The way the world learns is changing. The use of video and the internet have been part of this evolution. Now the urgency is even greater. Adam Smith, founder of Ally XR, has a long history of connecting technology with learning.
This journey started with creating TeacherTube with his brother, an educator. “My brother came to me with the idea of having a platform to upload teacher videos as a professional development tool. I found some open source code and reengineered it,” Smith said.
That small idea caught fire. Soon, it was the YouTube for teachers. “We started getting more and more users. Schools and educators were using technology to enhance experiences. Yet, as the need for digitalization has become urgent, it seems many were unprepared. Smith added, “Infrastructure is the issue and the lack of budget to improve it.”
Taking what he learned from TeacherTube, Smith began a new enterprise, incorporating augmented reality.
“Ally XR was something we started in 2012 when we were working with Staples at TeacherTube. I learned augmented reality through a game builder platform. Now, it’s part of the learning model,” Smith shared.
Now the product is helping many different industries. Smith commented, “With education at heart, we came up with ways to train, collect data, and assess people. It makes sense when training is in hazardous roles. Fire, EMT, and police can use it for virtual, immersive training. It’s safer and less expensive,”
Next up is a project with Major League Baseball. “This was a pre-pandemic issue, but it’s escalated quickly. We’re capturing angles in 360 to provide vantage points like no other. It’s not new. It’s how you implement it,” Smith remarked.
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