augmented reality

augmented reality.

Approximately 70% of Americans are unaware of what augmented reality is. There is also confusion with another term – virtual reality.  Virtual reality, or VR, has already been seen by most people at least once.  VR is a headset that you wear over your eyes and it makes you feel like you are in a boxing ring, on another planet, or even blowing water bubbles.

Augmented reality – how it works

In contrast, augmented reality is currently available on smartphones and tablets, and will be available in the future on special glasses as well. Essentially, another layer of information in the form of text, animations, video, or images is supposed to appear on reality above the screen.

What makes that happen? If you point the phone camera at a certain object, we see what was photographed on the screen. Everything is known so far. But…. Upon recognizing an object, the augmented reality software displays a second layer.

Examples of Augmented reality

Here are some examples to help you visualize.

 Suppose you want to buy an armchair from IKEA online, but aren’t sure if it will fit in your home… By using the IKEA augmented reality app, you will be able to see how the armchair will look in your living room as close to reality as possible. If you want to buy a shoe online, you can also see how it will look on your foot.

Online shopping is one of the uses of augmented reality. This is an important use, since it is also related to revenue that can grow from this technology, and therefore to companies’ motivation to develop applications and software for augmented reality.

However, this technology has many other uses as well.  Augmented reality allows you to see and understand data from a production line and industrial machinery

 , giving works of art a new dimension.  Even education can benefit from augmented reality,  Although the potential in education has not yet been realized. But it’s coming…

Augmented reality in Education

Imagine for a moment that everything around you can tell a story and convey information more vividly. The Statue of Liberty and an African elephant will appear out of a globe when the students examine it. It is possible to see the internal organs of animals. It is even possible to play treasure hunt in a school yard with this technology. It can be taken very far…

Creating Augmented reality for Education

What is the best way to create an activity that uses augmented reality? I will demonstrate an activity designed for a 3walls room?  But It can be applied anywhere.

1. In order to plan a lesson, we use a kind of script that follows a theme or story. Linden, the nice guy with the guitar, walks down Jerusalem Street and tells the students that he has just finished building a machine that can open doors and allow him to move anywhere. Linden’s video can also be presented on a written page with an explanation.
2. Visualizing the subject – we saw an illustration of a Jerusalem street. There can also be a design of a historical museum, a photo exhibition, or even pictures hung in the school hallway or stickers on the wall.
3. Create layers of information to answer the work students receive. Embedding the questions in Google forms, Geniali presentations, or anywhere else is possible.

It is a very brief explanation, but it is the general idea.

In order to create information that is relevant to students today, it should be short and speak their language. A nice and short video is best.

In the next video I will explain how to create a world of augmented reality in EyeJack, one of several augmented reality apps.