In this episode of Ask the Tech Coach, Jeff discusses Augmented Reality with Parker McDonough from Seek Education. If you are a new listener to TeacherCast, we would love to hear from you. Please visit our Contact Page and let us know how we can help you today!

In This Episode ...

Topic 1 - Augmented reality for distance learning
- With many schools not returning in-person this fall, teachers and parents are looking for innovative ways to educate kids.
  - A New York Times study launched this week revealed just 1 in 7 parents said their children will not be returning to school full time this fall.
- One of the most powerful assets a student can have is a quality digital tool set and AR can play a significant role here. AR-based learning is changing the way students receive and retain information. By pairing AR models with the teaching curriculum, it can provide further detail and understanding for students. Many children are visual learners and a 3D model of the Solar System or a human DNA strand is far more interactive and engaging than a picture in a textbook or a slideshow on a screen. In fact, research shows the benefits of immersive technology, such as improved long-term memory retention.
  - Studies have shown a 14% increase in motivation and 31% increase in attention in students when AR is used in learning.
Topic 2 - Seek Education
- Seek Education is a supplemental teaching resource designed to encourage interactive learning through AR. Subscribing to the platform provides access to 1,000+ models across six core subjects in today’s curriculum,including anatomy, art, biology, history and physical science. Teachers can easily add QR codes into teaching materials.
- Seek’s Seek Education platform is currently being utilized by 300 schools across the US as well as schools in a dozen other countries.
- What’s interesting is that this technology is already being used by major brands like Overstock and Nestle to bring their products to life for consumers, and is now being applied in an educational setting.
- While Augmented Reality is a key trend being adopted during the pandemic across several industries, it has been making an impact long before. Beyond the crisis, there have been major barriers to entry for teachers integrating immersive technologies into the classroom. Seek Education launched to enable AR content to be accessible by anyone on any device, no app required - making it a simple, cheap and effective educational tool. Prior to Seek, the vast majority of immersive learning tools required expensive hardware that quickly runs out of style, necessitating more costly upgrading. Seek Education is affordable enough for anybody in the world to access given it’s no commitment low monthly fees.

Topic 3 - Virtual Field Trips
- This week Seek Education launched a new Virtual Field Trips feature: pre-made templates which save parents/teachers time while allowing for seamless integration into any curriculum.
- Field trips can also take on an entirely new meaning as kids from around the world can now visit the Egyptian pyramids, the Lincoln Memorial, or walk through a field of the Terracotta Warriors. With AR, all you have to do is pull out your phone. On the other end of the spectrum, why not have a Magic School Bus experience and “go inside” an atom, a beehive, or a virus, and walk around inside to learn in ways never before possible.
- It’s an effective and cheap solution for helping students retain more information and to stay engaged during the learning process. These experiences promote an experiential environment for learning, allowing students to immediately experience what they are learning about in the classroom, through AR. A teacher can take their students all over the world without ever having to leave the classroom.
  - Check out an example of a trip to explore the pyramids, temples, and art of ancient Egypt here.

About our Guest: Parker McDonough

Parker McDonough is Head of Seek Education, the first online Augmented Reality platform for education, designed to encourage immersive and interactive learning through AR. Parker is passionate about experiential learning and believes that Augmented Reality is the future to a more engaging and effective academic standard. He has a degree in finance from BYU and loves to golf and ski in his free time.

Links of Interest

Website - Seek Education
Instagram - @seekxreducation
Facebook - @seekxrbusiness
Twitter - @SeekXR_Business

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Can Teachers Bring Augmented Reality into a Hybrid Teaching Environment? 21:09 Share

Ask The Tech Coach

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Can Teachers Bring Augmented Reality into a Hybrid Teaching Environment?