COVID induced Pandemic has forced learning groups of all ages across the globe to look for alternative studying methods with schools, colleges, universities and other learning institutions remaining shut for long periods. The scenario has changed the way the world looks at education and learning permanently. The ubiquitous use of virtual learning platforms has engaged students all over the world and is here to stay.
Online education has always been viewed as an alternative to traditional learning methods especially to adult and professional groups looking to gain more knowledge and skills. Even though students are readying or have already returned to physical classrooms, the adoption and use of virtual learning modes such as platforms and apps have already made permanent marks.
Online learning stimulated by the Pandemic
The Pandemic has enabled an increased use and availability of a vast range of electronic gadgets to let students integrate themselves with the online learning experience. Several innovative ways of providing students with learning facilities and resources have emerged, letting them attend, engage and successfully complete target curricula content. Synchronous online conferencing tools like Google Meet and Zoom allow students to join global classrooms conducted by experts from any part of the world. Lessons imparted through these media can be recorded and sent to learners to watch and learn at their convenient time.
Other online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Canvas and Blackboard are all allowing teachers to create innovative curriculum based content for learning, training and also skill development. Professionals, teachers and students are already using options like workplace chat and video meets to keep their study material organized with the support of PDF, Word, and Excel files letting them track learning and assessment.
Augmented Reality has give e-learning a personal touch
There has been an emergence of several e-learning tools that have facilitated and augmented flawless learning during the raging Pandemic times helping schools and universities to continue teaching optimally. Perhaps the most significant development in e-learning technology is that of Augmented Reality (AR) apps that make possible hands-on and experiential learning. Virtual labs, virtual field trips, 3D geometric models and more have brought alive learning, and at times even better than the physical class 2D learning!
AR is an immersive technology and bringing it into online education system has already started showing its results with improved learning efficacy. Using AR as an educational tool is proving to be far more effective when it comes to teaching compared to the use of books or even videos. AR can be seamless integrated to build apps to teach the complete spectrum of subjects ranging from math to history, biology and chemistry to geography to quantum physics. The method brings out the “wow” factor in students making it an optimal learning tool.
Some of the benefits in using AR as part of virtual teaching method include:
- Motivated students
- Increased content understanding
- Long-term content memory retention
- Better task performance
- Higher sensory coordination
- Improved collaboration
Future of online learning
With access to the internet being more readily available across the globe, demand for education apps using AR technology is riding the high wave. With the World Health Organization having declared the Pandemic on 30th January 2020, download of educational apps worldwide surged by 90%. From a $107 billion market in 2015, educational app market is expected to be worth $350 billion by 2025.
Online learning platforms and apps are serving learners of all age groups and the existing trend of adults using the method for professional skill development is all set to change to serve younger generations’ mainstream learning in the future.
Today, in an era of increasing technological disruption, continuous learning has become the only way to safeguard jobs in the futures. Many jobs lost during the Pandemic are not likely to return at all! Given the current scenario, education does not end with school or college up calls for continuous upgrading. This has further opened up the scope of virtual education that has further gathered steam during the Pandemic.
Concluding it all
Flipped classrooms are the most feasible and also affordable learning options that provide the best exposure to technologically backed education with loads of options to help deepen understanding. Open and closed discussions with faculty and peers that encourage problem-solving techniques along with critical thinking all aim at self-directed learning among both younger school students and older learning groups. Among the wide range of technologies used to augment online learning that was propelled by the Pandemic restrictions, AR-based apps are fast making their impacts positively in both physical and virtual classrooms.
To know more about AR-based learning apps, contact the experts of Digital Aptech Today!
