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I’ve been interested in how we might use technology to support learning for a while now, and have had a soft spot for technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). With these technologies and the ubiquity of mobile devices, it’s become easier to develop resources that can be delivered and accessed via a smart phone or tablet. Rather than having to find their way to some onile repository via the web, students can point and click to receive rich resources that can enhance their learning through demonstrating and reinforcing concepts.

Picture by Fraunhofer IDM@NTU

As I work in a medical school there are a range of clinical skills that need to be learned as well as a lot of specialist equipment that needs to be understood. AR applications can provide static or interactive via a mobile device and can relatively easy to develop. While I’ve had a tinker with some of these such as Aurasma and found that there are a wide range of possibilities for developing resources that can be provided through fast and easy access through the application. These may be audio, video, text, or 3D models of artifacts that are accessible at point of need and can provide relevant information in the context of a specific topic.

Quick Response (QR) codes are another way that we can provide access to resources via a marker that leads to further explanation of the item with the QR code on it.

I’m looking to playing learning more with these ideas this year and intend to find ways that provide useful, authentic, and engaging  applications of these technologies to learning and teaching.

I’ve created a new blog site on a new domain where I hope to start creating my identity