“Augmented Reality… is the fusion of digital information with either live streaming video or the viewer’s real environment” (http://augmented-reality-in-education.wikispaces.com). Augmented Reality (AR) is gradually becoming more and more commonplace, be it in sporting events, walking down the street, gaming, and even in the classroom.

 

AR tools are great tools for teaching, if used correctly. They open up the door to a whole new realm that takes knowledge and learning from the textbook and turns it into something real and tangible. Students now have the ability to use their phones

and go out into the community. With the   use of AR apps, students can learn about almost anything by simply scanning a building or picture.

 

There are, however, some issues surrounding AR technology. The main issue that I can see would be that although most students have smartphones and/or tablets, not all of them do and it is unfair to those that don’t to do activities in class that they cannot partake in. Another issue is, as pointed out at

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/feb/11/augmented-reality-teaching-tool-trend, “the longevity of each provider, and as each captures its share of the market the transition to subscription with no consideration of what education has in terms of financial resources”, which somewhat goes hand-in-hand. 

 

 

 

There is a definite upside though. They are great tools and really get students involved and (here’s the key:) interested in learning. http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/feb/11/augmented-reality-teaching-tool-trend says that it is “a new platform on which providers are emerging and allowing access for free as a means of capturing their share of the market”.  Many of these AR games even allow teachers to put their own spin on the games and make them more custom-made to their classes, which is awesome.