AR and VR can democratise knowledge distribution

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity,” Albert Einstein

The catastrophic effects of Covid-19 have significantly disrupted many aspect of our lives. As we try to adapt to the changes amidst this burgeoning pandemic, our resilience has proved that we can win against any odds.

The pandemic forced to look beyond traditional ways of teaching and learning and conceive innovative ways to deliver education. Many developed and developing countries had already embraced these techniques prior to the pandemic and included augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gamification, mobile apps, and other online platforms at all levels of education.

In India also, many educators and academicians have been advocating to incorporate AR/VR techniques into the mainstream to modernise the curricula and this pandemic has enabled us to expedite digitalisation in educational institutions.

Overcoming language barriers:

Using AR/VR techniques can truly diminish the language barriers as they combine auditory as well as visual learning styles. Visual learning techniques along with the traditional methods make understanding of any subject much easier. The requirement of knowledge of a particular language in understanding the content can be minimised easily. Also, studies show that the use of moving or still visuals while learning can significantly increase the retention power in any individual. Another study suggests that 90% of the information transferred to the brain is visual.

Looking beyond physical classrooms:

Digital media has helped us to reach the farthest corners of the world with a single click. Similarly, it can help connect teachers with their students in the remotest corner of our country irrespective of the physical existence/ accessibility to educational institutions for students. With the power of AR/VR, we can provide the same feeling as being present in a classroom and interacting with teachers face to face.

Modernising curriculum:

The age-old teaching practices have created a disparity in education which can only be removed through digitisation. Incorporating AR/VR and other digital learning technologies into the mainstream curriculum can abolish the rural and urban divide immediately and effectively.

Easier, faster, and interesting learning:

Nowadays, children are more tech-savvy, but at the same time, their attention span is much lesser. The interactive features of these new-age learning techniques help capture and retain the attention of children much easier. These not only make learning easier but also fun and interesting.

In India teaching is not considered to be a lucrative profession and as a result many young jobseekers steer clear of it. However, making AR/VR a part of the training and upskilling of teachers can change the perception of the profession completely and help in attracting young job seekers towards teaching. The benefit of this will be two fold: one this will solve the issue of paucity of the right talent and also address the issues related to unemployment in our country to some extent.

However, we have to admit that challenges still exist when it comes to the availability of technological infrastructure in rural areas and many tribal pockets. Though a significant improvement has been achieved in the last couple of months after the government along with many private organisations came forward to solve various issues related to connectivity and accessibility of modern devices through several initiatives, we still have a long way to go. But the good news is that collectively we are moving in the right direction.

(The author is the founder of a communication technology company)