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AR, VR, and MR can serve many purposes within lessons. An obvious place for teachers to start might be to simply "hook" students into a lesson. However, with thoughtful lesson planning that might include collaborating with a trusted colleague and coach, teachers can do so much more with these new resources.  AR, VR, and MR can help students: 

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• visualize concepts for better understanding

• experience virtual field trips

• access previously inaccessible concepts

• build global understandings, develop empathy

• dive into authentic learning experiences

• create and share their learning with others through AR, VR, MR

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Consider the following simplistic example of preparing students for a frog dissection. Typically, students might be read a chapter on dissection, watch a short film about the lab, and complete an Anatomy of a Frog worksheet to match a textbook graphic.

Now educators can more effectively prepare students and appeal to a variety of learning styles by asking students to also complete the MERGE EDU "A Frog's Life" Lesson and/or experience the "Froggipedia" app. 

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In this case, the AR experiences serve as simulations to supplement the traditional lesson, more effectively prepare students for the dissection lab, and deepen student understandings of complex living things. These resources might also allow for a simulated dissection experience in labs where there is no budget to order dissection materials.