Augmented Reality in Educational Environments

1. Current context of Augmented Reality

Nowadays, young people, children and students in general are exposed to the use of tablets, computers, etc. They use all of this for recreational purposes. So these young people live as digital natives and are very familiar with these technologies and have used them.

2. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Are they the same?

These are two technologies that are changing the way we use these screens, creating new and exciting interactive experiences. However, they should not be confused because while Virtual Reality allows us to have immersive experiences, that is, it transports us to a virtual place (you could walk on the moon for example), Augmented Reality is the way in which you bring digital elements to the real world.

Virtual Reality requires equipment such as viewers (metaquest), this represents a problem in terms of economics, as it is not a technology that any school can easily implement.
It is not something that is within the reach of public schools and even for private schools or colleges it is a heavy investment to implement.

3. Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality, unlike Virtual Reality, does not require expensive or sophisticated equipment. All you need is a tablet or cell phone with which you can do different activities that students can perform by simply pointing a cell phone towards an area.
You can see a cell next to your computer on your desktop or see the solar system on the blackboard using simple, free tools.

4. Is Augmented Reality something new?

As I mentioned before, Augmented Reality is not something unknown to youngsters and children. In fact, they have already lived with this type of technology through video games. The best example of this is the famous video game “POKEMON GO” which rightly applies Augmented Reality and was used massively.
Another example where we can see that young people interact a lot with AR is “TikTok” when using filters, or we also have “Snapchat”. As we can see, Augmented Reality is your everyday life, it is not something new, so why not see it in education?

5. Augmented Reality in Education

It is very good to bring to other contexts what young people like and what catches their attention but with educational purposes, so that it will connect more with what they want, with what they like and you can create more memorable experiences.

Augmented Reality works very well when teaching a subject that may be a little difficult to explain or that is not so concrete. For example: In the past we had to memorize the periodic table, so that tended to be difficult for most students. Now what happens if we integrate AR into this example?

Well, students will find it easier to remember the elements and at the same time will be motivated to learn and participate in class.

6. Mixed Reality

Let us briefly explain this new and latest technology, which integrates Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Which allows us to interact with real and/or virtual objects, in other words: it brings the real world to the virtual world, this allows you to have even more complex experiences.
This technology is still expensive and not easy to implement because of the type of equipment required.

Talking a little more about these technologies we have that they are already being used in some fields such as medicine:

• Surgeons are using virtual reality to practice specialized surgeries before operating.
• Many entrepreneurs show their customers virtual guides to their products.

7. Augmented Reality tools to implement in the classroom.
Here are two Augmented Reality tools that are totally free.

Merge Cube

It is a cube that, when scanned with a cell phone, allows you to see a solar system, a bone system, etc. All you have to do is download the Merge Object Viewer application, which is totally free. It has many themes.
To obtain the cube, he has released a new version that is free and that you can download in paper version. Or you can also buy it, it is for sale on Amazon.

Assemblr Edu

It is an app that allows you to build Augmented Reality models where you can complement with information, labels or any special data, you can also place images or texts. It has the option to print a QR type sheet but it is not so necessary, just point it anywhere to project your projects. It is totally free and more complete than mergecube.

8. Conclusion

We must take what works as entertainment and entertainment to bring it as knowledge in a more fun, more innovative and more memorable way to the classroom.

The use of this type of technology, which is not new, but nevertheless, in the educational field, does seem to be something new; it will be of great help to encourage and motivate the participation and learning of young people and children.

9. References

• Bernal, D. (2023, August). Live, “Augmented Reality in Educational Environments”.