Abstract
Education on fine dust is a challenging field, as it must explain abstract phenomena and accompany the demands for behavioral changes. This research studied whether the adoption of augmented reality (AR) technology can effect change in student perspectives with a view to improving the attitudes of passive students regarding fine dust-related matters. With regard to student awareness, 94.0% of students responded that the issue of fine dust in Korea is severe; the higher the degree of interest they had in fine dust, the more severe they perceived the issue to be. On the perceived severity of fine dust in schools, 47.8% viewed it as severe; again, the level differed by the degree of interest. Students (80%) who received a traditional education on fine dust expressed dissatisfaction. The effect of using AR in experiential learning in fine dust environmental education has shown enhanced results compared to before receiving the education, notably in the group with a low degree of interest in fine dust and the group without prior experience in fine dust environmental education. Likewise, in the satisfaction rate for AR-based education on fine dust, 72.5% of participants responded that they had enjoyed the class, 75.9% showed active participation, and 80.0% felt that the content of the education was useful. Considering that the objective of fine dust environmental education is not based on understanding a theory but on maintaining individual health through practice in real life, the use of AR in fine dust environmental education as applied in this study may be interpreted as having a certain level of effect. Additionally, our results demonstrate that the use of AR in classes is effective in arousing students’ interest and inducing participation for better engagement in learning activities, which is, consequently, effective in enhancing the understanding of learning materials by students.
Highlights
The problem of air quality has resurfaced in Korea since the 1980s, and around 2010, as a new environmental problem
While 94.7% of the respondents recognized that the damage caused by the increase in fine dust concentrations is severe, raising awareness of the potential health risks seems necessary, as only 63.4% of respondents felt discomfort or experienced health issues caused by fine dust, whereas 71.9% felt discomfort from restrictions on outdoor activities, 70.5% experienced visual discomfort, and 67.6% experienced psychological discomfort
One study on environmental education using immersive VR (IVR) which focused on the change of marine ecosystems due to the impact of climate change demonstrated that IVR-based experiential learning could help students to learn complex and abstract notions associated with ocean acidification, reinforcing eco-friendly attitudes and strengthening the effect of learning [23]
Summary
The problem of air quality has resurfaced in Korea since the 1980s, and around 2010, as a new environmental problem. Due to the harmful effects of fine dust on the human body, the government has invested considerably in the development of new technologies and the disclosure of information to the public for the enhancement of air quality. Air quality issues in Korea cannot be resolved in a short period of time, as this requires the joint efforts of neighboring countries. According to a survey in 2017 by the Green Consumer Network in Korea, 93.8% of the population were aware of the harmful effects of fine dust, but only four out of 10 people wore masks due to the inconvenience of wearing them and doubts on the performance of their filters. People do not commonly acknowledge the real danger of fine dust or feel the need to tackle the problem [1]
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