{"id":6959,"date":"2018-05-15T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T08:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=6959"},"modified":"2018-05-15T08:58:22","modified_gmt":"2018-05-15T07:58:22","slug":"shared-realities-why-augmented-reality-is-about-to-make-its-dent-in-the-educational-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2018\/05\/15\/shared-realities-why-augmented-reality-is-about-to-make-its-dent-in-the-educational-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"Shared Realities: Why Augmented Reality is about to make its dent in the educational universe."},"content":{"rendered":"

As immersive technology continues to evolve at a very rapid pace, so too do billion dollar companies, their shareholders\u2019 returns relying on the ‘next big thing’. Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Lenovo and many more are falling over each other to give us updates and announcements at their various conferences with a fierce pace. The technology changes fast, and as it does we are presented with new ways of interacting with the world around us. Advertising, marketing and gaming are leading the way in this, \u00a0but what about education? In this post we\u2019ll take a look at what\u2019s happening with Augmented Reality (AR) and what the potential impact may be on education.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Augmented Reality (AR)?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Augmented reality or AR is the name given to the concept of overlaying the real world with digital content or information, viewed through a headset or mobile device. Since it does involve the real world you are by the very nature less removed than you would be in <\/span>Virtual Reality (VR)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The current state of AR?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Although you can share a screen with friends and colleagues, AR experiences are still a very individual activity. For example if you’ve used a Hololens from Microsoft, you’ll likely have had the experience of snapping your finger and thumb together to fend off an alien invasion or select menu items. To you, seeing the overlay, this is fairly normal behaviour, but to an observer (even ignoring the headset) your behaviour is a little peculiar and removed from their viewpoint of the environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Take a walk around any education trade show and you\u2019ll see a lot of immersive technology, headsets everywhere. (Despite being a year old, <\/span>this article<\/span><\/a> gives a good overview), with companies working to create <\/span>virtual labs<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>virtual lectures<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>virtual tours<\/span><\/a>. For example Microsoft has focused on what it’s calling <\/span>Mixed Reality<\/span><\/a> and Prezi has plans for <\/span>Augmented Reality<\/span><\/a>. Each of these remain an individual experience: whilst you might share some content to someone else, you can\u2019t yet easily stand side by side and interact with the same digital content in real time. Before we look to what\u2019s coming, take a look at some of the AR apps that are available now. <\/span><\/p>\n