Dubai is at the heart of advanced technological advancements and innovative digital solutions to modern problems. Across many faculties, Dubai boasts a wide span of technology in the form of robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
The education sector in Dubai is home to a vast array of innovative technological solutions to aid the learning of students from pre-school to university and other higher education settings. In particular, augmented reality has grown in prevalence over recent years, offering an exciting way for students to enhance their learning.
Whether it’s being used to facilitate an exciting history lesson or to offer a striking insight into a scientific experiment, the versatility of augmented reality makes it the ideal tool to develop young minds further in a creative and fun way.
So, how exactly are schools across Dubai using Augmented reality to enhance the educational experience of children? In this article, we will explore what augmented reality is, how it is being used, and the benefits to students.
School for Modern Skills are pioneer for education based on the values of creativity, innovation, and technology. For more information about our school, get in contact with us today.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality works to combine the real world with augmented technology, to create an immersive experience for the user. Essentially, augmented reality (AR), takes augmented digital images and places them in real-world settings.
In essence, augmented reality helps bring objects and scenarios to the user directly where they may otherwise be inaccessible. One good example of AR is its utilization in online retail. For those shopping online for furniture, integrated AR software can allow shoppers to scan their room and place the desired item in their chosen room in a virtual ‘try before you buy’ scenario.
How is Augmented Reality Being Used in Schools?
Across the Dubai curriculum, augmented reality has encompassed many uses in the classroom to help children learn in an exciting manner. The introduction of augmented reality has seen students become inspired and motivated to come into the classroom to learn.
STEM Education
STEM groups together the subjects of science, technology, engineering, and maths. STEM subjects are highly practical and at times require immersive learning to reinforce certain topics and studies. For example, augmented reality can allow students to effectively visualize different components of a science experiment or to virtually view the uses of a piece of modern engineering such as an aircraft or a robot. In particular, augmented reality works well to place inaccessible objects into the classroom for inspection and to further the learning of a specific topic.
Historical Studies
Immersion can be highly advantageous when learning about history. Due to the nature of the topic, it runs the risk of becoming very theory-based. However, through the use of augmented reality, students can be taken back in time to witness historical ruins and events firsthand, therefore, creating a deeper appreciation and understanding for different historical events.
Language Learning
Across Dubai, each curriculum will have different requirements for learning a language. Through the use of augmented reality, students can benefit from a wide range of immersive language lessons that integrate modern teaching methods with immersive, 3D objects and scenarios which help to reinforce newly learned knowledge. In addition, the immersive nature makes the content more engaging for students, creating a deep willingness to learn.
Field Trips
Field trips are a fantastic way for students to witness the subject matter they have been learning in person. In some cases, this is a challenge for both students and teachers due to the cost, time, and logistics of a school trip. For instance, if a class was learning about Australia for a geography project, taking a trip to the country would be expensive and time-consuming.
Through the use of augmented reality, students can be taken on a virtual journey across the country, taking in historic landmarks, experiencing the habitat of native animals, or reliving memorable events. Augmented reality has the power to take you anywhere in the world without stepping foot out of the classroom environment.
Augmented Reality and Children With Special Needs
For children with special educational needs, modern teaching methods can sometimes be non-inclusive and unsuitable. In most cases, SEN pupils require modified learning methods that can be adapted to their specific needs, to ease the process of learning in a school environment.
Augmented reality enhances this experience considerably for students with special educational needs, such as dyslexia, autism, or ADHD. Augmented reality has the ability to be adapted and personalized for each student’s needs, taking them on an individual learning journey that is fair and inclusive.
The Benefits of Using Augmented Reality in the Classroom
Augmented reality has the ability to revolutionize the way students learn from a young age up to higher education. Some of the key benefits of the use of augmented reality in the classroom are:
- Interactive learning- traditional learning methods can often become repetitive and practical for students. Software like augmented reality requires human intervention and interaction, therefore, creating an interactive experience for students, creating more motivation to learn.
- Knowledge retention- whilst learning facts and writing them down can be effective for knowledge retention, learning new skills and knowledge in an innovative way can help students become more engaged across the board, meaning they will absorb and retain more key knowledge.
- Personalized learning- No two students will learn in the same way, hence why it is vital that each student’s needs are met. Augmented reality takes away the need for multiple modified learning methods, with each student’s preferred learning style and method in one place. This offers each student a fair chance of academic success.
- Gamification- in the digital day and age, most young people like to game and consume digital media in their spare time. Augmented reality works to gamify the learning experience through reward and quest-based learning challenges. The game-like nature of the software helps to make it more appealing to young people who are regularly exposed to digital material.
What are the Limitations of Augmented Reality in the Classroom?
Despite the fact that augmented reality offers a wide range of benefits in the classroom, there are some limitations that are important to be aware of. These limitations include the following:
- It can become costly to use with multiple devices required to meet the number requirements
- It can become addictive to children and young people if it is used too frequently
- Potential for data leaks and exposure to inappropriate content
- Teachers may require training to use augmented reality software correctly
In Summary
Augmented reality is an innovative software solution offering creative and immersive ways for students to learn in the classroom. From an immersive language lesson to a fascinating science experiment in a chemistry lesson, augmented reality has the power to capture the minds of students all across the Dubai school circuit.
The use of AR can be extremely beneficial for students, offering motivation through gamification and an increase in knowledge retention overall. However, supervision and monitoring should be required to minimize the risk of addiction and exposure to inappropriate content.
School for Modern Skills
Based in Dubai, School for Modern Skills is a hub for student-centrerd learning based on our deep rooted values of technology, creativity and innovation. In fact, we have received two awards from Edu Teach for our innovative way of teaching.
As well as winning awards for out dedication to our values we pride ourselves on our exceptional facilities which include sports, transportation, medical and safety. We endeavour to make sure each pupil benefits from a wholesome learning journey which is why each student has access to our onsite IHub, robotics programme and the opportunity to learn more about the uses of artificial intelligence.
For more information on our school and what we do, get in contact with us today and take the first step towards academic success for your children.
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