“Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”, according to Marc Prensky. In order to avoid drowning in a world of information overload where technology is ubiquitous, the younger generation has adapted itself. Youngsters today have learned how to cope with this amount of information in a different way than any other generation before them.

Classical teaching methods no longer connect to the way our today’s younger generation thinks. This has led to a significant search for alternative ways of transferring knowledge, skills and attitudes. In this study we examine the possibilities Augmented Reality could offer in this educational context.

Teachers from secondary education are closely involved in the research and the design stage. The so called “Augmented Reality toolkit” that is a result of this user-centered iterative design process, demonstrates the potential of the concept, which can be used in a classroom situation. The toolkit can contain various kinds of educational content, but in order to demonstrate the prototype, we have chosen “history” as the subject matter.

Prior to the development of the toolkit we examine a number of Augmented Reality technologies and software packages, to find the most suitable solution for this project. Examples of these are ARToolkit, FLARManager and plugins for Quest3D software. In addition, an understanding of the innovative pedagogical model of exploratory learning in small groups is provided. Based on the outcome of this research a prototype is developed.

The end result is an Augmented Reality toolkit prototype, which shows the potential of this technology. Further research is needed to investigate if the concept contributes in a sufficient manner to the innovative pedagogical learning model. Perhaps the Augmented Reality concept will bring about a revolution in education, just like the blackboard once did.