Why Augmented Reality May Become Indispensable in Education 

Augmented Reality (AR) technology is making waves in education and accessibility. Unlike Virtual Reality (VR), which engulfs a user in a totally virtual experience, AR overlays the virtual into the real. As AR improves, innovators are finding ways to use its capabilities to improve learning and to make life more accessible for people with disabilities.  

In education, both objectives matter. In fact, it’s important to design AR education tools that are accessible while also finding tech that works specifically to make day-to-day experiences more accessible. While some tools are already entering the classroom, the possibilities for even more revolutionary tech are approaching viability. Let’s explore some of the ways AR is already influencing learning and accessibility, as well as the use cases that are just beyond the horizon.  

AR in the Classroom Today 

There are many AR classroom tools for tech-savvy instructors. Apps are helping better engage students by merging their world with a virtual one.  

One popular example is Sky Map, which allows a student to scan the sky and identify stars, planets and constellations. Anyone who’s ever looked up at a bright star and wondered what it might be can use the app to find out in seconds.  

Engineering students and professionals can use software like JigSpace to create 3D models of machines or prototypes and view their scale in real space. Meanwhile, anatomy professors can tap into AR to make any room a laboratory.  

The ability to use AR to make learning more interactive is impressive and it’s changing how instructors and students operate. However, each new tool that a professor brings into the classroom needs to be accessible. When it comes to AR, this might mean adding accommodations that can support students who are Deaf, blind or have other disabilities.  

For example, 3D modeling tools that show where and how a design would look or fit in real space rely heavily on the student’s vision. As a result, they could exclude students who are blind or have low vision. The same is true for video content, which professors are using more often in their courses as well. In the case of videos, instructors can make their content more accessible by turning to a professional audio description provider like Verbit.  

When it comes to tools like JigSpace, the technology should be able to offer audio descriptions of where the object is, how it fits and notify the user when it moves within that space. Without these accommodations, AR tools will exclude many students making them less useful and potentially problematic when it comes to adhering to accessibility laws. 

AR tools that are made for accessibility 

While AR tools that improve instruction for all students are an exciting advancement, there are also new devices that use AR to make life more accessible for people with disabilities. This technology will be critical in educational settings and create more opportunities for equitable learning experiences.

Glasses that display captions are one such device that already exists. With these glasses, students who are Deaf or hard of hearing can receive live captions that convert real time speech into text. The ability to communicate better in a classroom and everywhere else will be a game changer for many students.  

Acesight glasses are another device that uses AR to support people with disabilities. These glasses can automatically focus on what the viewer is looking at, and enlarge the object, person or text for the person wearing the glasses. People with severe vision loss can, therefore, watch television, read a computer screen, document and more while using this wearable technology. In the classroom, AR glasses can help students with low vision see the board and demonstrations.  

Another accessibility use case for AR is a tool that identifies accessibility barriers. With a downloadable app called RASSAR, people can scan indoor spaces and find obstacles that could be problematic for people who are blind, wheelchair users and others. For educational institutions, using this technology can help them scan a room after moving seats and furniture for a lecture or event like a graduation ceremony and quickly find issues and potential solutions.  

While AR tools like these can already support students, the development of these is still in the early stages. There are clear possibilities for this tech to achieve so much more.  

Early-stage AR devices and apps that will soon offer support for students 

One impressive prototype device could soon make it possible for people with low vision to play sports like tennis and basketball. ARTennis is a wearable device that finds a tennis ball and points to it using a red dot, making it easier for a person with low vision to track the small, fast-moving ball in real time. The technology could work for other sports as well.  

Currently, the early-stage technology isn’t quite fast enough to allow people to effectively use it for competitive sports. However, the developers think they will soon be able to speed up the processing. For students on college campuses, the ability to compete in sports is often an important part of their campus experience. With tools like ARTennis, more students will be able to take part in these types of activities with equity.  

Another exciting way to use AR is as a real time translation device. Google has been promising this feature for some time, and other companies like Meta and TCL are creating their own early-stage versions of such technology. Soon, people will be able to take courses in a foreign language with either live subtitles in their glasses, or even audio translations. The exciting possibilities of this tech include opening endless international educational opportunities, research collaborations and more.  

AR tech will undoubtably continue to advance so that the devices are less cumbersome and more affordable. Currently, many of these products cost thousands of dollars and are too bulky to be comfortable for everyday use. However, these exciting devices and more accessible AR tools will enter classrooms and campuses in the near future.  

Accessibility partners for educators 

Technology like AR and AI is rapidly changing how educators interact with their students. The fast pace of innovation can create as many challenges as it does opportunities. Finding the right partners can make it easier to navigate these developments and to find the right technological solutions.  

Verbit works with universities worldwide to provide more accessible student experiences. Reach out to learn more about our captioning, transcription, translation and audio description solutions.