Factors Affecting the Adoption of Augmented Reality as Pedagogical Tools in Higher Education During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Advanced digital technology has produced modern visual technology tools named Augmented Reality (ART), which can integrate virtual reality objects within the real environment. Current studies have proven that AR technologies can enhance teaching and learning practices in higher education. While university learners have become more digitally savvy to support their learning, this is not the case with many faculty members using technology to enhance their teaching practice. The factors that can affect academic staff to use of ART as pedagogical tools are still unclear. this study aims to investigate the potential factors that can influence academic members' decision to adopt ART to support students learning, using the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB) model as a theoretical framework. A survey was conducted, and 851 usable responses from participants were received in total. Additional results indicated that most of the potential factors can have a strong influence on faculty members' behaviour to use ART. The research model fitted the data and supported most hypotheses. Thus, these factors are crucial for universities to integrate ART to enhance the educational environment. Keywords: Augmented Reality, teaching and learning, pandemic period.