The massive adoption of digital resources has become a reality for the majority of the world’s population who are in confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At some point, everyone will have to use digital tools to carry out daily activities either for work, socialization, consumption or studies.
Herein, I will give more attention to the relevance of Augmented Reality technology in the educational context, since millions of children and young people were removed from the school environment and need to remain connected and motivated in their studies even remotely.
Engaging students in a distance learning model is one of the biggest challenges schools face around the world. One of the main reasons is due to the lack of digital resources that arouse interest in students.
In this context, Augmented Reality can be fundamental as it enables the transformation of traditional methods into more innovative, fun and attractive formats. In addition to providing students with the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of various concepts, this type of resource also encourages them to ask questions and investigate further on what they are learning. They have the opportunity to perform virtually experiments that would often be impossible in real situations, such as a laboratory practice activity with manipulation of radioactive elements or even a rocket ride through the solar system.
However, there is still a predominant theoretical and analogical approach in the educational environment, which do not awakens interest in students. On the other hand, an important movement based on active methodology fortunately gains more and more strength in the market. As it can be inferred, this model proposes to expose students to roles of greater protagonism, stimulating research, experimentation and debate both inside and outside the classroom. Thus, the student is able to get more involved and retain content better, resulting in outstanding performance during the course.
Another important point is that students generally experience some degree of insecurity when faced with new challenges during their educational trajectory. In such cases, incorporating immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality can help them not only simulate something virtually and with absolute security, but mainly to learn more deeply new content through experimentation. For example, try to imagine the pressure that a medical student faces when dealing with a critical case for the first time. A misunderstanding about a concept or procedure can not only ruin his/her professional career in the future but mainly cost lives. By simulating virtually the same situation through an Augmented Reality application, it is possible to better prepare and then significantly reduce the risk of making mistakes in procedures with real patients.
In conclusion, I believe there will be definite changes in the way people interact with digital resources in their lives after this crisis has passed. This is also valid in the educational context. The importance of adopting tools such as Augmented Reality will become even more evident, allowing the combination of theory and practice. And even in situations that require social distance, it will be possible to maintain the fluidity of the learning process.
