General

Augmented reality relies heavily on mobile computing, and sophisticated display devices. While laptops are now quite commonplace, the rest of the system may be quite complex and in many cases, customized.  These elements are expensive, and for most purposes, not easily accessible to the general population as of yet. The Horizon report in both 2005 and 2006 suggested that AR would be commonplace by 2008, but that is still not the case, perhaps because of the technical requirements. 

Using AR also requires that useful applications are developed. The effort to develop objects and displays in AR requires much time and effort, and this may limit the rate of diffusion of this technology, particularly to the general population and education community.  

Concerns for Education

• Cost Issues: The current costs of the elements of an augmented reality system are one drawback for educational use. The costs and ease of use of the systems are drastically improving however, making AR a possibility for those early adopters who would like to try it in their classrooms. This is particularly true of the stationary systems, requiring only a PC and display devices.

• Styles/Type of learning: There are conflicting views as to whether AR supports collaborative learning or not. Some perspectives suggest AR is more suited to individual experience and learning (Educause, nd), while others perceive it to allow a much more natural flow of conversational interaction because students can gather fully around a virtual object, and still be in eye contact with each other. This is opposed to a typical computer lab experience where each student is required to  focus on their own screens. The differing opinions may be based on differing perspectives of use - one considering a mobile use while the other a more stationary application such as viewing a virtual object like an AR book or geology model. 

Final Assessment at this time 

While there are boundless directions for potential valuable educational uses of AR; ensuring that it is used with appropriate pedagogical intent and direction will be important. The technology provides impressive and "flashy" products, and educators will need to be aware of the true learning opportunities underlying the entertainment of AR. (Educause, nd)

As a next step in exploring this wiki, we recomment viewing the page: "Implications for Teaching and Learning"