There is no doubt that augmented reality and virtual reality are going to be the next big tech rush. With pandemic hitting the globe in the early 2020, every sector has been paralyzed only to resume minimal operations as of November 2020. During this time every technology has been explored and pushed to support the new norm of working from home. So did the education sector, but it still struggles to implement the AR and VR in full swing. Did the education sector miss something?
What you understand is technology and what you don’t understand is magic
Traditional education systems and establishments have limited understanding of the complicated and ever evolving ecology of AR/VR systems. The terms VR, AR, MR, XR, 3 DOF tracking, 6 DOF tracking etc. can be easily overwhelming, yet, understanding them is important if one wants to harness their full potential. Institutions need to set up panels to investigate this technology before integrating third party solutions under the pandemic pressure. They need to clearly figure out how it fits into their existing procedures and keep the expectations realistic.
The eye candy effect
3D Models hovering over textbooks make the bulk of marketing images on the internet whenever you type ‘AR/VR for education‘. Although they look cool and catchy, they tend to overshadow the other better ways of implementing AR and VR in education. Only an user experience designer knows that a student who wants to learn about the human heart does not necessarily want to point his phone in awkward positions going around a textbook. A much sober implementation that focuses on usability and value addition would win the race in long run.
Looking far
Talking to most of the institutions reveals a mindset that the AR/VR implementations are mainly for the pandemic situation. It’s largely untrue because the AR/VR market saw a steep growth in 2019, long before the pandemic started. The 2020 pandemic was only a coincidence and a boost. This is a technology which is here to stay and will grow into many other aspects of our day to day lives. Institutions can benefit more from long term and well planned integrations rather than short term approaches that will only set them back in the race.
Conclusion
The potential that AR/VR holds for the education sector is a goldmine unexplored. Wide variety of offerings from various companies are available on the market, but the institutions should make a well-informed and customized implementation in order to realize the full potential of AR/VR.
