The changes in many industries and systems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have also affected the perception of traditional settings in these systems. If we apply this to the field of education, we get an already established phrase – the new normal. A more accurate translation would be that the time has come to say goodbye to the traditional classroom.  And when we say classroom, we mean it both literally and figuratively. In a literal sense, existing classrooms should be physically remodelled and "classrooms" should also be found in new locations. The teaching process needs to be redefined - both in terms of learning and teaching.

Exactly two years ago, when there was a need to quickly moving the learning process to a virtual environment, the biggest challenge and therefore number one on the priority on the list was the ability to use digital technologies for both learners and teachers and trainers. Just 6 months into the pandemic, everyone knew how to use Zoom, Google Classroom or Google Meet, MS Teams and other video conferencing platforms.  For business, this was fine - everyone learned very quickly how to create a meeting link, how to grant access to invited participants, how to use chat and how to share a "whiteboard". In the world of education, however, this was a new challenge. Both teachers and students quickly realised that this rapid change did not simply mean a switch from the physical to the virtual environment.  Indeed, it was obvious that the nature of presentation, interaction and testing in the virtual environment needed to be redefined. Educators and teachers need the skills to design the content of courses and training that will certainly include online elements in a combined, hybrid form even in the post-COVID-19 era (which we are hopefully beginning to notice) or, on the other hand, will still take place entirely in online format.

With this in mind, it is good to observe the trend of the rise of a particular technology in many industries and, of course, in the field of education and training. We are in fact talking about several technologies that have a common basic function, namely to "model" or "augment" reality. This would be an attempt to translate the English phrase "Extended reality". The abbreviation used for this type of technology is XR. This term, extended reality, covers the following technologies that combine objects from the real world - reality - with computer-generated content in different ways:

1. Virtual Reality VR,

2. Mixed Reality MR and

3. Augmented Reality AR.

Virtual reality technology allows us to fully immerse ourselves in the world of computer-generated content with the help of VR goggles, which have only recently become available. In the world of virtual reality, we can move objects, ask questions to virtual characters, interrupt them, and so on. The technology therefore enables interactivity.

A technology that mixes two realities - the virtual and the physical - enables the visualization of generated content in a specific physical reality. Suppose we "design" the drum and the sticks using certain devices. With actual movements, we "hit" the sticks on the "drum" and hear the music we produce. This is an example that Bernard Marr describes in the article "The important difference between augmented reality and mixed reality" in his blog Bernard Marr&Co. This technology enables a certain degree of interactivity.

And the technology, Augmented reality, which we could explain as "expanded" reality, is currently the most interesting technology for the education and training sector.  This technology "adds" content to the actual physical space in which the user is located, thus "augmenting" the physical reality. It therefore consists of 75% of the given physical space and 25% of virtual content that is added to the real content in the given space.

How does this technology work?

As far as hardware is concerned, a mobile phone may suffice. There are also AR (Augmented Reality) glasses, but we can just use a mobile phone or a tablet.  It is necessary to install one of the AR applications on our device and point the device at a part of our environment about which we want to obtain additional data or which we want to see in a different context. In concrete terms, this means that with the application installed on our mobile phone we can, for example, move around the city, point the phone at certain buildings and obtain information about the name of the building, its contents, the year of construction, architectural features, objects in the surrounding area, etc. Due to the simplicity of the application, this technology is experiencing a real boom in many areas.

In the world of education, the possibilities are enormous. Above all, however, this technology enables a more interactive learning process, as it takes place in real time and in the environment that the user observes via the camera of their mobile device.  Human memory absorbs and remembers visual content more easily. Teachers are able to demonstrate virtual examples of concepts. This is already being used in various vocational training courses – for example, cooking food, giving an injection or even flying an aircraft.

This technology allows teachers to integrate elements of gamification, which in turn contributes to the interactivity of the teaching process and greater student motivation. These applications can support existing teaching tools. They make it possible to create a dynamic and effective educational context with the help of various technological solutions that act on students through different media (images, language technologies, etc.). The concept of learning with the help of AR applications is able to activate significant data acquisition capabilities in the human brain. All this makes it possible to improve the user's ability to cooperate and work in a team.

From the 200 million users that AR applications had in 2015, enormous growth is predicted to up to 2.4 billion users by the end of 2023.

Sources used:

Augmented Reality In Education: A Staggering Insight Into The Future by Shweta Sinha https://elearningindustry.com/augmented-reality-in-education-staggering-insight-into-future

AUGMENTED REALITY IN EDUCATION: THE HOTTEST EDTECH TREND AND HOW TO APPLY IT TO YOUR BUSINESS by Alexey Chalimov, CEO at Eastern Peak https://easternpeak.com/blog/augmented-reality-in-education-the-hottest-edtech-trend-and-how-to-apply-it-to-your-business/

Augmented Reality in Education: Interactive Classrooms by Maryville University https://online.maryville.edu/blog/augmented-reality-in-education/