Augmented and Mixed Reality in Higher Education

Explainer Augmented and Mixed Reality in Higher Education

What is augmented reality? example of MR might be the opportunity Augmented reality refers to an for an architect to “test drive” a building interactive experience in which that has yet to be constructed, using MR technology infuses digital information technology to “walk” through its rooms into a user’s perception of the real world. and even take a “tour” of its HVAC system. That input — usually visual or auditory A close cousin of MR, virtual reality — appears essentially seamless to the (VR), can be defined as immersing a user user. Access to this world can be via in an entirely simulated environment. head-mounted or hand-held equipment AR, MR, and VR are sometimes grouped designed specifically for AR, or through under the umbrella term XR, or eXtended a computer monitor, special eyeglasses, reality. gaming devices, or even a smartphone. A simple example of AR might be the How are colleges using augmented projection of numerical data via Google reality and mixed reality for teaching Glass to inform a surgeon of a patient’s and learning? vital signs during a procedure. While applications of AR and MR are still in their infancy, colleges are finding What is mixed reality? more ways to use these tools to support “Mixed reality” takes this technology teaching and learning. In a medical further, blending real and virtual worlds school, for example, an AR projection of in ways through which the physical and a rare surgical procedure can remind a digital worlds can interact. One way to surgical student of some of the nuances think about this difference is that while of that operation. Similarly, AR can show AR essentially creates a virtual overlay medical students what is under the skin, on top of the real world, MR does more to so to speak, as they examine patients integrate virtual objects and input into and can offer a rich lode of information the physical world. Thus, MR takes the — such as test results — to help future user deeper into immersive learning. An medical professionals diagnose and treat

SPONSORED BY: Modern Campus Modern Cloud

Oracle Cloud for Higher Education

Personalize the student experience

Empower lifelong learning

Promote student success

Foster institutional excellence

Become the Modern Campus Your Students Expect

oracle.com/goto/universities or call 1.800.633.0738

VENDOR NOTE: Please use center marks to align page. Job #: 416M_IND00381_MdrnCampusMdrnCld_EDU_8.5x11 PRODUCTION NOTES RELEASED Resize Ref #: M_416M_IND00380_MdrnCampusMdrnCld_EDU_8x10.5 READER LASER% Headline: Modern Campus Modern Cloud 4 /15 Live: 7.875” x 10.375” Trim: 8.5” x 11” 01 2016 Bleed: 8.9” x 11.4” 8.5” x 11” Please examine these publication materials carefully. Any questions regarding the materials, please Fonts: Univers LT Std. 75 Black, 65 Bold, 55 Roman, 45 Light, 67 Bold Condensed, 57 Condensed contact Darci Terlizzi (650) 506-9775 maladies. Researchers at Case Western can help a would-be electrician learn Reserve University have been developing how to work safely but without the risk an AR tool that enables medical students of making a fatal mistake in real life. to watch and study the way blood moves Similarly, simulated lessons supported through the heart, arteries, and veins. by AR and MR can help future firefighters and air traffic controllers learn how to do their jobs in safe environments. Through immersive experiences Another application for AR and MR might be in online education, where using MR, students can “visit” emerging technology has the potential, some say, to help students feel more the solar system, go deep under connected with other learners even the sea to explore the effects of when students are located physically in many different sites. Related technology pollution on oceans, or take a is already being used to improve the experiences of students in satellite 360-degree tour of an ancient classrooms, such as refining realistic Roman town or Egyptian pyramid. projections of images of professors from one facility to another. AR and MR also create learning For students studying art objects and opportunities for students. At Rice historic relics, technologies like AR can University, for example, engineering superimpose encyclopedic collections students developed an AR app that of facts on the item being studied. At incorporates visual, auditory, and the University of British Columbia, for vibration cues to help patients with example, Siobhán McPhee, a professor of Parkinson’s disease overcome a geography, developed an AR-enriched, symptom known as “freezing,” when smartphone-accessible tour focused on legs temporarily fail to follow the brain’s how development of the Canadian Pacific command to walk. Students at the Railway in the late 19th century created University of Illinois developed an app social and economic changes that helped that adds an AR experience for users shape Vancouver’s historic Chinatown exploring menu items at local restaurants. and downtown Eastside neighborhoods. A similar app at Pennsylvania State Are there applications of augmented University helps students study the and mixed reality for administrative construction of the university’s iconic purposes? Obelisk, a 53.4-ton stone tower originally Some colleges are starting to use AR built in 1896 to showcase regional rocks and MR technologies in their marketing. and minerals. Savannah College of Art and Design sent Through immersive experiences Google Cardboard headsets to 30,000 using MR, students can “visit” the solar accepted students who could then take system, go deep under the sea to explore VR tours of SCAD’s multiple campuses. the effects of pollution on oceans, or take The college also embellished its course a 360-degree tour of an ancient Roman catalog with AR features like videos and town or Egyptian pyramid. Also helpful animations. At American University, for students in trade schools, AR and MR visitors who point their phones at certain

augmented and mixed reality in higher education 3 posters on campus open AR applications they raise ethical questions about the that let them explore student life, “visit” responsibilities of those who provide the a class, or even watch a basketball game. experiences. California State Polytechnic University at Pomona developed an AR campus tour What might the future bring? that highlights the institution’s history. As AR and MR technology gets more In addition, colleges may one sophisticated, as the hardware becomes day take a page from the playbook of less cumbersome and costs come down, charities that are using MR to enhance and as more users become acculturated their reports to donors on the impact to their use, applications for AR and MR of their contributions, with immersive will presumably proliferate in higher experiences that deepen the emotional education. AR and MR will likely move impact of the story being told. from their current status as something of a novelty to become integrated more What concerns do augmented and mixed fully — and broadly — across academic reality raise in higher education? programs. While some skeptics question Like any new technology, AR and whether AR and MR will live up to their MR require staff time for the exploration hype, other experts are more sanguine; of what possibilities the tools offer, after one education-research company projects which staff need training to learn how that some 60 percent of colleges will be to use the technologies. While prices are using VR in some capacity by 2021. starting to fall, some tools for using AR The use of AR and MR will likely and MR can be expensive to purchase, also expand in college administration. house, maintain, and keep secure. Beyond use in marketing and Facilities may need to be renovated to recruitment, institutions are beginning accommodate the use of AR and MR. to explore potential applications of these Faculty may be reluctant to adopt AR and technologies to help donors, legislators, MR in their pedagogy. Research on the and potential corporate partners gain a effectiveness of AR and MR for learners better sense of an institution’s activities is only beginning to be developed and and goals. MR could show a potential industry standards are inconsistent. As donor what a new building might look with many technologies, AR and MR raise like with much greater detail than an issues about whether the data they might architectural rendering. Similarly, AR generate or store could threaten student and MR may become indispensable for privacy and their rights to have personal facilities planning and development. data kept secure. These technologies may one day become Concerns have also been raised that common in many campus business some AR and MR experiences may be so offices, perhaps in applications that have intensely emotional or disturbing that yet to be invented.

Augmented and Mixed Reality in Higher Education was written by Stephen Pelletier. The Chronicle is fully responsible for the editorial content. ©2018 by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced without prior written permission of The Chronicle. For permission requests, contact us at [email protected]. augmented and mixed reality in higher education 4