As the co-founder of the organization, he develops strategies so that the platform grows towards the ultimate ambition of filling the skill-gap in the market. He directs the organization, sets future targets, and manages day-to-day tasks to ensure success in the long run. Ankit keeps an eye on changing trends and expectations of the aspirants, and companies to make the necessary alterations. Ankit completed B.Tech, Computer Science from Y.M.C.A in 2009. Later, Ankit went to pursue MBA from SCMHRD in 2013.
Today’s educational institutions and the Ed-tech industry are under increased pressure to provide technologically enhanced learning experiences. The education system has to address a more diverse student population who are marked by continuous, and diverse interaction with technology. Smart devices besides their use in entertainment, are extremely popular, particularly among millennials who also use them for educational purposes. Due to the fueling technology, Extended Reality (XR), a newly added term in the world of digital technology incorporates all its descriptive forms which include Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR). As these disruptive technologies have the force to metamorphize other industries, it is also slowly entering the domain of education to offer more personalized educational experiences.
These immersive technologies have the ability to boost learner engagement and motivation, encourage a full student-centred learning experience, support collaboration and situational learning, and facilitate learners to access previously physically inaccessible/invisible content in a much more concrete and tangible manner. According to research by the University of Maryland learners’ retention rates enhance when they use Virtual and Augmented Reality. Learners using VR headsets accomplish recall accuracy rates of 90%, compared to 78 percent when learning on desktop computers. In similar research by the University of Michigan, learners who used VR education for two hours optimized their goal on time by 83 percent.
COVID-19 pandemic accelerated tech adoption as many educational institutions were forced to operate remotely. To adjust to the new normal, many Ed-tech firms see AR and VR as future technologies which are capable of pushing the education market to a new level. As per reports, the total AR/VR market in India is expected to grow at a 38.29 percent CAGR to US$ 14.07 billion by 2027 and the augmented reality (AR) market in education is expected to reach $5.3 billion by 2023. Let’s understand how these technologies will redefine education and promote an in-depth learning experience:
Instantiate normally inaccessible content.
One notable advantage of XR is its ability to create scenarios and learning experiences that are normally inaccessible to learners, or processes that are hard to apprehend by human eyes. Utilizing various techniques such as 3D modeling, simulation, and Visualization, XR can be used to create activities in which students can visualize and interact with dynamic representations of hidden forces. For example, visualizing electrons, magnetic fields, light, or radio waves to make complex concepts visible and understandable to beginners. Similarly, it visualizes abstract concepts and invisible scientific phenomena to assist students in learning thermodynamics. It can even allow students to view the digital solar system and visualize the photosynthesis process, which is normally opaque for humans to observe and monitor.
Augment normally accessible content
In contrast to XR applications, which seek to visualize and allow students to see or experience typically inaccessible knowledge, some applications, particularly MR and AR, seek to enrich and engage normally accessible subject knowledge. For example, an MR system can be used to teach sign language and fingerspelling by allowing students to view sign language and fingerspelling motion in three dimensions as if they were glancing at them in real life.
Additionally, virtual labs are engaging spaces for creating artistic design and conducting simulated experiments based on real-world phenomena. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford Academic staff used VR and AR to teach anatomy and contingency planning to students at Kenya’s Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). The interactive virtual medium enabled health professionals and medical students to visualize three-dimensional organs while receiving real-time feedback from world-class trainers. Participants could zoom in and out of models to look at specific details.
Facilitate exhilarating field trips
By bridging and linking virtual and physical worlds, Virtual Reality allows students to learn by ‘doing’ rather than ‘reading’. Physical field trips, which is a great way of learning, practically necessitate extensive planning and organization, and it can also be costly and dangerous during COVID-19. Field trips, on the other hand, become more affordable, accessible, and participating with AR/VR. Immersive technologies enable travel to remote and difficult-to-reach locations. For example, if a teacher wishes to take his/her students to the museum or see a white Lion on an African game safari, one can easily do so from the comfort of a virtual classroom.
Gamification of learning
Many educational applications use the concept of gamification to make content knowledge more engaging, approachable, fun and simple to understand. Augmented and virtual reality technologies by enabling gamification, not only offer students much-needed autonomy but also create healthy competition among peers. For instance, classmates can engage in a virtual public speaking competition with the help of Virtual Reality tools. Also, gamification activities such as scoring, timed activities, and rewards can help improve motivation, involvement, and learning focus.
There is no doubt that as we move past the pandemic, XR technology will continue to mould a dynamic educational experience. Adequately integrating these technologies into pedagogies will fortify learning-by-doing efforts and, most importantly, provide students with the real-world skills they need to excel in their professions.