
As educational technology innovations advance, a new world of possibilities in education has opened up. Although augmented reality in education might have sounded like science fiction twenty years ago, today it’s very real – and it can be a game-changer.
If you’re new to augmented reality in the world of education, you might wonder how exactly it works. What would your classroom look like if you implemented augmented reality learning today?
Read on to learn about how augmented reality has been successfully implemented in classrooms – and how it could help your learners today.
Table of contents
What is Augmented Reality in Education?

Augmented reality is related to virtual reality, but they’re not the same thing.
In virtual reality (or VR), you’re looking at a completely virtual environment. In augmented reality (or AR), there are virtual elements added to your real environment.
Let’s take an example in education. Virtual reality would allow you to walk into the Roman Colosseum as it appeared during the Roman Empire. Augmented reality would allow you to virtually hold an ancient Roman sword in your hand, while everything else around you is real.
The way it works is simple. You’ll need to wear a virtual reality headset. With ClassVR, you can then use a ARCube to put virtual objects in the palm of your hand.
AR in Schools
As you can imagine, augmented reality helps make learning subject matter real for students. It allows students to touch and manipulate objects that would normally be impossible for a school to access – such as the solar system or an atom. AR provides an interactive form of learning, making it far more engaging. This promotes a more active, experiential type of learning experience.
Young learners often struggle to understand conceptual ideas. By projecting 3D models in AR it enables students to observe and interact with models differently compared to just viewing them on a screen. AR allows scaled models such as atoms, cells, molecules, planets, and much more to be held in the palm of your hand. Things that are either to small or too large otherwise. AR promotes engagement and participation of students, which is a vital process in learning".
@Rocco_Avantis - Educational Specialist, Avantis Education
Examples of Augmented Reality in Classrooms

Augmented reality can be used in a wide variety of disciplines and contexts to boost learning. Here, we explore a three exciting case studies…
1.Enriching media design with augmented reality
In a media design classroom in Māngere, Auckland’s Bader Intermediate School, augmented reality is used in sync with 3D printing and other technologies as students turn their learning into real physical objects.
This approach allowed students’ creativity and technological skills to flourish. When augmented reality is coupled with 3D printing, students can potentially create a virtual object that they can handle and examine, then 3D print it so that it exists in the real world. And that process is incredibly engaging, too, since it puts students in control of the creative process.
Dubai British School Jumeirah Park has used augmented reality in a similar way. Students create 3D objects in Tinkercad, then use augmented reality to check their models and evaluate them before printing them using a 3D printer.
2. Making science real in STEM labs
STEM labs are places where students can enjoy a more project-based, interactive learning experience. In STEM labs, activities might relate to one or more of the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).
Montgomery Public Schools have implemented virtual reality and augmented reality in their STEM labs – with great results. Engagement increased, with students excited by the concepts they’d encountered via their VR headsets.
What types of activities can students do with AR learning tools in a STEM lab? In addition to the design and technology activities we’ve already mentioned, students can use AR to hold and manipulate objects from science and engineering such as a human heart, a molecule or a car engine.
Colegio Escolapios Soria in Spain also reports amazing engagement from students who’ve enjoyed VR and AR in their science lessons, such as holding a model of a volcano in their hands.
3.Boosting engagement and excitement for all students
Episcopal School of Baton Rouge found that their student engagement got a massive boost from ClassVR’s VR and AR learning tools. Whatever the subject, the presence of augmented reality objects could transform the mundane into something amazing. In a drama lesson, students wielded the legendary sword Excalibur. In a music lesson, students held and examined virtual models of musical instruments. These are objects that the school couldn’t or wouldn’t want to purchase for just one lesson – but with AR, they become accessible to students.
Technological Requirements and Implementation

While virtual reality is a sophisticated technology, it doesn’t have to be difficult to implement in your classroom.
For augmented reality learning with ClassVR, you’ll need sets of VR goggles. Those are the basics. But you can build on those further by using AR together with other apps or devices. We’ve already mentioned Tinkercad and 3D printers as other technologies that go great with AR. You might also go for CoSpaces, which lets students create AR objects that can then be explored.
One potential hindrance with these technologies arose during the height of the Covid pandemic. At that time, VR and AR were transformative – students could enjoy new experiences while activities like field trips weren’t possible. However, teachers were also aware that germs could be transmitted when students were sharing VR technology objects. Fortunately, ClassVR’s VR goggle carts come with UV cleaning technology to help ensure it’s just the headsets that are shared among kids, not the microorganisms.
Impact on Student Learning and Engagement

One response you’ll see from the implementation of ClassVR’s AR and VR learning is that student engagement rises massively. As an IT technician at Katherine Warington School in England put it:
“The amount of engagement we've had has just been absolutely amazing. … Seeing students actually experiencing VR and hearing their reactions, it's an amazing feeling because you know they're going to be excited for the lesson. They're going to get involved, they’re going to be engaged. It's had such a good impact!”
An article from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a global think tank, likewise noted the ability of VR and AR to enhance engagement. The article also noted that VR and AR offer other benefits including the “ability to share information in new and engaging ways, and potential to offer virtual experiences that can mitigate barriers from cost or distance.”
Even better, VR and AR can change a classroom’s entire paradigm of learning. These educational technology innovations support interactive learning rather than passive learning. As we’ve discussed, they’re also a great part of interdisciplinary STEM labs.
Future Prospects of Augmented Reality in Education
So, where could AR go next?
As more schools develop STEM labs, smart classrooms, digital classrooms and more, augmented reality could be a part of a movement to transform learning. When classroom spaces stretch into the digital realm, AR educational technology innovations could become ever more valuable in bridging the gap between the virtual and the real – and making the virtual become real.
Moreover, ClassVR’s database of VR and AR content continues to grow. This will make it easier for schools to integrate augmented reality into all kinds of lessons. In fact, when students and teachers create their own AR content, we could find an increasingly collaborative pool of AR learning content.
Lastly, as computers and technology skills become more and more important in our digital world, we could see AR increasingly used in children’s coding classes, as EdTech magazine describes.
However the future will use AR, it’s clear now that augmented reality has the potential to transform the education landscape. The possibilities are limitless! We hope the examples we’ve provided will be helpful to educators looking to enrich their classrooms with augmented reality learning. If you’re interested in learning more about augmented reality, take a look at the types of AR content available to you right now. We’ve got augmented reality resources for a wide range of topic areas and student ages – and our library is growing all the time.