Augmented Reality in Schools - Changing the Way We View Education

Over the last few days my head has been buzzing with thoughts about a crazy new technology that is floating around. Actually it isn’t that new. It just hasn't yet drawn a lot of attention.

Some of you may have heard of it, or even seen it demonstrated. My daughters took five minutes to create an example using it. The technology is called Augmented Reality (AR for short). It’s happening now and it’s going to change the way we think about education.

Wikipedia describes Augmented Reality as a “live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.”  What does this mean?  Put simply, graphics are being taken out of the computer world and placed directly into the real world via our smart phone or table - enhancing what we see, hear, feel, and smell.  A rich new layer of information is being transposed over the world we experience so we can discover much more about it.

For example, you are sitting in a restaurant and you see something on the menu that you wouldn't mind trying but you’re not sure. You scan your phone or tablet over the meal title on the menu and, in front of you on the table through the screen, you see the meal. Not only that, you can move your phone screen around the meal and see every single item on the plate. There might even be a promotion that pops up to let you know there is a two for one deal going. 

You can see AR in action in this TED talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frrZbq2LpwI&feature=c4-overview&playnext=1&list=TL972QPY3Vmj0

So how does this impact education, and what are the implications for marketing your school? 

From and educational perspective look no further than Paul Hamilton – a leader in bringing AR into the classroom. Paul is changing the way digital content is being delivered in schools and is a leader in the implementation of Augmented Reality in schools to improve learning outcomes. This is happening now! Check it out here: http://www.appsbypaulhamilton.com/#!science-ar-app-/c8o

Secondly, how can AR be used to engage with our school communities more effectively from a marketing and communication perspective? What are the best methods of using this tool to influence prospective parents to want to know more about your school and become a part of your community?

I’m fascinated by where AR will lead schools. What has been your experience?

So, How Would You Describe Your School?

Every day we are bombarded with businesses attempting to manipulate our emotions so we purchase their products. These businesses have defined personalities and distinctive characteristics. Apple is ‘innovative and stylish’ for example.

This weekend I thought I would pose the question “If your school were a person how would you describe them?” This is a great way of simplifying the process when thinking about your school brand. What are the kinds of personality traits that you think best describe your school. Here are a few examples:

Friendly and outgoing

Modern and colourful

Adventurous and creative

Traditional and formal

Take a good, long, honest, hard look at who you are as a school. A simple way of exploring your school’s personality is to ask staff, students, parents, and the broader community to describe your school as if they were talking about a friend or a colleague. And like interactions with people, sometimes a school's actions and personality can be misinterpreted or not understood correctly. You might be surprised at the answers you get.

Once you understand your school’s distinctive personality, then you can start to explore your school’s unique character and begin to find ways of promoting your school’s personality more accurately and effectively. Engaging your community just became a whole lot easier.

Parents do not want to hear from a school that communicates in an impersonal way. They want to feel like they are dealing with a real person.

So, how would you describe your school?