Augmented Reality

This "New York Nearest Subway" iphone app can help users find the nearest subway station.
When I watched this video clip, I couldn't help but think about the ways augmented reality could be used in the classroom. In learning about Spain's art history, students can view Picasso's "Guernica" at the front of the classroom, but can then can select from a variety of peripheral options or icons surrounding the painting that provide more information and powerful content about Picasso. For instance, students can select an icon that displays a short video clip about Picasso's upbringing and personal life. Or they can choose a link to Wikipedia that discusses each one of his periods, from the Blue Period to Surrealism. Another icon could bring students on a virtual tour through the Museo Picasso in Barcelona where students can meander through its rooms of Picasso's works, much like a real visitor.
Augmented reality applications transform teaching material: it not only provides opportunity to discover the connected nature of information about a specific subject for students, but it also organizes the material in an easily accessible and convenient way. In other words, it embraces on-the-spot lesson plan changes (which so often happens in teaching), by providing alternative and compelling ways for students to learn almost immediately. Augmented reality enhances the learning experience because all students can access their multiple intelligences, kinesthetically, visually, or orally, thereby acquiring knowledge permanently.