We are excited to announce that Immersive Reader is launching on MERGE Explorer. MERGE transforms learning in the classroom by empowering students to hold virtual objects in the palm of their hands to create active learning experiences. Adding the sense of touch to augmented-reality experiences gives students a deeper connection with their learning and boosts their engagement.

By integrating the Immersive Reader, MERGE Explorer content becomes more accessible for learners of all abilities, helping provide fluid access to content and reading assistance. MERGE Explorer is a creation platform for STEM that features NGSS-aligned content, AR tools and lesson activities.

Check out Leslie Fisher’s talk about the MERGE Cube, its recent additions and integration with Immersive Reader.

For a closer look at how Microsoft schools are leveraging this new learning medium, we travel to Egypt where Microsoft Innovative Educator expert, Omnia Ismail Elsayed, explains how she is using the MERGE Cube to engage students in STEM and beyond at Mansoura College (a Microsoft Showcase School). Students hold the Cube in front of a camera on their device while using MERGE Cube apps, and the Cube is then transformed into 3D objects and scenes.

Omnia says that the sense of touch with the MERGE Cube helps students feel more comfortable and confident in their learning and that she observed an immediate impact on student engagement and expression. This success has inspired Omnia to experiment with new uses for the MERGE Cube across her campus:

  • Social studies: illustrate the before-and-after effects of war, allow students to hold monuments and landmarks using the DiG! app and design tools such as Tinkercad and CoSpaces.
  • Pre-K students: counting, animal sounds and other early developmental skills.
  • Art: visualizing drawings and designs created in tools such as Paint 3D as virtual objects on the MERGE Cube.

Holding an ancient artifact, human heart or the solar system will forever change a student’s experience with STEM—and that is a great place to start to change student outcomes in STEM. To get started with MERGE Cube for education, visit MergeEDU.com/Educators and download a free trial of the award-winning software at TryMerge.com. For questions or more information, tag us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Microsoft Education is thrilled to have MERGE integrate the Immersive Reader to make text and reading accessible to all!