Started in 2016, PlayShifu is a gaming company that creates innovative Augmented Reality based play experience. It aims to transform the process of Early Learning by merging the physical and digital mediums. With the launch of Shifu series and Orboot, PlayShifu is empowering the young minds with tools to think creatively and stretch their imagination through real world knowledge and interactions.

Technology has transformed every industry and has the power to transform the way we impart knowledge to the next generation. So, says the world. But, how?

The most important years of a child's brain development are the first five years. Apart from critical skills like cognitive and physical, the early years also shape the personality of the child and their social and emotional skills. This is where parents play the most important role in teaching them new language(s) or introducing them to challenging puzzles and quizzes. Once the school years begin, the onus of moulding the young minds is shared equally by teachers. Within the classroom or outside, learning never ceases.

We have various educational tools at our disposal - books, traditional toys and games, digital videos and apps. And, if I may point, all these are disjointed from each other.

Let's throw in Augmented Reality in the bunch and see what happens.

What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality (AR) creates a link between the real and digital world, enhancing our physical world that is overlaid with information. This information could be in any form-digital images, videos or 3D content that is laid on top of real-world objects like a picture, flashcard, signboard among others.

A simple way of implementing AR is to use an app on a smart device that views/scans a real-world object (say a flashcard of a tiger) and manifests a wealth of information over it in real time (a 3D figure of a tiger in its habitat).

The power of AR lies in making a book or a toy interactive and immersive. AR helps in visualizing content inside-out which can be customized to suit the learning needs of every child. This way, learning truly becomes inclusive and flexible, in every sense of the word.

Constant innovation and development taking place in the field have made this revolutionary technology accessible for all. Today, you only need a smart device (smartphones or tablets, even the starting range) and a little awareness.

How can AR change the Way Children Learn
Books are the primary source of learning. They offer valuable content, often written and examined by experts. Let's make books three-dimensional, adaptive, and dynamic through AR.

Scan a diagram or a picture in the book and AR conjures up a 3D figure of the same that you can rotate, poke and study. You can even control the variables and learn the effects of each variable. Bring alive the animals at the kindergarten level to the human anatomy at the higher education level. The application of AR is limitless.

Take, for example, germination. It is very important to read about it in books and do a practical experiment too. Pot a seed and watch it grow from a sapling to a flowering plant. But every child's brain has a unique way of processing the information and grasping the concept. Hence, there's a need to make it interactive with AR.

The power of AR lies in making a book or a toy interactive and immersive. AR helps in visualizing content inside-out which can be customized to suit the learning needs of every child

Give a picture of a plant (an AR marker) to every child and ask them to take care of it digitally. Every day they have to scan the picture and monitor manure, water and sunlight to the digital potted plant and help it grow.

This process of learning ensures instant feedback, visualization and a self-manipulated experience for every child as opposed to the process of role learning and written assessments.

AR can elevate geography beyond boundaries. Use interactive globe and maps of continents and countries to explore cultures, wildlife, landmarks and more.

Include a physics experiment inside the classroom every day. Experience the effect of gravity while walking on the surface of the earth compared to walking on the moon. Even chemistry experiments through AR can help visualize and understand the dynamics that laboratory experiments can't. Use 3D atoms and molecules to explain the chemical interaction and how atoms make bonds or repel other atoms.

There are numerous ways to make education more engaging, experimental and immersive from a child's perspective.

Videos and e-learning curriculum fail to create a self-guided experience for a child at the same level. And, AR has another edge above these resources - motorskill development. AR helps a child to experience vibrant digital content controlled by tactile play. Various forms of digital content like audios, music, videos, 3D figures, and images have been combined to create powerful experiences for children that engage them and open up the avenue of two-way communication, unlike videos and books.

With the goal to take education to the next level, the question remains:

Can AR really change the way children today in schools and at homes?
The shortest answer: Yes & No.

Implementations of AR
It is clear to see that AR holds the potential to revolutionize the way children learn. The technology's application in India is at its nascent stage, with the central government making efforts to introduce it in government schools.

However, many issues need to be addressed before AR can be implemented in classrooms and homes.

While Some Problems are:
• Lack of funds to curate expert-created AR content and affordable smart devices for all in schools. Though, homeschooling would not include this issue, usage of smart devices in schools comes with a host of administrative & financial limitations.
• General lack of awareness about AR & its usage among parents & educators.

• Over-reliance on teachers to educate children.

• Lack of proactive government support. Because just the allocation of funds is not enough. Ensuring proper usage, distribution & availability in remote parts of the nation, are other primary responsibilities of the education ministry.

What we need is proactive, persistent efforts made by all stakeholders to complete the fundamental groundwork and revolutionize learning. All it takes is the first step towards change.