iPads, MakerEd and More in Education

Virtual and augmented reality have become a trend more recently due to advances in artificial intelligence. They’ve grown to be more commonly utilized tools for interpretation of ideas in a variety of fields. VR is an immersive technology experience. Though it was commonly used in the gaming industry, it’s now being applied to a variety of fields. For example, companies can make use of simulated interviews and best choose candidates for the job when recruiting and training. AR on the other hand, supplements and enhances reality that already exists. Social media filters are a good example of this. Another example, the furniture company IKEA recently used this immersive technology to help shoppers envision how furniture would look inside their home.

How do you captivate a classroom full of digital-since-birth students? According to one Tennessee college professor, you do it by creating immersive learning experiences.

"Virtual reality has been the driving force behind Google’s Expeditions app since it launched three years ago. And recently it’s added another layer of “reality” to the virtual field trip tool—AR, or augmented reality to be precise, which take the form of features such as narration, annotations, and a new “solo mode,” going on virtual trips without a guide.

This past school year Google says over one million students have used the AR tools as part of the company’s Expeditions Pioneer Program. In New York City, 99 different schools experimented with the program for the first time, giving students an up-close look at everything from famous world landmarks to the human body."

Education has been a recurring theme throughout the many programs of the NYC Media Lab, a public-private partnership where I serve as an Executive Director. How will virtual and augmented reality change the classroom? How can teachers use immersive media to educate citizens and keep our communities vibrant? In what ways can enterprises leverage innovation to better train employees and streamline workflows?

These are just a few of the top-of-mind questions that NYC Media Lab’s consortium is thinking about as we enter the next wave of media transformation.

As the superintendent for Michigan’s second largest school district—with approximately 27,000 students—Johns is intent on finding innovative ways to give students the skills and resources they need to thrive at each stage of their education and to participate fully in a global economy.

Johns spoke with EdSurge about using augmented and virtual reality to help students become college and career ready, measuring the impact of new technologies, and the importance of professional development.

In Why Virtual Reality Is So Important For Education, Terry Heick explained the context for Augmented and Virtual Reality in the classroom.


Virtual reality is a kind of digital reality–a way of using technology to create environments designed for expressly human interaction. This is, of course, different than our physical environment. We are human beings, and human beings are simply one organism functioning interdependently with literally countless other living things. The world isn’t designed expressly for us, which is a matter of theological and metaphysical contemplation really. But for context here, it makes sense because it underscores one of the underpinning draws of virtual reality: Through the use of digital technology, virtual realities can be designed precisely for human interaction for very specific reasons to create experiences not otherwise possible.

Getting started with augmented and virtual reality may seem overwhelming, but with the right approach, successful implementation is achievable—and can actually be a lot of fun to learn. As we head back to school, a solid plan will help turn frustrating experiences into mind-blowing creative lessons.

But first, an introduction to the world of AR/VR, which can sometimes get confusing.

A new whitepaper from personalized learning nonprofit KnowledgeWorks explores how wearables, augmented reality and virtual reality could play out in education. Take one example shared in the report of a fourth-grader: She's wearing a Hello Kitty "smart sleeve" and toting her tablet in a matching knapsack as she heads into the homework center after school and begins to tackle a writing assignment. After 10 minutes of staring at a blank screen and experiencing a rising heart rate, her wearable triggers a "nudge" from an app that reminds her that it's OK to ask for help. She clicks on an icon and receives a holographic image of her coach in a corner of her device, calmly and clearly offering her immediate help.

In March 2017 I published my model for VR in Education, detailing the various depths of VR and how they can be harnessed in classrooms. The model has been incredibly well received and has been shared at conferences and institutions around the world. I would like to thank everyone who has shared it as well as all those who have given me feedback on it. Below the image, you will find a more in depth analysis of the theory behind the model.

At the start of the BETT Show Mark Anderson and Steve Bambury announced the release of their new Periodic Table of iOS Apps for AR and VR. The table is an interactive Thinglink image that links to AR and VR apps. The apps can be used to address topics in STEM, creativity, geography, storytelling, art, teaching, science, and history. Some of the apps in the table are free while others are paid. And it should be noted that Mark and Steve work in the UK so the links point to the UK version of the app store.