that humans tend to be more effective when doing things that excite. Learning through Augmented Reality can be counted among those things for students.

Increase student participation in classes

Since Augmented Reality presents concepts and subject topics in a more fun and exciting manner, students tend to be more attentive to the subject being taught, while also engaging and participating in any discussion and  responding to questions. The subject of topics in classes are displayed through models or represented as it is through videos or images in Augmented Reality. The different representations of concepts, scenarios, actions, and objects allow students to better understand the topic being taught, hence more participation. This is one of the major goals outlined for the integration of Augmented Reality in traditional education, which usually have little or no participation from students when they are taught. Easy understanding of concepts and ideas lead to increased curiosity which in turn boost participation in classes through questions, contributions and so on.

 Higher Retentive Memory

Augmented Reality through scanning provides students with educative and informative models that touch a wide range of topics covered by the Teacher in class. Through Augmented Reality, related materials for different topics can be accessed from different websites or applications created by app development companies for Augmented Reality. The diverse learning processes which augmented reality offers to students add up to constitute a rich cycle of learning for the students. The presentation of topics in an enticing manner keep students glued to the lesson through increasing curiosity which makes students hungry to learn. This will help give students a higher Retentive memory that will allow them keep up with the topics being taught.

Cost Effective

When talking about higher value for money, Augmented Reality is a technology that tick all the boxes for educational institutions. When compared to the cost incurred in procuring books and other educational supplies like 3D models of objects or prototypes, it is obvious that Augmented Reality fits the bill of being cost effective. Most of the conventional educational materials that are used for illustration of concepts, and charts are usually expensive to get, mostly due to their huge sizes to allow everyone in class get a view. This situation is a disadvantage, especially to schools who cannot afford the funds required to purchase most of the materials, which in the end might be outdated, incorrect and damaged. Augmented reality nullifies all of these avoidable disadvantages in the sense that once it is acquired, it requires only little to no maintenance fee if properly handled at all times. Also, the availability of Augmented reality models for students on the go eliminates the need for buying physical materials.

Enriched ways of telling a story

The use of Augmented reality in educational institutions has made storytelling more detailed and easily understood. The technology utilizes graphical representation and models of the subjects of any educational story or experience being narrated. This representation allow students the freedom to see, experience or have a feel of information which the story is trying to pass across. This also eliminates the abstract feeling students have when a story is told, since they can visualize different scenarios and actions through the models. This also helps students better interact and interpret the story through what they see.

 Increased learning activity

Since the point of integrating technology into education is to make learning as easy as possible, it has in turn made students too lazy in terms of school-related work. This is mainly because many of the activities most students engage in requires technology and majority of students use these technologies at an awful lot of time. The use of Augmented reality in education has proven that it bridges the gaps that are left by most educational technologies. Augmented reality comes with interactive models which can keep the students engaged with activities that imparts knowledge on varying subject topics. And since Augmented reality is a technology that is available on the go, students can have access to it at all times.

Evaluation of History, Current Trends and the Future

Augmented reality is one of the technologies that will become vital and indispensable in education because of the diverse features which it offers educational institutions that employ it. It provide students with information about occurrences that have happened in history, recent happenings and things to expect in the nearest future through models. The knowledge of the past, present and future will of course, help shape decisions which students make concerning life choices, careers, relationships and so on.

 

Conclusion

The use of Augmented reality in some prominent educational institutions around the world have proven to be a great resource in making learning easier for students while also increasing the interest of students to learn through the environment of fun created by the technology. Results posted by these institutions showed a considerable improvement in the educational achievements of students while also keeping them engaged. With all the benefits of Augmented Reality listed in this article, it is obviously the next big thing in educational institutions.