Hello and welcome to my blog! It seems that new technologies are popping up every day. Advances in technology have grown exponentially in the past twenty years. Devices that appeared in sci-fi movies in the 50s and 60s are now a part of our everyday lives. As educators, it is our job to integrate these new technologies into our classrooms. One such technology is augmented reality.
The Horizon Report 2011 defines augmented reality as the layering of information over a view or representation of the normal world (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood, 2011). Basically, augmented reality uses computers and other digital devices like iPhones to project images, videos, or sound over a real object.
Some people think augmented reality is very similar to virtual reality, but instead of creating a simulation of reality, augmented reality take a real object or space as the backdrop and incorporates technologies that add contextual information to deepen a person's understanding of the subject. Augmented reality can add digital images, audio commentary, location data, historical context, or other information to a pre-existing object or location in order to make a user's experience more meaningful ("Seven things you," 2005).
Augmented reality is a Web 2.0 technology because it allows people to collaborate and share information. Most A.R. technology is shared using Apps that have been created and shared on databases for the iPhone and other such devices. These Apps are the result of collaboration and networking. Even after Apps and programs using A.R. have been released, people who use them blog and communicate with the creators and the Apps and programs are updated frequently.
Some people think augmented reality is very similar to virtual reality, but instead of creating a simulation of reality, augmented reality take a real object or space as the backdrop and incorporates technologies that add contextual information to deepen a person's understanding of the subject. Augmented reality can add digital images, audio commentary, location data, historical context, or other information to a pre-existing object or location in order to make a user's experience more meaningful ("Seven things you," 2005).
Augmented reality is a Web 2.0 technology because it allows people to collaborate and share information. Most A.R. technology is shared using Apps that have been created and shared on databases for the iPhone and other such devices. These Apps are the result of collaboration and networking. Even after Apps and programs using A.R. have been released, people who use them blog and communicate with the creators and the Apps and programs are updated frequently.
The video below showcases augmented reality:
One of the coolest examples of using augmented reality is a free iPhone app called Streetmuseum that was created by the Museum of London. The app leads people to various locations around London. Once you've arrived at a location, you click a button, and the app overlays a historical photograph over the live video feed of the real world (Zhang, 2010).
Here are some pictures showing this app in action!
