Augmented Reality has changed the education industry, bringing innovations and existing tech solutions. According to Statista, the global educational AR market share is $300 million as of 2020, but it’s expected to grow up to $700 million by 2025.
So, the question arises — how to use AR in education? Let’s discuss how to make AR apps and the benefits this technology brings to the education field.
Benefits and Challenges AR Brings in Education
AR allows replacing paper textbooks. Students don’t need to carry learning materials to classes because they have everything they need in their smartphones.
On the other hand, schools can cut the expenses on learning materials and additional equipment like whiteboards, banners, and more. Students can communicate with the tutor and access educational gear in the AR-powered app.
It’s possible to highlight several benefits AR bings in education:
- Impressiveness
- Good visualization
- Students engagement
- Great collaboration opportunities
On the other hand, there are several significant drawbacks:
- The high cost of devices
- AR technology requires a stable connection
How to Integrate AR in Education
If you have an idea for an AR learning app, you may be interested in three primary aspects to consider.
- Aspect #1. Define the target audience and study your competitors.
- Aspect #2. Validate your app idea.
- Aspect #3. Create an MVP.
Let’s single out the details of each aspect.
1. Define Your Target Audience and Study Competitors
Understanding your target audience allows clearing out their requirements and expectations from your tech solution. For example, developing an app for schools, it’s better to pay attention to features like 3D modeling and virtual textbooks.
It’s also required to study your competitors and their solutions. It allows for bringing unique features to your app. It’s required to make sure that your app offers better performance, quality 3D models, and additional features.
2. Validate Your App Idea
To understand the relevance of your idea, you have to gather preliminary feedback. Draw up a business plan, create a working prototype of your product, and contact investors.
You can outsource app development. The outsourcing companies tend to follow all the development trends and can offer better tech solutions for your app.
3. Create an MVP
MVP stands for an app with features that satisfy the basic users’ needs and expectations. It allows getting first feedback from users and making improvements. MVP takes less time than the development of a full-fledged product, so you’ll minimize your expenses.
To use AR technology in education, software developers use two primary AR software development libraries. ARCore and ARKit are two main players in the world of Augmented Reality.
- AR Core is Google’s platform that offers features like Motion tracking, Environmental understanding, and Light estimation.
- ARKit has similar functions but for iOS-based devices. The latest ARKit 4 supports Depth API with the help of Apple TrueDepth Camera.
As you can see, AR changes the way students learn. This powerful technology brings innovations to our everyday reality.
Author’s bio
Vitaly Kuprenko is a writer for Cleveroad. It’s a web and mobile app development company with headquarters in Ukraine. He enjoys writing about technology and digital marketing.