Augmented Reality: Shaping the Future of Education

Do you know by the end of the year 2025, 2 billion of the world’s population will be made up of ‘Generation Alpha’- the youngest generation? Also known as 'iGeneration', these are the children born between the years 2010 and 2025.

Regarded as the most technologically-instilled segment up to date, these children are more comfortable talking to a voice assistant than to most of their relatives. Generation Alpha is always surrounded by modern gadgets, right from smartphones to computers, tablets, and what not! Born in the digital age, these kids do not know a world without video games or the internet. Their familiarity with technology and gadgets will prove to be a game-changer in the world of education.

Generation Alpha, Technology, and Augmented Reality

Generation alpha wants screen time and devices. These kids use gizmos and gadgets every day in their homes. It hardly takes them a few seconds to watch their favourite cartoon or play their favourite game on a smartphone or a tablet. Simply put, technology has become an extension of their own identity and consciousness, rather than something different from themselves.

Mark McCrindle, who coined the term ‘Generation Alpha’, states that this generation will be the most technology-infused ever, the most formally educated generation ever, and the wealthiest generation ever in the world.

It is quite evident that these children are going to benefit the most from the innovations and emerging technology in the world of education. These children know how to operate a beauty app that can place a tiara to their heads or make them look like their beloved comic characters. They might not know what technology they are using but they have already used AR in some way or the other.

Familiar with technologies such as Augmented Reality [AR], 3D Stereo, Virtual Reality [VR] and robotics, Generation Alpha is all set to make the most of it. Already a significant part of the school-going populace, Generation Alpha will play a very important role in deciding trends in the world of education and EdTech will definitely be the hottest one.

Augmented Reality: The Present, the Rise, and the Future

Augmented reality has already proven its mettle in the entertainment industry and is all set to take over the other sectors such as military, healthcare, education, construction, and retail. The AR market has approximately reached USD 10.7 billion in 2019 and by the year 2025, the technology encompassing Augmented Reality is estimated to acquire a market size of around USD 200 billion. Asia Pacific has been forecasted to emerge as the largest market for AR by the end of the said period.

The future of Augmented Reality is bright which is the reason why most industries such as healthcare and retail have shown a surge in the demand for AR devices. Another important industry is education which is gradually embracing the potential of the technology and striving to deploy it to the fullest.

Remarkable Benefits of Augmented Reality in Education

AR is crucial in the world of education. When implemented in classrooms, augmented reality can act as a bridge between the real and the virtual world and provide newer techniques of teaching and learning. AR has the power to engage students in a number of interactive ways that cannot be done with the traditional methods of teaching and also provide each learner with riveting computer-generated content- 3D simulations and interactive models.

Below are some of the most outstanding benefits of augmented reality in education, as indicated by several reports:

• Eye-catching Visualisations for an enchanting experience: Our modern attention span responds well to 3D and digital content; hence students can enjoy an enticing experience where they can witness abstract topics coming to life.
• Better collaboration among students: AR games like Pokémon Go are an example that apps powered with Augmented Reality require teamwork. Hence, it will help in nurturing collaboration among students.
• Long-term memory retention: Since students are more involved in the learning process, it helps them in understanding even the most complex topics, thus improving long-term memory retention.
• Increased Student Motivation: Learning with augmented reality includes active involvement and concentration of students, hence they feel more connected and engrossed in the process. This further helps in boosting their motivation and makes them more confident.
• Breaking the shackles of Space and Time: This, in fact, is one of the most interesting benefits of AR in education. Teachers can take students to the past, present, and future to traverse through any place in the universe with the help of enthralling simulations and 3D interactive models.
• Elevated Student Engagement: Be it Generation Alpha, or ‘Generation Z’, children of the 21st Century are addicted to technology and welcome innovations with open arms. Hence, student engagement has been recorded to increase when augmented reality is used in classrooms.
• Better Understanding of Concepts: Since every child is not an auditory learner, augmented reality makes it easier for visual and kinaesthetic learners to understand the toughest concepts and topics by making use of experiential learning.

The Best Time to Implement AR in Classrooms is Now!

The modern world is driven by technology and the rise of augmented reality in different fields indicates how effective and influential this technology is. Be it Generation Alpha or Generation Z, augmented reality has been accepted well by everyone. Proven to be beneficial in several ways, augmented reality has become an integral part of this era.

By making the process of learning more interactive and engaging, augmented reality is very effective in capturing the attention of modern learners. Since by 2025, Generation Z will form the majority of the school-going segment, it will become essential for institutes to be equipped with the modern methods of teaching including AR. Hence, the right time to implement augmented reality in classrooms is now and thus lead the way of innovation.

Whilst the twenty-first-century children are already familiar with augmented reality, using the technology in classroom teaching will not only enhance their engagement levels but also utilise it for good.

It is now that you can make your students ready for the future and become a frontrunner in this technological revolution.