For many years now, we’ve been seeing a gradual, but important shift in the way that people are educated. Gone are the days of notepads, pens and paper notes. Today, students are creating the content on their tablets, they are sending it across intranets, and they are engaging with the class, 24/7 through social media. This is referred to as asynchronous learning.
Far from being the distraction they were originally intended to be, though, digital devices are helping to re-shape the traditional dynamics of education as we know it — they are actually amplifying it.
So, what latest trends and changes can we expect to make a compelling difference to the market in the years to come?
Smart Tech
One of the most obvious innovations we have seen in recent years comes from the rather wonderful Smart technology industry. For example, one tool we might see used in academic study soon is IBM’s Watson device. Watson offers a high-end education tool that addresses and improves the way that people study. This is going to be very important for the long-term growth of the industry, as Watson is known to change the way that people collate data from masses of unmanaged data using artificial intelligence and sophisticated means of analysis.
This is very useful for making sure that the next generations can use technology to find answers that they would have otherwise never received. Even in more limited education functions, new AI toys could be used to manage the growth of younger children and make them more aware of certain interactions.
From making children more aware of their actions and the way they portray themselves, to full on educational aids, smart tech will ensure that the next generation always has a helping hand waiting for them.
The IoT and IoE
A significant element of the web is going to be the Internet of Things. We’re already changing the way we all link together and operate as one today, and the IoT will ensure that this continues. For example, the IoT will enable the rapid growth of virtual classroom learning. IoT will ultimately be a defining factor in shaping the future of the industry. Device interaction will improve and before long it will be easy to take the information garnered in the classroom right to our PCs back at home. The future of learning will involve possessing the means to transmit data as freely and as accurately as possible across the whole group.
Education will benefit from an added layer of depth to the IoT, in which people will be able to make the most of a learning system that brings together various aspects of their day-to-day lives.
More recently, another somewhat synonymous to IoT concept, introduced by CISCO is the Internet of Everything, defined as "the intelligent connection of people, process, data and things." This philosophy can inform a globalized, expanded notion of internet connections beyond machines. The latter can be meaningful for developing tools such as Educational Management Systems (EMS), which refer to managing the massive data of school records and other administrative functions across the globe, perhaps in a unified way.
VR and AR
Virtual reality and Augmented Reality took a very important step in 2018, with the mainstream release of many headsets by the likes of Sony and HTC leading the way, as well as more research-driven industry applications. Indeed, another option — the Google Cardboard— is expected to deliver exciting new ways of learning. It’s going to change the way that students investigate future careers, which is vital to shaping dreams.
For instance, a profession might sound amazing, but the reality could be very different. VR will re-shape how we evaluate the suitability of a student to take up such a profession. with simulations to estimate the performance of the person under a specific role. It will also help students to determine how suitable they are just by trying it out. Was it everything they thought it was going to be?
Such possibilities are explored in pilot studies and research experiments across the world. This type of VR and AR applications, will help students to avoid making the wrong choice early in life and failing to come back from it. Many students wind up in major debt, just trying to get into a career path that, when they “make it” resembles the opposite of what they had intended in the first place.
3D Printing
Another major element of education that is likely to change heavily in the near future is the power of 3D Printing. As one of the most powerful industries out there at the moment, it’s beginning to become a very popular way to learn for kids. Nowadays, children can get their hands on the kind of objects and instruments that previously they could only look at in books and dream of holding for real.
From the crown of a king, to the layout of a medieval weapon (blunted, obviously!) children could get a much more authentic appreciation of the world that they read about on the pages of book. This is dangerous, though, as it prevents children from appreciating the true gravity of what they are reading about. The day that 3D printing stops being so prohibitively expensive, will be a good day as it should help people to finally become involved in the industry, thus empowering and educating the next generation.
In Summary...
Whilst understanding the various challenges that the Internet and similar devices present to the education industry, the trends are already here. People are becoming more appreciative of the integration of technology into various forms of education, as most believe it will quickly help to make people more comfortable with technology, as well as working and living in a multimodal and digitally mediated society.
All of the above technological outputs, have been working their way into education for some time — it’s just a matter of time before they are more systematically implemented in classrooms worldwide. Each will play their part in determining a new dawn for education, which can only be a good thing, ensuring that future generations, receive the best and most relevant learning possible.
One of the most poignant discussions in the museum world, has been on issues of inclusion and access. Prolific museum figures like Nina Simon presenting in the recent Museum Next Conference in London, shared the vision behind OFBYFOR ALL, a new global initiative to help civic and cultural organisations become OF, BY, and FOR their communities. However, what is it that can help take the next step in terms of inclusion and learning within and out of museum grounds?
This article draws on a doctoral research study to investigate museum’s democratic potential, through transformative approaches to pedagogy aimed at meaningful cultural participation.
The ‘meaningful’, stands for a degree of competence in reading, interpreting and constructing meaning from the existing multiple forms of language (Stapp, 1984: 112; Mitchell, 2007: 3). ‘Participation’ involves an ability to negotiate the complex dialogic relationship that exists between the written word, the spoken word, images, objects, time and space (Mathewson-Mitchell, 2007: 3).
Consideration of issues of access in relation to the significant literacy requirements of museums, suggests that increasing focus on the explicit teaching of museum-based literacies, could be the way through which to expand museum visiting opportunities for the less 'conventional' audience.
It is actually proposed that museum-based literacies could act as the means to the development of cultural competence in museum environments. This evolution in theory and practice of, and about museums, has been notably part of radical changes in the museum world since the 1970s, mostly known as new museology.
Museums as Agents of Change
The development of a “new museology” (Mayrand, 1985: 201), is a concept used to describe the focus on the potential of museums as a positive social force. Golding (2009) suggests the museums should act as frontiers, places where learning and identity are produced and developed for all, while new ‘bridges’ are raised between non-dominant communities and their own histories (Philip, 1992 in Golding 2009).
It became profound that if museums accept their educational role, “they must also accept their social responsibility to work towards supporting a participatory democratic society” (Hein, 2005: 50). We need to “take advantage of the current context, as ‘opening new educational and social possibilities’ (Cope and Kalantzis, 2000: 18), to promote democratic education and human needs...” (Early, 2007: 67).
Changing Times, Changing Literacy
Ever since the 1960s, the nature of literacy practice and needs is changing; Hall (1989) suggests this is thought of as a consequence of New Times. New Times is an era of internalization, characterised by the breaking down of borders between local and global contexts resulting from rapid change in communicative practices (Gee, 2000: 183; Luke and Elkins, 1998).
One common element that has changed is that literacy has become inherently plural; thus researchers have problematized the very notion of literacy as a discrete set of skills. Luke and Freebody (2000) provide one of the more recent and useful definitions of literacy:
"Literacy is the flexible and sustainable mastery of a repertoire of practices with the texts of traditional and new communications technologies via spoken, print, and multimedia".
(Luke and Freebody, 2000: 9)
In such a perspective of literacy, the literate person is one who develops capacity to respond to emerging and communicative needs, a literate person who is a sophisticated user of texts. The individual engages with literacy practices as a decoder of text, as a maker of meanings, as a purposeful user of information and as a text analyst who employs critical thinking skills in the literate work (Luke and Freebody, 2000; Liddicoat, 2007: 20).
Figure 1: Evolution of the concept of literacy over fifty decades
Although acknowledging contemporary, 21st century demands of ‘literacy’ and education, this definition does not incorporate the social context of literacy. Literacy is, as Gee (1996: 22) has aptly described, “a socially contested term”. To this respect, literacy is a social practice rather than merely a means to an end.
Such a consideration draws on the paradigm of New Literacy Studies (NLS) and recognises literacy as a set of socially and culturally constituted practices enacted across and within social and institutional spaces. It acknowledges literacy as a social and historical construction that evolves dynamically (Giampapa, 2010: 4; Potvin, 2009; Garcia, Bartlett and Kleifgen, 2006).
Literacy is seen as a social responsibility including a critical or transformative emphasis in which literacy is a tool to understanding social structure in which we live so we can transform it in meaningful ways (Gee, 1996: 58; Street, 1995). The social perspective of literacy, implies more than superficial contacts with print; it icorporates an understanding of how to manipulate words and concepts through complex daily social interactions in an accepted manner (Giampapa, 2010; Potvin, 2009; Reid, 1998; Kern, 2000) through cultural apprenticeship (Rogoff, 1990).
The ‘New’ in Literacies: Multiliteracies
Following the NLS paradigm, ‘multiliteracies’ have emerged. The term “Multiliteracies” immediately shifts us from the dominant written print text to acknowledge the complexities of practices, modes, technologies and languages with which literate people need to engage in the contemporary world.
The “New London Group” (a team of ten academics including James Gee and Allan Luke) came together in 1996 concerned about how literacy pedagogy might address the rapid change in literacy due to globalisation, technology and increasing cultural and social diversity. They employed the term ‘multiliteracies’ to address these issues (The New London Group, 1996).
Since then, The Ontario Ministry of Education has come up with a number of literacy initiatives, some of which are characterized by a critical and social view of literacy, where literacy is conceived of as "the ability to use language and images in rich and varied forms to read, write, listen, speak, view, represent, and think critically about ideas" (Expert Panel on Literacy Report, 2004: 5).
Figure 2: Multiliteracies and their design elements (Adapted from The New London Group, 2000)
Luke and Luke (2001: 92-94) echo this idea, and argue that new technologies have facilitated the emergence of new kinds of artefacts, such as digital storytelling, requiring new levels of engagement and development of higher and different mental faculties (i.e. new multiliteracies). Luke (2000) also talks about the critical multiliteracies - being able to understand, debate, and act upon the material, political, and social consequences of technological change.
An alternative view of literacy calls for a reconceptualization of literacy as reading and writing the world (Freire, 1970). This conceptualization foregrounds critical thinking in both teachers and students, and looks beyond functional literacy (reading and writing skills), to the knowledge and power relations in literacy discourses.
Agnello (2001) refers to this approach as postmodern literacy, and argues that through this approach “reading and writing become enhanced methods for exploring the democratic self and its formation through ideological exposure to knowledge and power relations formulated by educational policy texts. Through such exploration, literacy becomes a tool for self-, student, and social advocacy rather than commodity to determine whether one measures up satisfactorily on test scores” (Agnello, 2001: 24-25).
Museum Learning as a Multiliteracy Practice
Museum-based literacies or museum literacy, refers to the competence in drawing upon the museum, its space and collections using certain skills and practices. In 1984, Carol B. Stapp observed that “museum literacy” was then a newly emerging phrase that articulated the older idea of a philosophy of museum accessibility.
Museum literacy goes beyond ‘reading’ objects; which may be understood as visual literacy; it requires a deeper level of process and understanding of the multiple and interacting languages and modes of communication found in the museum.
By broadening the view of museum literacy, it is acknowledged that the language that is involved in the museum is diverse and incorporates multimodal literacies including: linguistic, visual, audio, gestural, spatial patterns, technological and print-based (see for instance, Cope and Kalantzis, 2000: 160,203; Giroux, 1992; Hooper-Greenhill, 1999).
Figure 3: The multimodal literacies in museum-based pedagogy (Savva, 2016)
This view of museum learning redefines the goals and strategies of educators and the museum curricula. The idea of education in museums is seen as exploratory, broad, experiential, complex and multi-layered; museum strategies are now audience driven (Russo et al., 2007, Hein, 1998; Falk and Dierking, 2000).
To this discussion fits the incorporation of museum learning into the multiliteracies concept; this is facilitated by the realization that a display of material culture conveys messages about the people who created them and the times in which they were used (Pearce, 2003).
The act of creating an exhibit is parallel to the act of producing knowledge. Exhibits are not simply displays, but systems of signs that express messages about culture. Museums and their exhibits reflect the ideology of those who create them.
In the same vein that “There is no such thing as ‘reading’ or ‘writing,’ only reading or writing something . . .” (Gee, 1999: 93), the same would hold true for creating exhibits. There is no such thing as displaying an artifact without displaying something about that artefact. Also, the interpretation of messages is similar to the deciphering of text, using the signs, symbols, objects, etc., of a museum exhibit as part of the process of creating meaning (Roberts, 1997).
Griffin (1999: 8) identifies the unique learning opportunities offered by museums as: opportunities to closely examine objects or specimens; opportunities for comparison that allow trends and patterns to be deciphered; natural learning processes that incorporate the sharing and communication of ideas and the raising of questions; and opportunities to develop perceptual skills that teach how to gather information from objects and experiences.
Because museum exhibits make meaning through multiple media, multiple modes, and multiple symbol systems, the literacy practice of museum visiting is a multiliteracy.
An interesting project exploring the latter, is the ‘Museum Literacy Project’ in 2008-2010, involving nine different museums, administrations and training institutions based in five European countries, supported by the EU programme Lifelong Learning - Grundtvig Learning Partnerships, 2008. The project focus was on museums and audiences with low schooling level, and how museum literacy can be reached and maximize the museum experience for these audience.
Dimensions of a Pedagogy of Multiliteracies for Museum Learning - The Research Framework
Taking into consideration the unique characteristics of the museum environment, I undertook an empirically-based doctoral study involving the design, enactment and evaluation of the Living Museum Partnership (LMP), a museum-school partnership that unfolded in 13 weeks for the construction of a student-generated virtual museum to support environmental education curriculum (Savva, 2016).
Specific focus was on developing virtual learning environments and applying augmented reality to enhance culturally and linguistically diverse students' repertoires of literacy practices. This design-based research, draws from the field of New Literacy Studies, the proposed Museum Multiliteracies Practice (MMP) framework derived from the multiliteracies pedagogy of the New London Group, the Learning by Design Model adapted from Cope and Kalantzis and Schwartz’s museum based pedagogy.
Figure 4: The pedagogies interacting in the Museum Multiliteracies Practice framework (Savva, 2016)
It is proposed that museum educators and learning professionals undertake an approach for teaching and learning in the museum setting which incorporates multiliteracies pedagogy. Identification of museum literacies requires thorough examination into the interaction of modes that are evident, the incorporation of multiliteracies implicated, the various sign systems that are employed, and the unique nature of the museum learning environment (Mathewson-Mitchell, 2007: 7-8).
The focus should be not only on literacies as communication (meaning for others, as supports for social interaction). My doctoral research for instance also emphasized on literacies as a form of representation (or meanings for ourselves, as supports for thinking).
Cope and Kalatzis (1996, refined 2000, 2009) elaborate on the potentials of a ‘Pedagogy of Multiliteracies’ in fulfilling these aspirations. Two important ideas brought in a multiliteracies pedagogy are Learning by Design and Multimodality.
Learning by Design, is building into curriculum the idea that not every learner will bring the same lifeworld experiences and interests to learning, as well as acknowledging that every learner is not on the same page at the same time; pedagogies of learning are re-configured to construct learning as “a dialogue of difference” (Cope and Kalantzis, 2005: 31). The idea of Multimodality discusses learners’ movement between written, oral, visual, audio, tactile, gestural and spatial modes of meaning-making (Cope and Kalantzis 2005, 2009).
On this basis, the New London Group (1996) has proposed a multiliteracies pedagogy consisting of situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing, and transformed practice.
•Situated practice includes learners’ prior and present experiences in a community of learners (composed of experts and novices).
•Overt instruction involves the teacher’s or expert’s interventions to scaffold (Bruner, 1983) or support learning and increase the learner’s consciousness about learning. Scaffolding is a metaphorical concept that refers to the visible or audible assistance that a more expert member of a culture can give to an apprentice (Bruner, 1983, 1986). You might also note Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), that relates to Bruner’s notion of the scaffold here.
•Critical framing refers to learners interpreting the historical, cultural, political and ideological contexts of learning.
•Transformed practice includes implementing new understandings through reflective practice in other contexts.
Figure 5: The Multiliteracies Model and Learning by Design (Adapted from Kalantzis and Cope, 2000)
Also identified within the Learning by Design Model are four knowledge processes (See Figure 5 above). The knowledge processes identified are:
(a) Experiencing the known and the new
(b) Conceptualising by naming concepts and theorising
(c) Analysing functions and interests
(d) Applying appropriately and creatively.
Findings and Implications for Museum Learning Practice
Stapp (1984) had argued that schools do not address the knowledge, skills and attitudes for museum literacy. Recent observations of the characteristic use of museums by school-based teachers suggest that a relatively passive, idealist approach to museum experiences, as identified by Stapp, has continued, with teachers lacking confidence and competence in the museum setting (Mathewson-Mitchell, 2006).
Based on the findings of my doctoral research, it is suggested that addressing museum-based multiliteracies leads to effective museum-school partnerships and meaningful museum learning practice. Research data suggested that students’ repertoires of literacy were enhanced as they engaged in the learning process as active designers and multimodal learners (Savva, 2016). It was found that students gained opportunities to:
Figure 6: Findings of Museum Multiliteracies Practice research (Savva, 2016)
It is proposed that any museum education programme or museum-school partnership or collaboration pays attention to the following key principles:
1. Teaching children, especially digital natives of our time, to be literate in any setting is not just a set of skills that can be transferred. Rather, education needs to enable them to participate in social situations using the required literacy practices.
2. Museum visiting is seen as multiliteracy practice; as such it requires specific museum-based literacies that are rarely identified or explicitly taught by museums or schools.
Conclusion
Ultimately, this brief review and presentation of the proposed empirically based, research framework for museum learning practice, forms a pathway to follow for inclusive cultural participation at any level and age. The London New Group’s (1996) ideas further developed by Cope and Kalatzis (2000; 2005; 2006) for a Pedagogy of Multiliteracies, could inform the development of the specific literacy requirements of museums, in a way that could lead to full museum literacy and a transformative cultural engagement and participation for diverse audiences.
Augmented Reality (AR) has had a tremendous impact on education during the past few years.
It started out as something really “cool” before developing into one of the most useful resources available for learners.
What Exactly is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality, which is also known as AR can simply be defined as the process of viewing or scanning a trigger image through a mobile device. This process would give life to a subsequent action. This action can be another image, a video, QR code, 3D animations, games or whatever you want it to be. Even a GIF image can be considered as an AR in action.
The Impact of Augmented Reality on Education
Imagine that you are a student who is sitting in a history class. The lesson you are going to learn is about Egyptian Temples. Augmented Reality has the potential to create a realistic 3D environment of the temple and you will be able to learn it in more of an interactive and appealing way without even leaving the classroom. You can view every corner of the temple and get a clear view of it. That’s the beauty of AR.
Augmented Reality can be used in education via many different methods. These include:
• Virtual Reality
Even though Virtual Reality mainly focuses on games, it can be used effectively in training and education as well. The immersive learning experience delivered by Virtual Reality has contributed a lot towards its popularity. A 3D immersive environment or a 360 degree video shot becomes useful when teaching new languages for students. A large number of learners will be able to get connected to the same virtual space as well which is particularly useful at a time of globalization and increased connectivity between countries via the internet.
• Virtual Reality Glasses
Virtual Reality glasses have also received a lot of attention in the recent past. More specifically, they have become particularly popular among students who are looking for a convenient method to learn marine biology. That’s because virtual glasses are in a position to immerse the students in a seabed environment and help them learn in an effective manner. This method of teaching is not associated with print books. A tablet is being provided to the student by the teacher and the student is asked to follow what appears on the screen. The students can then simply ask what animals are invertebrates and what vertebrates are. Then the students are asked to point them out by having a look. At the end of the lesson, the teacher would be able to know who has got it right and who has not.
• 3D Objects and Motion Capture
Offering training on 3D objects is not an easy thing to do. People who learn about these objects will not be able to get a clear understanding until they interact with the objects. That’s where 3D Objects and Motion Capture comes into play. This method is based on motion capture technology where the students will be asked to reposition the 3D objects that they see.
• Virtual Learning Environments
Virtual Learning Environments involve a platform where students and teachers can come together and collaborate with each other through an intranet. Teachers can use this network in order to create and send homework for their students. In addition, students can complete the assignments and submit them over the network themselves. In this way it is possible for the teachers to have the homework submitted and gathered in an organized manner, as well as being able to access useful statistics at the end of the day. Virtual Learning Environments have changed how traditional class sessions are managed and are thought of as a revolutionary way of e-learning.
Feedback and Monitoring Through Augmented Reality
Feedback and monitoring holds a prominent place in the education system. Otherwise, teachers will not be able to figure out whether they reach the educational objectives or not. Augmented reality creates an ideal platform to achieve this traceability. For example, the teachers will be able to get a clear understanding of what content is mostly viewed by the students and what assignments are completed by them. This type of information can be used in order to make important decisions respective to the students’ learning styles and performance.
Here is a list of some useful applications based on Augmented Reality, which can be used to enhance the quality of education:
One of the most popular applications allowing to bring tagged images, objects and even physical locations to life. Using interactive digital content like video, animations and 3D scenes named Auras, Aurasma unfolds the amazing world of Augmented Reality with the ‘explore’ and ‘featured’ sections to retrieve the latest Auras. This app has been widely used in education since it allows the teacher and student to create their own interactive content. School displays come to life with this great tool!
This remarkable app created by NASA themselves and recently upgraded, as the name probably gives away, is more closely related to science or space teaching. Once you download Spacecraft 3D and print off the ‘markers’, it is possible to use your iPad’s camera to make a three dimensional spacecraft appear right before your eyes. There is also the option of taking a closer look to the structure of Rovers, Satellites and Telescopes while also looking at all angles of the technology since there are moveable parts on some of the crafts. These features can be quite engaging for children yet the app allows also to single handily bring a research lesson to life. Based on the content this app can be used in particular for students aged Key Stage 2 and 3.
Butterfly Fingers is one app that makes use of the Augmented Reality in combination with SEN. What the app does is that it places animated butterflies in the room while you look through the iPad’s camera. You might be stunned but this fluttering of butterflies can create a calming environment in the classroom especially when you have a very vivid student population. Importantly, the app does not require to be excellent in fine motor skills so it can be useful with children with special educational needs and all age groups.
Whilst for many applications using AR, the user basically points the tablet’s camera at something and watch the effect, there is nothing physical about the endeavour. In contrast, Quiver is a fantastic app which allows you to physically customize the Augmented Reality object using coloring pages as triggers, and this video shows it in action. The way to do this is simply by downloading and print off markers which you can color and redesign yourself. Once the child (or adult) draws a picture and sketches its parts, pointing at the colored image using the tablet turns it into a three dimensional animation with moveable parts. There different markers, all enabling for creative and imaginative artistic learning. For example, the app can help a child visualize a character and stimulate more ideas for scripts, storyboards etc.
One extremely favourable app is AR Flashcards. The app is rather simple: there is a card for each letter of the alphabet, featuring one animated animal for every letter. You therefore realize that immediately the app allow you to play with twenty six Augmented Reality animals. There are more exciting stuff to do though, like using a huge number of dinosaur flashcards available for free. This creates endless educational potentials, ranging from phonics teaching and early language development, to topic-related learning such as using the dinosaurs which are pretty popular among children. Embedding these flashcards in your classroom teaching can therefore help with story writing, artistic endeavours, research projects and so much more!
A very interesting Augmented Reality app by the colossus focused on learning about astronomy in a fun and engaging way. Google Sky Map allows you to directly identify stars and constellations using a smartphone camera rather than through a book.
A great educational game app to get elementary level kids to overcome their fear of Maths by learning, Fetch! Lunch Rush released by PBS KIDS uses printable cards as Augmented Reality pieces. Designed in 3D, the app uses the smartphone camera to place graphics in real-world surroundings. Specifically, there is a plot in the game where students help Ruff the Dog feed sushi to a movie crew by solving math problems.
GeoGoogle is awesome when it comes to expanding students’ geography skills and help them measure distances to specific destinations, like latitude and longtitude by applying GeoGoogle to real-world surroundings.
One former teacher developed AugThat specifically targeting students that are not motivated to follow the classroom routine. Using the app's features, it is possible to create animated lessons in a variety of topics to engage students, including 360-degree virtual environments and 3-dimensional experiences.
One of the most quality apps created by DAQRI, a powerful AR developer, is the application Elements 4D. As the name implies, this app brings elements of the periodic table to life to allow students of elementary, middle and high school level, see chemistry in action. The app work by printing out and assembling blocks that are used as trigger images for an AR experience. There are also lesson plans available for integrating Elements 4D at the DAQRI's website.
Another amazing app by DAQRI, Anatomy 4D, allows teachers to design their own anatomy lessons by allows to view 3D images of the human body and heart. The app works by having teachers print off one of the target images and have students look at it through the app. This way they can learn about the different biological systems and bring the human body to life in a fascinating way, turning them "on" and "off" with the touch of a button.
This application employs Augmented Reality features to scanned print materials to enable a rich digital experience. Some of the app’s characteristics include seeing magazines come to life with videos on top of pages, browsing and viewing thousands of Geo Layers to find nearby stuff, enjoying interactice print with pop our content, and sharing your interactive print experiences without having to scan. Layar is thus one great app for use on a variety of learning projects.
These are only a few Augmented Reality applications that are related to education. You can find a variety of similar applications that have taken the entire education system to a whole new level. Given this increased interest in Augmented Reality in the field of educational technology and technology enhanced learning, substantial empirical research has taken place in the past two decades to determine how this technology meaningfully engages students.
Conclusion
The existing evidence so far suggests a variety of benefits from using Augmented Reality and similar immersive experiences during the lesson. More research however is needed before a conclusive argument is made, and what is certain, is that the use of Augmented Reality for educational purposes, like any other trending method, should be accompanied by a solid theoretical background while also addressing the individual needs of the particular classroom at hand.
People nowadays want so desperately to own the must-have accessory and the next major technology trend. The advancement of technology and the research studies over the last years has been unprecedented. The human race is progressing at an amazing rate and it`s undeniable and in evidence, that the way we interact with each other, has dramatically changed because of technology.
Technological advances are inventions like Glasses with Virtual Reality, Androids, Nanotechnology, Brain Digitizing, Toroidal Machines, Computer Controlled Economy, Colonization of other planets and other futuristic ideas. There is a limit on technology only if there is a lack of imagination! And Google knows this well. But to create a new kind of wearable technology, that’s a real bet and messy at points.
Tech Specs - What's Inside
Google is always pushing it's creativity limits, and Project Glass is no exception. The new and revolutionary augmented reality glasses were designed to help you live in the moment -- even when you’re falling from the sky. It's a headset with a camera, a projected display, and a data connection, that presents information in the form of "cards". These cards are arranged on a "Timeline," which you can navigate through by swiping left and right on the headset's touchpad (Hair is a problem here. Sometimes they fall over the pad and interfere with operation). You can listen to music, take photos and videos, read and send text messages, engage in Google Hangouts, search Google, see headlines from The New York Times and much more. It’s actually your Smartphone with Google on your face.
It runs on Android, but can connect to both Android and iOS devices. It comes powered by a dual-core Texas Instruments (TI) OMAP 4430 processor, 1GB of RAM and can connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to your laptop, your phone or a home Wi-Fi network, or even work alone as an offline camera or as a disconnected video recorder. The 5-megapixel camera can capture 720p videos, by default. It has 16GB of internal storage and a battery that can last a day. Luckily, the titanium frame is strong and flexible. You can bend and adjust it for an individual fit.
The elite of the tech world have decided already that Google’s groundbreaking eyewear ecosystem is the future. The product has captured the imagination of technologists and consumers and drawn a fair amount of media attention. There is a dynamic on the horizon and perhaps they're right. There is a new way of seeing our relationship with our mobile computers and people are excited about this glorified eye-mounted camera/computer.
What's Not To Like?
There are, however, a number of people who are afraid or do not understand the importance of this product. Personally i want to see the world, i don't really want to see the world "differently". And i’m concerned that devices like this will hide the world more than expose it. It could also cause a public uproar over privacy concerns. Let’s say why do we need our Facebook notifications popping up in our eyes? If we are focusing on Facebook notifications and tweets popping up - what are we missing that's right in front of us in the real world?
Yes, Google Glass appears to be a nice-looking device, it’s all the talk in the wearable tech space, but for the rest of us it’s just a neat idea that brings only excitement. Is the potential worth the risk? Does it really deliver value in practice? Who would wear these in public? What about hacking warnings and security risks? What about downsides like Wi-Fi next to the brain or the open to a whole new level of spyware? It seems we are beginning to take everything for granted like the example below:
- "Ok Glass, what’s the weather?"
- "Look out the window”
What they are not taking in consideration is also that unless they are very cool sun glasses no one likes to wear glasses. They look very uncomfortable and people think you are like a cyborg from a fictional movie.
Conclusion:
We’re looking forward to it, but so far, the limitation of Google Glass shows that this is an immature product and a yet to be understood platform. It’s an interesting techno-social experiment but an experiment with limitations. It’s just another cool device in our lives to explore.
What do you think about Google Glass future? Has anyone had experience with it? Let us know. If you are new here then click the like button to get started. Make sure to subscribe too. Get in the know!
Their "auras," which go beyond prior augmented reality, are capable of doing everything from making a painting talk to overlaying live news onto a printed newspaper.
Leap Motion represents an entirely new way to interact with your computers. It’s more accurate than a mouse, as reliable as a keyboard and more sensitive than a touchscreen. For the first time, you can control a computer in three dimensions with your natural hand and finger movements.
This isn’t a game system that roughly maps your hand movements. The Leap technology is 200 times more accurate than anything else on the market - at any price point. Just about the size of a flash drive, the Leap can distinguish your individual fingers and track your movements down to a 1/100th of a millimeter.
This is like day one of the mouse. Except, no one needs an instruction manual for their hands.
What Exactly is The Leap?
The Leap is a small iPod sized USB peripheral that creates a 3D interaction space of 8 cubic feet to precisely interact with and control software on your laptop or desktop computer. It’s like being able to reach into the computer and pull out information as easily as reaching into a cookie jar.
The Leap senses your individual hand and finger movements independently, as well as items like a pen. In fact, it’s 200x more sensitive than existing touch-free products and technologies. It’s the difference between sensing an arm swiping through the air and being able to create a precise digital signature with a fingertip or pen.
What Can I do With the Leap?
The possibilities are endless, really. Computer power has grown exponentially over the years, but the way we interact with those computers has not. With LEAP, virtually every kind of application, across every industry, can be re-imagined.
Leap Motion technology is a breakthrough in computer interaction, using a patented mathematical approach to 3D, touch-free motion sensing and motion control software that’s unlike anything that currently exists on the market or in academia.
Developed over the past 4 years, Leap Motion moves far beyond the current technologies designed for distant arm waving.
How Much Does The Leap Cost?
The Leap will retail for $69.99, and a limited number are currently available for pre-order at their website.
How Does The Leap Impact Computing?
For decades people have been given a dream of what computers would be - from Star Trek holosuites to Tom Cruise swiping through Minority Report’s 3D computer interface.
But it’s never made it out of the lab and into real life - until now. The ability to control any computer with nuanced hand and finger movements will fundamentally transform the way people interact with computers.
Who is The Leap Ideal For?
Everyone! This motion control technology will be used in most consumer products - not just computers, but cars, appliances, medical devices, light switches and more.
There are already many great uses for a variety of people.
Artists and creative types can use The Leap to emulate a stylus or easily create 3D images.
Anyone can use The Leap to interact with Windows 7/8 or Mac OS X by clicking, grabbing, scrolling and using familiar gestures like pinch to zoom in 3D space.
- Users pointing a pen at the signature line of a document to sign it in space.
- Engineers can interact more easily with 3D modeling software.
- Gamers can play more easily and many will modify with Leap in mind.
- Surgeons can control 3D medical data with their hands without taking off their gloves.
What Makes Leap Motion Stand Out?
Leap Motion is the only technology focused on bringing motion control to the desktop - rather than trying to take what’s been built for TV (large gesture sensing) and make it work for computers.
The Leap is ~100x more accurate than any other motion sensing Natural User Interface on Earth.
Have a look on the video:
To learn more, pre-order, or apply for an SDK, visit their website.
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BBC News reports that the Pentagon has ordered Innovega's iOptik augmented reality technology, which involves contact lenses paired with glasses containing tiny flat-panel displays.
iOptik could enable soldiers to see data about targets superimposed over the actual battlefield.
In a brief entry on its website about the technology's military uses, Innovega writes, "Warfighters need to maintain their full vision while on the battlefield. At the same time a tremendous amount of data, graphics and video are collected and are required by specific warfighters in the field. Some is generated from remote cameras, drones, or satellites.
Fully transparent video eyewear that is configured into standard issue field glasses would constitute an important step forward. Innovega is actively in partnership to develop this application and will soon be able to report further on these and related activities."
At CES 2012, Innovega CTO Randall Sprague talked about a version of the iOptik contant lenses product for the public that could be used for watching movies (like a person IMAX) or for gaming. He also talked about application for mobile augmented reality products that can superimpose information on reality. For example, you could receive information about the price of grocery products through your contact lenses while you were shopping. Take a look :
The technology is being compared to Google's Glass Project and the recently released video showing it's potential. A spoof of the video shows how the new technology could also be a major distraction, especially if spammers find a way to abuse it.
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