Ok, so I know that just mentioning the words “augmented” and “reality” in the context of classrooms and teaching might have many people crying “gimmick!” But hear me out: I think there could be a place for it - and that place might be in science.

The thing is, some scientific concepts are quite tricky to understand, such as how many of the systems within the human body work, and AR can bring them alive.

Sure, you can look at diagrams and pictures and/or watch film clips, but apps that make use of AR can put the computer-generated graphics in a real-world context. This not only makes it more meaningful, it allows you to explore from all angles in a way that 2D can’t.

Take the Anatomy 4D app, for instance. You download and print target posters, which contain images of the different parts of the human body, and then use the app to manipulate and move those body parts, almost as if they were actually in front of you. The Molecules app does a similar thing with, er, molecules, allowing you to manipulate 3D renderings with your fingers.

Star trekking

Moving away from human biology, AR can also be potentially useful when studying space-related topics. SkyView allows you to point your tablet up at the sky and use the camera view to help you identify stars, constellations and lots more things that are to be found up there. Sticking with space, NASA’s Spacecraft 3D app uses AR to allow you to learn about a whole host of different space craft. Similar to other apps, you have to print a target image first and then use it to launch the 3D version.

Talking of printed targets, someone had the idea of putting the target on a T-shirt rather than a sheet of paper, which puts a different spin on things. Virtuali-Tee is an AR T-shirt that, when used with the Curiscope app, brings internal organs to life. Viewing the 3D renderings in place on the human body really does put them into context. Who needs dissection?

I suppose what really catches my interest is when tech can be used in the classroom to do something of value that you couldn’t do otherwise.

While I think the novelty factor could result in a huge temptation to use AR apps for the sake of it, there will no doubt be times when the technology could allow you to show and explain things to your students in such a way that you couldn’t do without it - and there is real value in that.

Claire Lotriet is a teacher at Henwick Primary School in London