The Pointmedia company in Norway are experimenting with new ways to teach children, including using mixed reality (MR) to help them learn more about the solar system.
Jo Jørgen Stordal a MR producer for Pointmedia is the major driving force behind the project, with the cooperation for Stig Halvorsen, who have together written a report containing guidelines on how to use MR to engage children with learning in a new way.
In this experimental science lesson, where children were given the opportunity to see the Solar System in a new way. The students had been studying space and the solar system for some weeks prior to the introduction of the HoloLens technology into the classroom. First, the children listed what they already knew about the solar system, which was written on a whiteboard. Then, some children were given the opportunity to use the HoloLens glasses, while the rest watched the AR projection using an interactive whiteboard.
Teacher Stig Halvorsen believed that his students were more involved with the lesson, and that is facilitated greater curiosity and active student participation.
You can watch a video (with English subtitles) on the Mixed Reality experiment below.
Microsfot’s HoloLens has so far seen a variety of uses, from designing new Operating Rooms in hospitals, to showing off a Red Bull Racing Formula One car, and displaying how a connected city would work. Virtual Reality and AR/MR are seeing increasing uptake in education, as seen with Berkeley UC’s new VR lab.
VRFocus will continue to bring you news on MR/AR/VR use in education.