Education Policy, Business and Technology

A new technology is fundamentally changing learning–here’s how

eSchool News: Middle school students across the U.S. are learning how the body works by studying the anatomy of a frog, a vertebrate with an organ system similar to that of humans. But unlike school lab work that uses real specimens or images of a virtual frog on a screen, a new approach to this standard experiment is taking the act of learning to a unique interactive level, thanks to the use of technology known as blended reality.

What is Blended Reality?

Blended reality combines the physical and digital with augmented reality that takes sensory inputs – sounds, scents, sites and haptic or “touch” feedback–to blur the lines between the real and virtual worlds. By replacing a keyboard and mouse with a touch mat and 2D and 3D scanners, blended reality computers enable students to take actual or printed objects and “put” them right into the computer to create a 3D animated image they can rotate and manipulate. In a blended reality lab dissection, for example, students can scan images of individual frog organs and assemble them with the touch of a keystroke–giving them an in-depth understanding of how each part works and how they work together as a system.

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