Digital technologies influence the field of education more and more every year. Immersive teaching experiences are expected to be a significant application of immersive technologies in the education sector within the next two years, according to 66 percent of XR industry experts who responded to the 2020 survey, says Statista.

AR / VR solutions can improve the quality of classroom learning and empower opportunities at all learning levels. Therefore, it is believed that the states of developed countries should support innovation and invest in research related to the introduction of digital technologies in education.

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Augmented reality and virtual reality (AR / VR) – immersive technologies that allow users to view the content displayed digitally in both physical and virtual space – offer significant potential for innovation in educational technology. These technologies empower learning environments from K-12 classrooms to medical schools, reducing physical space obstacles, improving collaboration and hands-on learning, and providing personalized learning approaches that can help students at all levels succeed.

What AR / VR offers in education

Immersive technologies have been actively studied since the 90s of the last century. AR / VR technologies immediately seemed to be a promising addition to research experience and student education.

However, AR / VR devices and apps have only recently become available and user-friendly enough to implement these solutions in classrooms. VR systems can completely immerse users in a virtual environment where they can interact with virtual objects and other people in real-time. In this case, we can train the system to simulate the experience. VR also offers users the ability to input pre-recorded 360-degree visuals – either still images or videos – they can view but cannot manipulate or interact with.

Some elements of VR can allow you to do everyday actions in a new way. For example, Forbes writes that one of the advantages of using augmented reality is conducting experiments in biology lessons, not on living organisms. For instance, the Froggipedia app allows students to explore the internal organs via AR technology. And there are thousands of such examples.

AR / VR in education K-12

Students can passively participate in distance learning through immersive technology and interact with faculty and peers. For example, mobile AR will enable students to view a painting on their wall or an object in their living room. At the same time, AR/VR-based virtual labs would allow them to conduct hands-on experiments regardless of whether they are present in a fully-equipped classroom or laboratory. Fully immersive VR experiences also have the advantage of reducing distractions during remote learning, thereby encouraging students to be fully present during lessons.

Conclusion

We are getting used to the rapid changes in our digital age. Technologies are becoming more widespread in our life, affecting all areas. Education is one of those areas where digital solutions are welcomed in the first place. Therefore, it is not surprising that many universities and educational channels can hire custom software development companies to create unique solutions for combining digital technologies and educational programs. Such companies have a plan for the near future: Ensure that instructors have the necessary skills and knowledge to incorporate AR / VR solutions into their lesson plans and create opportunities to develop the required content, including equipping students and teachers with the appropriate skills. And then – it’s up to the little.

Author’s bio: Anastasiia Lastovetska is a technology writer at MLSDev, a software development company that builds web & mobile app solutions from scratch. She researches the area of technology to create great content about app development, UX/UI design, tech & business consulting.