Snapchat has found another new use for its advancing AR tech, in helping to provide students with more engaging classroom learning opportunities.

Via a new partnership with edtech company Inspirit, Snap’s working to create a range of new AR Lenses to augment STEM learning, which will be implemented by at least 50 schools across the U.S. next year.

As you can see in this example, Snap’s new AR initiative will provide interactive, engaging AR elements to help illustrate key principles, which could have a range of applications across various sectors and subjects.

As per Snap:

“With custom-built Lenses brought into an easy to use mobile application with Camera Kit, Inspirit designed a transformative curriculum that pairs Snap’s AR technology with a comprehensive learning guide, empowering teachers to facilitate dynamic learning and students to achieve their best, whether they’re learning from the classroom or at home.”

Snap further notes that the new approach is driving strong engagement, with 85% of participating students agreeing that the incorporation of AR into their lessons assists with memory and retention.

It’s an interesting use case for Snap’s industry-leading AR tools, which could open up new opportunities for similar partnerships and integrations, providing an alternative avenue for Snap’s AR development.

Earlier this year, Snap launched its new ARES platform, through which it had been aiming to facilitate expanded use of its AR tech in a wider range of third-party applications and processes. But with costs mounting, and ad revenue slowing, Snap announced that it was shutting down the project last month, which suggests that there may not be the demand there that Snap was hoping, at least not at this stage.

This new education initiative would have been one of the projects that fit into the ARES remit, exploring new ways to bring AR tools to a broader range of industries. Snap’s clearly still looking to explore such partnerships, and it’ll be interesting to see if it can form new pathways for AR usage across more sectors.

Either way, it’s a significant move, which as noted, could provide another pathway for Snap’s growth. And as people become more accustomed to AR, that could help Snap to elevate its value in this respect, powering the next stage of digital interaction.   

Snap says that it’s looking to power 25 STEM experiences for over 50 schools across the U.S. in the next year.