Educational Augmented Reality (AR) by PBS Kids

AR that virtual can experience might be happy for an educational teaching material for children using the technology of AR. The teaching material that can be learnt as though it were a game is suitable for the game generation. 

The concept of augmented reality has begun to appear in both computer and mobile apps. The 2011 Horizon Report by New Media Consortium and EDUCASE recently defined this technology nicely, claiming “Augmented reality refers to the layering of information over a view or representation of the normal world, offering users the ability to access place-based information in ways that are compellingly intuitive.” While this technology is exciting in many arenas, it has particular application in the field of education.

Download and Read "2011 Horizon Report" : http://www.slideshare.net/iglassbox/2011-horizon-report-by-nmc

PBS Kids has been an early adopter of augmented reality. On November 14, 2011 PBS Kids announced the launch of its first educational augmented reality app for iPhone and iPod Touch. The press release explained, “Lunch Rush opens a new world of learning by teaching kids ages six to eight math skills, like addition and subtraction, while blending the virtual and real world into a truly engaging experience.”

Augmented reality brings a significant potential to supplement information delivered via computers, mobile devices, video and even the printed book.”

 

The launch of such an app presents a number of exciting opportunities to the field of education. According to the aforementioned 2011 Horizon Report, “Augmented reality brings a significant potential to supplement information delivered via computers, mobile devices, video and even the printed book.”The Lunch Rush app realizes some of this potential in a fun world inhabited by Ruff Ruffman, the star of the hit PBS Kids show “Fetch!”The Lunch Rush app realizes some of this potential in a fun world inhabited by Ruff Ruffman, the star of the hit PBS Kids show “Fetch!”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rINrk5CsW8]

Coming up on World Tech Update this week Intel announces new Core processors, Apple continues to beat Android, Nintendo misses targets on 3DS sales, Google Drive debuts, augmented reality apps help kids learn, two rowers plan to cross the Atlantic with a little help from technology and an MIT robot weaves a web.

PBS Kids AR: http://video.pbs.org/video/2165675189

PBS Kids is not alone in recognizing the educational potential of this technology. For instance, technology journalist Audrey Watters maintains the site Hack Education, which features links to some compelling augmented reality apps. One app named LookBackMaps uses a mobile’s GPS to link to historic photos of the user’s geolocation so they can see what the area looked like in the past.
Augmented reality is a development about to burst onto the main stream of computing. Its uses in practical applications are limited only by the imaginations of clever developers. Continued development such as that accomplished by PBS Kids bodes well for the expansion of augmented reality in higher education and learning in the coming years.