Sarah,
Thank you for your post regarding multimedia and its effectiveness and ineffectiveness in the classroom. You mention, how “nowadays Smartboards are a basic, and there are enough Chromebooks for a minimum of a third of the school. Kids are taught coding starting in kindergarten. When I was an education assistant it was eye opening to see how technology has been interpreted into schools.” I agree how there is more technology entering into the school system and that schools and teachers are absolutely placing more value on tech. Tech, media and online learning is a part of our world and what our learners will be entering into in a few years. Therefore, it is imperative to include these learning systems in the classroom. Not only to prepare them for their futures, but to engage them.
However, that being said, not all schools look like this. In the school I teach at, we are struggling to receive a Smartboard and chrome books are just beginning to show their faces. Budget cuts and the accessibility to internet has us lagging in the realm of technology. It makes me wonder if our learners are losing our because they don’t have the same access to these tools as others.
You speak to this when you mention how, AR “allows students to access the material anywhere with a stable internet connection.” This unfortunately demonstrates how many people are not getting access to these practices and reminds me of my teaching in Africa. When I taught there, there was no internet or technology for that matter in the classrooms. No access to a computer and still only the use of flip phones. Again, the costs and limited resources are inaccessible to certain areas and demographics. These lack of resources are not setting the people who live and learn there up for their futures as well as more accessible places are.
I have never actually used goggles and been in an augmented reality before and I would love the opportunity. I am sure I would also feel sick, but perhaps with time we would adjust like anything?
Finally, I LOVE your idea when you say, “in an AR setting they can almost create a real-life Magic School Bus scenario. The students can be walking with the dinosaurs, or travel to other planets. In a sense this is more hands on than looking at a slide or a black and white photocopied picture on a paper.” This is the point of AR. It lets us connect with our learning and feel part of it. It brings us into our learning through experiencing it in a way we may not have been able to. Imagine that! I would love the chance to wander through space if I had the chance. That is not to say that I would one day want to actually explore space. But until that time, I think AR would satisfy some of my curiosity and spark so much more wonder and joy!
Thanks again for your post Sarah.