Publish at June 28 2022 Updated July 06 2022
Historians, archaeologists, and other diggers of the past have to go into their research blindly. They have no idea what they will find in the archives or in the earth and piece it together. The general public can then learn more by reading about their studies. Now, as the Quebec comedian Yvon Deschamps said in a famous monologue about television, "We don't want to know what happened, we want to see it!" As a result, museums have become perfect places to show artifacts, skeletons, or recovered texts from the era.
What's more, modern technology makes it easier than ever to replicate animals, people, and places from scientific discoveries. We were already saying in 2021 that the future of institutions would lie in holograms, virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR). This observation has not changed, quite the contrary. More than ever it seems that technology is making its mark not only in museums but in many other tourism contexts as well. The travel industry has embraced it to better inform tourists about places of interest.
The ancient city of Herculaneum provides a tour with smart glasses that revisit the life of the city before a major volcanic eruption in 79 AC. In Scotland, an archaeological site offers visitors the chance to see human habitation from 3,500 years ago with their phones. This type of initiative is multiplying everywhere as much in Martinique as in Corseul to visit the Gallo-Roman temple of Mars. This kind of tool isn't just for delving into ancient history. Even more recent events on a human scale can benefit from augmented reality. In 1971, the Quebec village of Saint-Jean-Vianney was engulfed by a landslide. More than 50 years later, the Arvida History Center has set up an AR ride allowing tourists to see what this living environment was like before the disaster.
The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris suffered a major fire in April 2019. This will not be accessible to the public again until 2024. In the meantime, the curious can access an augmented reality exhibition to review as much the dark hours of that day as the first foundations in 1165. A journey through time in the most famous of Gothic buildings where it is possible to revisit a reenactment of the wedding of Henry IV or the coronation of Napoleon within its walls. In some cases, he doesn't have to travel to immerse himself in the past. Since the fall of 2021, the historic site of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, can be visited from home. Users of the site or app can see the evolution of the buildings and the progress of this great competition temporarily signing the end of conflicts in Greece.
So for history classes, this democratization of augmented reality can be a golden opportunity to engage learners. Some of them have the impression that history is just a series of dates to be learned by heart. However, this human science provides an opportunity to better understand what has gone before and is made up of events, personalities, places and behaviors that are deciphered bit by bit. The place of AR is therefore at the heart of possible activities in courses. Existing apps allow visiting historical monuments without the cost of a fortune and without the need to organize a trip. They offer the opportunity to immerse yourself in time as in the case of Notre-Dame-de-Paris.
It can also acquire a fun aspect. For example, Playful Culture offers children aged 7 to 11 an adventure immersing them in ancient Greece. An interesting approach created, among others, by a mother looking to add a technological educational solution in history. Seeing during containment what was offered, she found that there was a gap in this subject. Thus, this AR app can serve both in the classroom and at home.
In addition, technology will soon allow for more possibilities. Deep Nostalgia is an increasingly accessible technique bringing a face to life in a photo. They blink their eyes and shake their head as a living person would. In this way, teachers could have Martin Luther King reread "I Have a Dream" or ask Julius Caesar what life was like in his day. The prospects seem immense for AR in history.
Photo credit: en.depositphotos.com
References:
Belkadi, Nejiba. "Playful Culture Teaches History Through Augmented Reality." EdTech News. Last updated: March 3, 2022. https://edtechactu.com/digital-learning/playful-culture-enseigne-lhistoire-par-la-realite-augmentee/.
Bourliataux-Lajoinie, Stéphane. "When Technology Invites Itself To The Museum." The Conversation. Last updated March 24, 2022. https://theconversation.com/quand-la-technologie-sinvite-au-musee-178059.
"How Augmented Reality (AR) Is Revolutionizing The Travel Industry." Revfine.com. Last updated: March 10, 2022. https://www.revfine.com/fr/industrie-du-voyage-en-realite-augmentee/.
Desbiens, Chantale. "Un Voyage Dans Le Temps à Saint-Jean-Vianney Grâce à La Réalité Augmentée." Radio-Canada.ca. Last updated September 16, 2021. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1824850/application-mobile-musee-virtuel-jonquiere.
Dinan, Editor. "In Corseul, The Temple Of Mars In Augmented Reality." Actu.fr. Last updated: July 8, 2021. https://actu.fr/bretagne/corseul_22048/a-corseul-le-temple-de-mars-en-realite-augmentee_43244746.html.
Donally, Jaime. "Using Deep Nostalgia in the Classroom." Verizon. Last updated: July 27, 2021. https://www.verizon.com/about/parenting/using-deep-nostalgia-classroom.
Harmange, Albane. "We Tried The Augmented Reality Expo On The Glorious And Tragic History Of Notre-Dame De Paris." LEFIGARO. Last updated April 10, 2022. https://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/nous-avons-essaye-l-expo-en-realite-augmentee-sur-l-histoire-glorieuse-et-tragique-de-notre-dame-de-paris-20220410.
"How to Enhance Your History Lessons with Virtual Reality." ClassVR. Last updated April 5, 2022. https://www.classvr.com/blog/how-to-enhance-your-history-lessons-with-virtual-reality/.
Izard, Michel, and David Salmon. "VIDEO - From Its Construction to Our Days, Notre Dame Reveals Itself In Virtual Reality." TF1 INFO. Last updated: April 21, 2022. https://www.tf1info.fr/high-tech/video-notre-dame-s-immerger-dans-l-histoire-de-la-cathedrale-en-vr-une-experience-impressionnante-2217264.html.
"Playful Culture, History In Augmented Reality." Student.gov. last updated: November 15, 2021. https://www.etudiant.gouv.fr/fr/playful-culture-l-histoire-en-realite-augmentee-2560.
"What Place For Augmented Reality In Teaching History?" Teaching With Digital. Accessed June 25, 2022. https://numeriques.ac-normandie.fr/?Quelle-place-pour-la-realite-augmentee-dans-l-enseignement-de-l-histoire.
"'Uist Unearthed' Augmented Reality App Launched." Archaeology Orkney. Last updated July 21, 2021. https://archaeologyorkney.com/2021/07/21/uist-unearthed-augmented-reality-app-launched/.
"Visit The Cradle Of The Olympic Games As If You Were In Ancient Greece." Radio-Canada.ca. Last updated November 11, 2021. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1839175/berceau-des-jeux-olympiques-olympie-visite-realite-virtuelle-microsoft.
You might also like:
Can Catholicism reinvent itself?
The Roman Catholic Church has been in turmoil for years. Much of this has been due to the scandal of pedophile priests and their protection within the clergy, but this is not the only thorn in its side. Even covid-19 has hurt the institution. Now, can it reinvent itself or is it doomed to disappear?
Leading a course is about bringing it to life
Let's apply the principles of life to compose a course and see what it does to energize the animations
Running while cleaning up the planet
Running is good for your physical health. However, for many people, it can be difficult to get motivated to do it regularly. What if exercise had a greater meaning, like cleaning up the environment? That's why runners are encouraged to take up plogging, an activity that combines running with litter pickup.
What is a good country for the rest of the world?
Environment, economy, equality, health, culture, science, peace, governance, what does each country do for the others? What is their influence on the outside world in relation to their population? This index proposes a ranking of the "good countries" that, politically, do good things for the world among the 169 classified.
What the summer atmosphere brings us... more than ideas
Are you ready to really pick up the phone this summer? We hope so! Because every space is educational and the one that summer brings us is particularly so. The reason is none other than the winning formula of combining fun and playfulness, able to consolidate new information in a learning process in record time when otherwise, in another time of the year, they would have required much more.
