Augmented reality opens the door to fantasies. With AR, you can see what historic buildings looked like 100 years ago, or start drawing objects that you can't imagine in your head – as in the case of SketchAR. This app places virtual images on a paper, wall or canvas and then lets you trace the line of a hologram from your mobile phone or tablet. With the help of artificial intelligence, SketchAR becomes your assistant that helps to figure out how to draw a particular object. This later allows adolescents to bridge the period when they fail to represent things the way they want to.
Another example of the positive effects of augmented reality can be found in an app called Narrator AR. This application encourages children from 3 to 5 years to write words and letters with a pen and paper, and then it uses their writing to play with the words or letters in the AR environment, so the kids might see their words levitating in space, which is both fun and a tool for developing their handwriting.
The great thing about augmented reality is that you can practice your newly acquired skills and knowledge right away. Like with the Arloon Plant app, which let students explore interactive plants to learn about their structure and parts – and students can even watch a plant grow and move in an AR experience. Another app called Moon Phases AR uses 3D visual imagery of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, in order to practice identifying different phases of the moon and understand why these vary, based on location relative to the sun and the Earth – whether they are indoor or outdoor. These are good examples of how AR can reinforce knowledge and make learning more practical.
AR apps are often designated with the aim to get people out of their houses and then get intertwined with other users. Pokemon GO is a typical example of such app. It helps to bring together people with the same interest, to meet in person, not just online. The same applies to educational apps teaching children how to collaborate with fellow students and increase interactivity via new learning tools.
An uncontrolled usage of mobile devices can lead to stress, indecisiveness, and inaction. Even though the main purpose of AR is to enable quick action, using the real-time environment, the massive amount of information from different sources can result in signs of inattention, impulsivity, and poor short-term memory. Another risk lies in the assistance function that some applications may have. “If you don’t train your brain and do not need to remember much, you are slowly losing skills. This can happen with AR as well,” explains the ESET Security Awareness Specialist Ondrej Kubovič.
He also recommends that parents set a time that children can spend playing or trying AR and other apps. "For example, try to agree with your children that they will spend as much time playing games as they spend learning offline. Or that if the weather is nice, they can play in the evening; but, before that, they have to go outside." To learn more about this topic, read an article on parental control.
Because augmented reality technology is known to be addictive, as players remain captive to the game for numerous hours, there are some health issues to be addressed as well. According to Crysberry, the overuse of mobile devices increases the risk of developing issues with fine motor skills, and in turn handwriting skills, as a result of less exposure to traditional play activities, such as blocks, play dough, arts and crafts, and dressing dolls.
Crysberry also warns that AR apps must collect data due to the principles of how the technology works: “AR devices work by capturing and analyzing the real-world environment and then adding extra information over it. The data is gathered not only from the users of AR devices, but also from the people the devices observe through cameras. This can definitely affect people’s privacy.”
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TRY FREE FOR 30 DAYSWhat is one of the most popular gifts for kids? Definitely the PlayStation game console. Gaming can be beneficial to your child’s development, they improve their creativity as well as teach them how to solve problems and make decisions. To enjoy the valuable assets of gaming to the fullest, learn how to set up the system so that it’s secure and runs smoothly.
If your kids liked the Clash of Clans and Clash Royale, they might have fallen in love with another blockbuster from the Supercell game company: the Brawl Stars. The free-to-play real-time strategy for mobile devices has been on the market since 2018, and is still very popular among young players, especially the 9-year-olds to 11-year-olds. Here’s what you should know about the game.
Risk-taking, problem-solving, and decision-making: these are just a few of the benefits video games can have for your children. While there are unquestionable downsides, you would be surprised what skills can be enhanced on virtual playgrounds. So why are video games so often labelled as a time-wasting activity? Let’s focus on the bright side.
