Augmented Reality Learning Environment Research Articles

Arigatō: Effects of Adaptive Guidance On Engagement and Performance in Augmented Reality Learning Environments.

Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience or more specifically "learning through reflection on doing". In this paper, we propose a simulation of these experiences, in Augmented Reality (AR), addressing the problem of language learning. Such systems provide an excellent setting to support "adaptive guidance", in a digital form, within a real environment. Adaptive guidance allows the instructions and learning content to be customised for the individual learner, thus creating a unique learning experience. We developed an adaptive guidance AR system for language learning, we call Arigato (Augmented Reality Instructional ¯ Guidance & Tailored Omniverse), which offers immediate assistance, resources specific to the learner's needs, manipulation of these resources, and relevant feedback. Considering guidance, we employ this prototype to investigate the effect of the amount of guidance (fixed vs. adaptive-amount) and the type of guidance (fixed vs. adaptive-associations) on the engagement and consequently the learning outcomes of language learning in an AR environment. The results for the amount of guidance show that compared to the adaptive-amount, the fixed-amount of guidance group scored better in the immediate and delayed (after 7 days) recall tests. However, this group also invested a significantly higher mental effort to complete the task. The results for the type of guidance show that the adaptive-associations group outperforms the fixed-associations group in the immediate, delayed (after 7 days) recall tests, and learning efficiency. The adaptive-associations group also showed significantly lower mental effort and spent less time to complete the task.

Identifying Learners’ Needs and Design Features in Augmented Reality Application for Learning Mandarin Vocabulary: A Pilot Study

Global communication has become narrower and simpler and resulted to the increased demand of foreign language learning. Due to this, more effort has been taken up especially in tertiary level to further improve learning experience in line with the increasing demand and needs of learners in learning. More suitable digital materials are needed and Augmented Reality (AR) is seen able to be utilized. However, AR uses and how it complies to certain principles of language teaching and learning have become a concern. Therefore, this paper attempts to identify the needs of learners in AR learning environment as well as identifying the features required in the content and design of AR application for Mandarin vocabulary learning. This quantitative research involves 320 purposely selected respondents and utilizes a set of survey questionnaire comprises of three parts. The findings, based on descriptive analysis, show that high majority of learners are very positive about the statements in the questionnaire especially in the design aspects with some exceptions in the perceived ease of use, usefulness and intention of use categories. These findings are useful in providing clearer needs of the learners and design requirements in learning Mandarin vocabulary using AR.

Ten years of augmented reality in education: A meta-analysis of (quasi-) experimental studies to investigate the impact

Augmented reality (AR) continues to show its impact in education. While systematic review and meta-analysis studies have synthesized the evidence of this impact, most of them did not differentiate how AR may foster various learning outcomes to different degrees. In this study, 134 (quasi-)experimental studies on augmented reality (AR) in education from 2012 to 2021 were reviewed to discern the impact of AR on three levels of learning outcomes, namely response, knowledge and skill, and performance. The 134 studies are the data of this study for meta-analysis, which were obtained following the procedure of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis. Moreover, meta-regression was employed to investigate important factors relating to the variation of the impact, including educational level, subject area, treatment duration, and AR affordance. Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that AR technology has benefited all three learning outcomes, with a larger mean effect size on the outcome of performance. Furthermore, the meta-regression results indicate treatment duration as a significant factor likely relating to the variation in the impact of AR in education. Moreover, AR used to support the learning of languages or social studies is likely associated with higher positive learner responses such as learning motivation or attitude than AR used for science learning. The meta-regression result indicated that use of 3-D visualization in AR needs to be carefully designed and evaluated. The implications of using AR to support learning, the design of AR learning environments, and the future direction of research are discussed.

Investigating Academic Performance Using an AR-based Learning Environment with Retrospective Confidence Judgments

Augmented reality (AR) is being used extensively in education in order to improve academic performance. However, everyone might have a different learning capability when they are exposed to an AR environment. Retrospective confidence judgment (RCJ) is a good metacognitive monitoring tool used in a computer-based learning system to make restudy decisions. In this study, we created an AR-based learning environment with RCJ to investigate academic performance. The Microsoft HoloLens provided a realistic AR environment for students to learn engineering content. Group one was the control group learning in class, and group two was learning AR-based content. Group two was divided into two subgroups, the academic performance of within groups was compared with RCJs and without RCJs. The study revealed the advantages of using an AR learn-ing environment to prompt students’ academic performance in the sagittal plane (U = 680, p < 0.05). The findings of this research advance our understanding of human-computer interactions between students and the learning contents in an AR environment with RCJs. Besides, this research provides new guidelines on how to generate more effective engineering learning content in an AR learning environment.

Augmented reality learning environment to aid engineering students in performing practical laboratory experiments in electronics engineering

In an era where technology is being used more and more in daily life, the potential and effective use of technology is becoming increasingly vital in education. Engineering education necessitates the use of technology to assist students in understanding abstract concepts and principles. Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that can be used to create effective and engaging technology-based solutions and instructional materials. This research aims to develop an augmented reality-based learning experience to teach students about electronics engineering concepts and determine the impact of AR intervention on students' academic achievement levels, learning attitudes toward the subject, and individual attitudes toward AR technology. A quasi-experimental research design was used on 107 first-year engineering students who were grouped into control and experimental groups. The control group consisted of 53 students who learned the fundamentals of electronics using existing techniques, while experimental group consisted of 54 students who learned the same subject using an Augmented Reality-based Lab Manual. The experimental outcomes indicate that the experimental group performed better in the post-test and obtained higher academic scores compared to the control group. In addition, AR intervention has a substantial positive effect on students' learning attitudes. The study also found that students' learning attitudes towards electronics courses and their academic achievement have a significant positive relationship. Additionally, there is a correlation between a student's academic achievement and their attitude toward AR technology. As a result, students who studied using AR technology had a more optimistic perspective about the electronics course and AR technology.

Conceptions of Learning Science among Elementary School Students in AR Learning Environment: A Case Study of “The Magic Sound”

Augmented reality (AR) demonstrates great promise in science education. However, students’ conceptions of learning when they learn science using AR are currently unclear. This study aimed to analyze learners’ views and scientific epistemic beliefs on learning science. Eighty-two elementary school students in grades 4–6 participated in a two-week course on the introduction to sound. The intervention adopted inquiry-based learning utilizing three AR software programs that integrated multisensory channels. The data were collected through Cheng’s Conceptions of Learning Science by AR (CLSAR) questionnaire and Learners’ Scientific Epistemic Beliefs (SEB) questionnaire. The results show that students in this study generally had positive conceptions of learning science and a high level of scientific epistemic beliefs. Moreover, gender differences existed in the relationship between CLASR and SEB. This study contributed to the currently unresolved discussion of the impact of demographic differences on students’ learning, indicating that AR can be used to enhance senior students’ learning of science in elementary schools.

Higher Immersive Profiles Improve Learning Outcomes in Augmented Reality Learning Environments

Augmented reality (AR)-based learning environments are argued to foster cognitive and emotional involvement. Immersion has been identified as one of the driving forces that promote learning in technology-based learning environments. This study evaluated the learning effectiveness and immersion appeal of an AR-marker-based learning activity targeted at practicing basic chemistry concepts. Data were collected from a cohort of 124 middle school students in Mexico and analyzed using pretest–posttest comparisons and cluster analysis. The results suggest that students with higher immersive learning profiles achieve better learning outcomes compared with those with lower immersive profiles.

Application and Investigation of Multimedia Design Principles in Augmented Reality Learning Environments

Digital media have changed the way educational instructions are designed. Learning environments addressing different presentation modes, sensory modalities and realities have evolved, with augmented reality (AR) as one of the latest developments in which multiple aspects of all three dimensions can be united. Multimedia learning principles can generally be applied to AR scenarios that combine physical environments and virtual elements, but their AR-specific effectiveness is unclear so far. In the current paper, we describe two studies examining AR-specific occurrences of two basic multimedia learning principles: (1) the spatial contiguity principle with visual learning material, leveraging AR-specific spatiality potentials, and (2) the coherence principle with audiovisual learning material, leveraging AR-specific contextuality potentials. Both studies use video-based implementations of AR experiences combining textual and pictorial representation modes as well as virtual and physical visuals. We examine the effects of integrated and separated visual presentations of virtual and physical elements (study one, N = 80) in addition to the effects of the omission of or the addition of matching or non-matching sounds (study two, N = 130) on cognitive load, task load and knowledge. We find only few significant effects and interesting descriptive results. We discuss the results and the implementations based on theory and make suggestions for future research.

Does Augmented Reality Also Augment Knowledge Acquisition? Augmented Reality Compared to Reading in Learning About the Human Digestive System?

Augmented Reality (AR) has become an emerging educational technology in classroom practice and science education. While most research and contemporary meta-analyses reveal benefits with regard to knowledge acquisition and motivation of Augmented Reality–based learning environments, most of the studies lack a clear and fair control condition. In this research, we compared an AR-based learning environment with a paper-based learning environment for self-directed learning about the human digestive system. In an experiment, we examined the effects of these two conditions for knowledge acquisition, cognitive load, and experience of flow and immersion. Results reveal significantly higher outcomes in favor of the text-based instruction with regard to conceptual domain knowledge and mental representation of the human digestive system and its involved organs. Positive effects of the AR learning environment are limited to a higher experience of immersion.

Mobile Augmented Reality Based on Multimodal Inputs for Experiential Learning

The power of mobile devices has been harnessed as a platform for augmented reality (AR) that has embarked on opportunities to combine more inputs called multimodal inputs. There has been little research into the multimodal inputs that combine emotion, speech and markers in a mobile AR learning environment. This study aims to propose a framework for a mobile AR learning system that incorporates the combination of multimodal inputs, namely emotion, image-based marker and speech in order to determine how such a combination can enhance the learning experience. The proposed framework integrates the multimodal inputs based on the decision tree and develops into a four-phase learning system based on Kolb’s experiential learning model. To evaluate this learning system, 38 students were selected and divided into two groups for an experiment on vocabulary at a primary school. Quantitative findings showed better results concerning learning effectiveness, mental load, engagement, competency and challenge when the three multimodal inputs, speech, marker and emotion, were combined. Therefore, the proposed multimodal framework can be used as a guideline to develop a multimodal based AR application for learning environment by integrating multimodal inputs and Kolb’s experiential learning model.

Mutual Benefits: Interdisciplinary Education of Pre-Service Teachers and HCI Students in VR/AR Learning Environment Design

The successful development and classroom integration of Virtual (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) learning environments requires competencies and content knowledge with respect to media didactics and the respective technologies. The paper discusses a pedagogical concept specifically aiming at the interdisciplinary education of pre-service teachers in collaboration with human-computer interaction students. The students’ overarching goal is the interdisciplinary realization and integration of VR/AR learning environments in teaching and learning concepts. To assist this approach, we developed a specific tutorial guiding the developmental process. We evaluate and validate the effectiveness of the overall pedagogical concept by analyzing the change in attitudes regarding 1) the use of VR/AR for educational purposes and in competencies and content knowledge regarding 2) media didactics and 3) technology. Our results indicate a significant improvement in the knowledge of media didactics and technology. We further report on four STEM learning environments that have been developed during the seminar.

Combining reflections on education for sustainability and digitalization – learning with and about the sustainable use of tablets along an augmented reality learning environment

AbstractVorgestellt wird ein Projekt, das Tablets zum Lerngegenstand im Chemieunterricht macht. Aufbauend auf einer Augmented‐Reality‐Lernumgebung lernen die Schülerinnen und Schüler über die verschiedenen Komponenten eines Tablets und die hierfür wichtigen chemischen Rohstoffe und Technologien. Die Lernumgebung kann im Schulunterricht oder Distanzlernen, aber auch in Verbindung mit einem Besuch im Schülerlabor genutzt werden.

Generative learning strategies do not diminish primary students\u2019 attitudes towards augmented reality

Do generative learning strategies influence the motivational and affective factors of learning with augmented reality? This article explores this highly topical new question in the field of research on educational technology and reports the results of a value-added study that compares two mobile AR learning environments with or without additional learning strategies. A total of 56 primary school students participated and learned with augmented reality (AR) learning materials either in an experimental group or a control group. The experimental group learned with AR and additional learning strategies based on generative learning theory, namely, self-explanation and self-testing. The control group learned only with AR. It was investigated whether the addition of learning strategies would lead to a reduction in positive attitudes towards AR as a learning technology. The experimental group of students showed overall positive attitudes towards AR as a learning technology at approximately the same level as the control group. However, significant differences were found for the skepticism subscale, indicating that learners who learned with both AR and learning strategies were more skeptical about AR as a learning technology than those who learned only with AR. Gender differences were also found for the accessibility subscale, with male participants considering the AR technology to be easier to access outside of the classroom too. The impact of these results on theory and practice as well as further research directions is discussed.

An Augmented Reality Learning Environment for Informal Geoinformatics Education

In this paper, we describe an interactive learning environment for geoinformatics enriched by Augmented Reality (AR) that was designed by researchers and practitioners using a design-based research approach. In total, four AR modules were developed to engage learners physically, cognitively and emotionally in the learning process. AR is thus used not merely as a visualization technology, but also to initiate and scaffold learning activities. To address the known challenges of learning with AR, we designed our learning environment to be used by teams of students. This can counteract the problem of cognitive overload, or frustration due to technical problems. We examined our technological and pedagogical framework in an evaluation with 12 learners. The results show that our design did not lead to cognitive overload; technological aspects, such as usability, were also evaluated positively. However, we also detected possible improvements to our design, such as using AR glasses to free the hands for task completion. Overall, it was shown that AR is a good way to expand traditional learning opportunities with digital ones and to enable holistic learning experiences.

Tracing bodies through liminal blends in a mixed reality learning environment

ABSTRACT While research on embodied learning sheds light on the body’s role during science learning, there is a lack of understanding of how the body is drawn upon in subsequent learning interactions. We seek to understand how the body supports cognition and learning during and after embodiment. We elaborate upon the liminal blends framework (Enyedy, N., Danish, J. A., & DeLiema, D. (2015). Constructing liminal blends in a collaborative augmented-reality learning environment. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 10(1), 7–34.) to understand how many resources are taken up, blended together, and progressively refined towards canonical scientific understanding. By tracing the body, we demonstrate that embodied experiences are never ‘erased.’ Instead, although students find ways to articulate understanding that do not require movement, they nonetheless derive meaning from prior embodied activity. Young children exceed expected grade level understanding in part because their capability as embodied reasoners is privileged for learning. In addition to expanding liminal blends theory, we suggest implications for designing technology-enhanced environments and science learning. Across all audiences, findings suggest the importance of privileging an array of sensemaking resources often excluded from classrooms, and the importance of students mapping multiple representational forms to develop conceptual understanding of science phenomena

Evaluating Usability of Mobile-Based Augmented Reality Learning Environments for Early Childhood

ABSTRACT Adults and kids struggle equally, if they have to focus on a topic at hand for longer durations. However, teaching the latter can be very challenging as they get easily distracted too. Particularly, while using mobile-based Augmented Reality applications for teaching kids, there are associated problems of small screen size, complex functionality and inconsistency. As per the existing literature, there are no clear design principles or guidelines that can be considered while designing and developing mobile AR applications, particularly for kids. This paper presents 23 identified usability principles that are further used to develop an interactive mobile-based AR application for learning basic English. The usability and suitability of the proposed application from users’ perception was established using qualitative and quantitative analysis. Analysis of the students’ behavior and teachers’ interviews substantiates the use of proposed application in classrooms. Thirty pre-schoolers and 12 kindergarten teachers participated in this study. The results showed that the developed ARLE is efficient, effective, and highly usable for the kids. Further, the same identified usability principles can be effectively referred by researchers and developers while developing AR applications for kindergarten kids.

Augmented Reality Learning Environment for Basic Life Support and Defibrillation Training: Usability Study.

BackgroundBasic life support (BLS) is crucial in the emergency response system, as sudden cardiac arrest is still a major cause of death worldwide. Unfortunately, only a minority of victims receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from bystanders. In this context, training could be helpful to save more lives, and technology-enhanced BLS simulation is one possible solution.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of our augmented reality (AR) prototype as a tool for BLS training.MethodsHolo-BLSD is an AR self-instruction training system, in which a standard CPR manikin is “augmented” with an interactive virtual environment that reproduces realistic scenarios. Learners can use natural gestures, body movements, and spoken commands to perform their tasks, with virtual 3D objects anchored to the manikin and the environment. During the experience, users were trained to use the device while being guided through an emergency simulation and, at the end, were asked to complete a survey to assess the feasibility and acceptability of the proposed tool (5-point Likert scale; 1=Strongly Disagree, 5=Strongly Agree).ResultsThe system was rated easy to use (mean 4.00, SD 0.94), and the trainees stated that most people would learn to use it very quickly (mean 4.00, SD 0.89). Voice (mean 4.48, SD 0.87), gaze (mean 4.12, SD 0.97), and gesture interaction (mean 3.84, SD 1.14) were judged positively, although some hand gesture recognition errors reduced the feeling of having the right level of control over the system (mean 3.40, SD 1.04).ConclusionsWe found the Holo-BLSD system to be a feasible and acceptable tool for AR BLS training.

Students’ Context-Specific Epistemic Justifications, Prior Knowledge, Engagement, and Socioscientific Reasoning in a Mobile Augmented Reality Learning Environment

We engaged 47 eighth-grade students in a newly developed learning environment that integrates mobile augmented reality (AR) technology to support students’ learning of nuclear energy use and radiation pollution, a topic related to a socioscientific issue (SSI) that involves complex reasoning considering scientific evidence and multiple perspectives. We employ the partial least squares structural equation modeling to investigate how the students’ context-specific epistemic justification and prior knowledge contributed to their engagement in the learning environment and socioscientific reasoning (SSR) performance after the learning. Data collected include students’ responses to the knowledge pretest that assessed students’ prior knowledge related to the SSI, the pretest survey that measured students’ context-specific epistemic justifications, the Cognitive and Emotional Engagement Survey (CEES) right after the end of the AR activities that measured students’ self-reported cognitive and emotional engagement, and the posttest that measured students’ socioscientific reasoning performance. The results indicate that students’ context-specific epistemic justifications can predict their engagement in the environment, and that prior knowledge and belief in justification by authority can predict students’ SSR performance, but in different directions. The results provide insights into how to support students with different personal characteristics to learn with AR technology about SSI, and contribute to a model of personal epistemology within the environment of integrating AR technology for the learning of SSI.

MantarayAR: Leveraging augmented reality to teach probability and sampling

Drawing from the scholarly literature, it seems that across all levels of education, teachers frequently must assume that students come to them without knowledge of statistics; in essence, instructors start from scratch each time they set out to teach statistics. As such, augmented reality (AR) presents an opportunity to explore ways for students to learn basic statistical reasoning skills authentically and engagingly. This study investigated the impact of an AR learning environment, MantarayAR, on college students' learning outcomes and the perception of collaboration and engagement. The design of this study was a 3 × 2 factorial design that compared and analyzed the performance of students given three types of augmented reality conditions; a high AR experience (with movement throughout a physical space), a low AR experience (without movement throughout a physical space), and no AR experience (2-D images and text), as well as two levels of collaboration (pairs and no pairs). Using the pre-test to categorize students into low or high prior knowledge, students with low prior knowledge assigned to either high or low AR experience had statistically significant higher learning gains than those assigned to a no AR experience. The results suggest that an AR experience was particularly advantageous for students without prior knowledge of statistical reasoning. Also, students in the AR conditions reported a higher perception of engagement as measured than those who did not.

The application of game-based AR learning model in English sentence learning

In recent years, the application of augmented reality (AR) technology has been explored in numerous disciplines. This research focused on English sentence learning and utilized the activity theory as the basis to structure the game-based AR learning model (GBARLM). The aim of the investigation was to describe the model and analyze the following questions: 1) How did the change of teacher’s role influence the effects of English sentence learning in this model? 2) How did the game-based AR learning environment affect English collaborative learning? The subjects of the research were seventy vocational college students. The results of the investigation revealed that the change of teacher’ role has a positive influence on the students' English learning outcomes. The game-based AR learning environment enhanced the effect of the collaborative learning. In addition to that, the change of teacher’ role and the game-based AR learning environment both boosted the learning enthusiasm among students.