iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Augmented Reality (AR) technologies have opened up an entire world of possibilities for teachers and educators. From organizing virtual field trips to setting up simulated virtual laboratories, AR is reshaping teaching and learning in unprecedented ways. In today's post, we are sharing with you three applications that leverage the power of AR technologies for educational purposes. You may want to check them out and share with us your feedback on social media platforms.

Kids today have more resources at their fingertips than ever before. Raised in the digital era, most children have traded outside playtime for iPads and other mobile devices for communication and entertainment. Today’s students are the first to grow up amidst such aggressive advancements in mobile technology, and in order to be smart communicators, educators need to adapt to the latest tech trends. Over the years, tech in the classroom has been met with mixed views. Usually deemed as a distraction, cellphones were banned in a lot of schools, according to an article by The Atlantic. But even back then, eliminating tech wasn’t the solution. Now, it’s safe to say that teachers have learned to embrace educational technology in the name of progress.

A previous post here on Teaching With iPad sheds light on the unique ways you can use iPad devices creatively in the classroom, one of which is via augmented reality (AR). In light of recent advancements, teachers are finding ways use AR in the classroom. Students are already using AR-powered apps like Pokémon Go or Snapchat for entertainment, which means that the challenge, then, is to help them learn using this technology. Here are some notable apps to check out for learning.

Everyone agrees that it's important for children to learn new technologies such as 3D printing, robotics, and virtual reality. The challenge lies in finding the best way to teach those skills to young students.

Augmented reality technologies are transforming the way we live, learn and interact with each other. They are creating limitless learning possibilities and are empowering learners with  the required know-how to get immersed in meaningful learning experiences. We have already reviewed several educational AR tools and apps and have also shared this collection of excellent TED talks on the educational potential of AR technologies. Drawing on these resources together with EdSurge list, we have prepared for you this updated collection of some of the best AR apps to use in your instruction. You may want to go through them and see which ones work  for you.

As we mentioned in an earlier article, Apple has long-promised to make a major splash in the AR market. With the recent release of the Apple augmented reality developer framework, ARKit, consider the market properly splashed.


Building a complete, full-featured app is beyond the scope of a single article. However, we can show you, in simplest terms, how to create augmented reality apps for iPhone and iPad using the Unity 3D AR/VR platform with ARKit. Our simple example will display an AR point cloud superimposed over objects you can view with your Apple device.

Are you curious about using augmented or virtual reality in your classroom? If you've already tried it out, are you looking for more app and lesson plan ideas? Either way, we've got you covered. Start with the Google Cardboard headset (it's only $15), and whether you're using iOS, Android, Chromebooks, or iPads, we've curated an assortment of apps and lesson plans to try out with your students.

Keep in mind there are ongoing debates around using virtual reality with kids. Skeptics argue that VR experiences can't create genuine empathy, that VR simulations make females sick at higher rates than males, and that ethical considerations -- from psychological implications to privacy concerns -- are urgent issues.

That said, many educators use virtual and augmented reality in their classrooms with positive results. Considering these ongoing debates, you'll probably want to try it out and decide for yourself. We've collected the best lesson plans, apps, and teaching strategies below. Don't forget to check out our Top Picks list for even more tool ideas.

The Lightform computer projects images onto an object using a projector.

Augmented reality may sound like something out of a science fiction film, but the technology is changing manufacturing across the world. From aerospace to automotives, AR is not only increasingly being used on the factory floor, it´s revolutionising it. AR overlays virtual reality over real objects, providing all the necessary data a technician needs to make an assessment or perform a task

Teachers have now a powerful tool in Augmented Reality. AR can motivate and engage students making the STEM and coding learning process faster, fun, and better than ever before.

Augmented reality technologies are transforming the way we live, learn and interact with each other. They are creating limitless learning possibilities and are empowering learners with  the required know-how to get immersed in meaningful learning experiences. We have already reviewed several educational AR tools and apps and have also shared this collection of excellent TED talks on the educational potential of AR technologies. Drawing on these resources together with EdSurge list, we have prepared for you this updated collection of some of the best AR apps to use in your instruction. You may want to go through them and see which ones work  for you.

Augmented Reality (AR) is the imposing of digitally generated images into a viewer's real-world surroundings. Unlike Virtual Reality, which creates a completely artificial environment, AR uses the existing environment and overlays it with new information. Augmented reality apps are usually written using special 3D programs which allow developers to superimpose animation in the computer program, to an AR "marker" in the real world. It is now popularly being used by advertisers to create 3D renders of products, such as cars, the inside of buildings, and machinery. This provides consumers with a 360-degree product view.

The term 'Augmented Reality' was coined by Boeing researcher Thomas Caudell in 1990, to explain how head-mounted displays of electricians worked during the assembling of complicated wiring. Since then, the technology has been used in CAD programs for aircraft assembly, architecture, digital advertising, simulation, translation, military, and various medical procedures.

Learning experiences in education are rapidly evolving as augmented reality and virtual reality are making their way into classrooms. First, it is important to distinguish the difference between these two technologies. Augmented reality (AR) superimposes a computer-image overlay on an existing environment. For instance, Abraham Lincoln's log cabin can pop up in the middle of your classroom using AR Flashcard's Abraham Lincoln app. Virtual reality (VR) is more immersive in that it takes us some place else usually by using VR goggles or glasses. An example of virtual reality would be diving deep into the ocean to swim with sharks and experience the ocean habitat using Google Cardboard's VR Abyss. Both AR and VR provide unique learning opportunities that children would never be able to experience just by reading a textbook or visiting a website. This post focuses on how educators can use augmented reality to help support instruction.

Ahead of the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona that will take place next week, Variety reports that Google plans to make a splash with its ARCore framework for augmented reality at the event.

First up, ARCore (which was announced back in August 2017) has now hit version 1.0, which means it’s ready for prime time. That’s evident from the update to its app, which Android Police has got a hold of and made available on APKMirror.

Next, a source at Google told Variety that the company intends to carry out its plan of bringing ARCore to 100 million phones by March. That means it’ll need to enable support for the framework on a wider range of devices (only Pixel handsets are natively supported at the moment).

Educators are constantly challenged to find ways to keep kids’ attention in class when, outside of school, their world is full of all kinds of highly compelling and visually stimulating media. Many educators find that gamifying learning keeps students engaged. BreakoutEDU, for example, is an educational game platform that includes a curated set of physical materials—think padlocks, boxes and invisible ink—and activities across a wide range of subjects and grade levels. Students might sort images annotated with letters by state of matter (solid, liquid, or gas), for instance, revealing a secret code word that gets them one step closer to the goal. BreakoutEDU is a physical game platform, requiring a significant amount of planning and manual configuration—setting combinations locks, writing clues on hint cards, hiding clues around the classroom—and then supervising the activity as the teams go about their game play. 

Augmented reality tools, however, reduce the time and effort required to set up gaming activities while allowing teachers to break through the noise and engage students with the type of immersive content they find in their daily lives. For example, after watching a 10-minute tutorial, Yvonne Rodriguez was able to create her own AR Experience by arranging components—which she describes as “digital LEGOs”—on her computer screen. “It’s just so easy,” says Rodriguez. “I am not a tech-savvy teacher at all. So if I can do it, anyone can do it.”

Imagine Google Maps, Wikipedia, Pokémon Go and a Canadian Heritage Minute, all rolled into one.

Now, imagine it all on your smartphone. 

The app in question is called Wikiupedia. It's the brainchild of Adrian Duke, a tech entrepreneur who comes from the Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan. He imagines it as a powerful tool for sharing and preserving Indigenous history, by crowd-sourcing stories from across Canada.

The app is currently in beta testing. Duke hopes it will be available in app stores this summer.