By Eesha Choudhary | 14th May, 2023
Augmented Reality (AR) is not just for entertainment, it can also benefit students in many ways. Learn how AR can make learning fun and interactive, help you understand complex concepts easily, reduce learning costs, and give you access to learning from anywhere in the world. Find out how AR is different from Virtual Reality (VR) and how you can use it for studying. Get ready to revolutionize your learning experience with AR!
Everyone Knows About VR [Virtual Reality], But Do You Know What AR [Augmented Reality] Is?
Over the past decade, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, revolutionizing the way we interact with the world around us. Today, we have a whole new world that co-exists with the real world - the virtual world. This world is almost as vast and intricate as the real world, complete with all the features and functionalities we expect in the physical realm. It has grown so much that the virtual world can now collide with the real world.
Virtual reality, everyone has heard of this term. But another reality operates on a larger scale, and you probably use it daily (Hint; Snapchat!). Augmented reality is an enhanced interactive version of a real-world environment achieved through digital visual elements, sounds, and other sensory stimuli via holographic technology. Augmented reality offers a better way to design, curate, and deliver consumable instructions by overlaying digital content in real-world work environments (complicated, right?). It means that instead of using just imagination to visualize certain objects at a place, you can use AR to see them virtually.
How Is AR Different From VR?
To begin with, let me explain what VR is. It is a virtual environment created by software and presented to users so that their brain is manipulated into believing that the virtual world is what lies ahead of them. (Do you understand the difference?). A headset is needed to experience VR, while AR does not require a headset. VR creates an immersive virtual environment, but AR augments a real-world scene. AR overlays digital information over the real world.
That being said, there are a lot of issues with VR. A headset is not available to everyone, some can’t afford it, and some don’t have access to it. It may also cause eyesight issues, any digital device emits harmful rays, and VR is so close to your eyes that it may cause eyesight issues because of the radiation it emits. AR, conversely, can be used with any device, making it more accessible and less damaging to the eye.
How Can Students Benefit From AR?
Now that you know what AR is, you must wonder, ‘How can I use it’, right? Well, you are already using it if you use social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, etc. All the trending filters on these apps are an example of AR. As students, we can benefit greatly by using AR in our study routine. There are multiple ways to use AR for studying:
- Interesting way of learning Everyone likes watching movies and TV shows. It would be enjoyable if there were a way to study the same way, right? It is well-known that a person can grasp information faster by listening to it or seeing a visual representation. Learning can become more interesting by using AR apps to study with supported material such as floating molecular structures and diagrams!
- Easy way to learn complicated concepts Everyone knows how sometimes we have a hard time understanding certain concepts. Especially when considering subjects like science, there are too many concepts to remember, and it becomes important to understand every concept to write it in examinations or research papers. AR can become a very helpful tool in this situation. By using AR, you can see the visualization of certain figures and data to understand complex concepts easily.
- Learning diverse content at a reduced cost As we all know, the biggest advantage of digital learning is the reduced cost. One con of online learning that causes huge issues for online learners is the need for practical knowledge. AR learning solves this issue. It practically demonstrates a topic helping students understand it better and practical knowledge. With AR learning, all of the content under a certain topic can be compiled in a single application making it simple to manage to study.
- Learn from anywhere in the world using your device This is the best part of AR learning. Students can learn anything they want using their own devices from the comfort of their homes. AR learning is easily accessible worldwide. Just by using AR tools regularly while studying, you can effortlessly adapt to digital learning and get a better understanding of concepts that you are interested in.
In Conclusion
Augmented reality is one of the most helpful tools formulated in the tech industry to date. Not only can it be used for entertainment, but it also benefits students. It is pretty cool to study with this kind of technology, isn’t it? It becomes so much easier to study and understand things when explained in a fun, cool, and interactive way.
In conclusion, if you don’t like studying from a textbook or find it boring and very general, AR learning is a great option for you. By its fun method of explaining things, you can enjoy learning and studying while understanding all the concepts required to ace your exams. Also, the audiovisual learning method used by AR applications will help you remember the data and concepts for a long period. So, will you try AR learning?
Thumbnail Design by Mudit Jha
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