Augmented reality and virtual reality can help the classroom become more interactive and immersive. Students today want new experiences, and immersive learning is the perfect solution. Immersive learning is a style that engages students’ senses.
Projectors
Projectors on their surface are a simple technology that has been around for decades. Historically used to project lecture notes or multimedia presentations, these classroom cornerstones can do so much more.
Smartboards
A step beyond interactive projectors is the wide range of “smartboards” being utilized in classrooms.
Some smartboards operate just like a whiteboard, allowing a person to write on them with real or digital markers. Smartboards then surpass their simple whiteboard ancestors by recording what is written or turning a digital marker line into a tangible visual element.
Smart Tables
The sturdier cousin to the smartboard, smart tables are re-orienting information for all ages. These digital displays take information off the wall and put it on tables. Sector leaders like SMART Technologies’ “SMART Table” focus their innovation on making the display sturdier than their wall-mounted cousins and supporting more simultaneous interactions. For example, the table in the video below can handle 40 unique touch points at the same time. It is a perfect fit for a room full of eager young students.
Digital Textbooks
Digital textbooks are becoming more crucial as some schools are cutting back on expensive physical textbooks. Some schools are going beyond adopting a new format for education texts.
In 2009, the state of California began replacing some high-school textbooks with “open-source” digital books. And digital textbook provider Boundless estimates students at half of the United States’ universities have used their free digital textbooks.
Audio enhancements
Audio enhancements refer to a suite of tools from high-quality speakers to wireless microphones. A full system includes easy to wear microphones transmitting an instructor’s voice to speakers in every corner of a classroom. The speakers can also be connected to a multimedia presentation or a person joining the class through a camera in a remote location. With quality speakers distributed around a classroom, each student is able to hear and absorb the information being shared.
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