Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10326-w

Augmented reality (AR) as a learning material

in special needs education

Hasan Köse 1 & Nevin Güner-Yildiz 2

Received: 6 August 2020 / Accepted: 4 September 2020 / Published online: 23 September 2020
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020

Abstract
In this study, general information about augmented reality (AR) technology is given to
be a resource for special education researchers and teachers who are interested in using
AR as a learning/teaching material. Additionally, the researches that use AR as a
learning material in the education of individuals with special needs are examined and
the findings obtained are revealed. In the education of individuals with special needs,
19 articles published between 2013 and 2019, addressing the use of AR as learning
material, and meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed using descriptive content
analysis in terms of general characteristics. Also, the properties of AR contents and
development environments were examined in detail. The findings of the researches
indicate that the use of AR as a learning material gives positive results in the education
of individuals with special needs. AR contents are mostly used to support effective
teaching strategies. In most research, portable devices such as smartphones and tablets
are used to show AR content to students. AR content, which is used as a learning
material, has often been developed specifically for research purposes. Also, AR content
development environments used in the researches are introduced and suggestions were
made about different applications, software development environments, and hardware
that can be used in the education of individuals with special needs.

Keywords Augmented reality . Special needs education . Individuals with special needs .
Technology-assisted instruction . Assistive technologies

* Hasan Köse
[email protected]; [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000–0002–0923–3711

Nevin Güner-Yildiz
[email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000–0002–9135–6429
1
Department of Special Education, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Sümer Mh., Çoruh Sk. No:39/
4, 26140 Odunpazarı, Eskişehir, Turkey
2
Department of Special Education, Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Büyükdere Mah. Prof. Dr.
Nabi AVCI Bulvarı No: 4, 26040, Odunpazarı, Eskişehir, Turkey
1922 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

1 Introduction

The advances in technology generate radical transformations in the lives of societies.

As a natural result of these transformations, our teaching approaches change, and our
traditional teaching environments are becoming more and more supported by assistive
technologies. Augmented reality (AR) is one of the technologies that has gained
popularity in the field of education in recent years (Lin & Chang, 2015). AR can be
defined as a technique that links digital information with the real world by placing
digital content such as computer-generated text, images, audio, and video on the image
of the real/physical world that the individuals see around them. AR seamlessly overlaps
the physical environment in the user’s surrounding and computer-made digital content
to convert it into a single consistent perception and allows the user to interact with it
simultaneously (Grubert et al., 2017). Besides, a person can magnify, shrink, or rotate a
digital object that he/she sees or move it around to see it from different perspectives.
Although it mostly uses images, AR is not just an imaging technology. AR environ-
ments can provide stimuli that appeal to all senses of the users. Also, the image of a real
object can be removed with AR (Diminished Reality) (Azuma et al., 2001).
The idea of AR, which entered our lives with the science fiction TV series StarTrek
in 1966, was first brought to life in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland and his students at Harvard
University and Utah University (Grubert et al., 2017). The system developed by
Sutherland was a prototype with a head-mounted display with a see-through screen
that added simple computer drawings on real-world images. Sutherland’s work is
considered to be the first example of both AR and VR. The term AR was first used
in 1992 in an experimental study conducted by researchers Tom Caudell and David
Mizell at Boeing to help employees assemble complex cable harnesses. Caudell and
Mizell defined AR as the superimposition of computer-made virtual materials and real-
world images (Arth et al., 2015). However, despite the major transformations in
information technology, the basic components (display, markers, computer, and digital
content) that are necessary to develop an AR system have remained the same since
Sutherland’s prototype (Feiner, 2002).

1.1 How augmented reality works

Today, computers search for the presence of a previously determined marker in the
environment for AR by analyzing the images obtained from the camera. This marker
can be a picture, text, barcode-QR code, or camera image of an object. When it catches
the marker, it starts to play the digital information (text, picture, video, animation,
audio, 3D model) paired with this marker on the real environment image (Cakir &
Korkmaz, 2018). In some AR applications, contents are triggered according to the
user’s location information instead of markers. User’s direction of movement, position,
or to what angle and in what direction the user turns his/her head can be determined
with the help of sensors such as GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope or compass. When the
user is at a certain position or looks in a certain direction, the digital stimuli paired with
the position are presented to him/her (Grubert et al., 2017).
In AR systems, phones, tablets, computer screens or projectors can be used as well
as transparent panels to display real environment images and digital information to the
user. The user sees the augmented content through a transparent display instead of a
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1923

computer screen in AR applications; examples to this are the pilot’s field of view
(Head-Up Displays) in aviation or view from automobile glasses. Transparent display
AR is also used in AR glasses/headgear (etc. Magic Leap One, Microsoft HoloLens,
Meta AR, Google Glass), which are wearable technologies and developed for more
general purposes (Iftene & Trandabăț, 2018). Users can interact with AR applications
through various sensors, buttons, touchpads, microphones, or motion detection systems
such as Kinect (Casas et al., 2012; Kelley et al., 2016; Lin & Chang, 2015).

1.2 The difference between augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)

According to some researchers, AR is a type of virtual reality (VR) (Aziz et al., 2012).
There are also opinions in the literature that argue the opposite, stating that AR is a
higher term that includes VR (Bimber & Raskar, 2005). What is certain is that AR and
VR are two related concepts that use similar hardware (Feiner, 2002). Therefore,
mentioning the concept of VR while explaining AR was thought to be useful in this
study. VR is defined as the simulation of a real or imaginary environment created from
computer-generated three-dimensional graphics (Fridhi et al., 2018). In the simulation
environment called VR, the person sees a virtual image around him instead of the real
world. In other words, the person is fully surrounded by digital images. Some VR
applications can make the users feel as if they were completely in a virtual environment
by using touch and motion sensors, various control devices, or surrounding screens
(Bhatt et al., 2014).
AR-type simulation environments aim to add virtual stimuli to the real image and
make it more enhanced (augmented) for the user instead of replacing the real image
with fully digitized images. The main difference between the two is that while the
whole environment that the person sees around in VR is virtual, the environment that
the person sees around in AR is real and that just some virtual content was added to this
real environment by the computer. In this respect, AR content is more concrete than the
content in VR which is a fully synthetic environment (Casas et al., 2012). Therefore,
the potential of AR to connect with the real environment is much higher than VR or
other types of virtual environments (Bimber & Raskar, 2005).

1.3 Areas using augmented reality

In today’s world, millions of people use portable devices such as smartphones, tablets,
etc. with developed camera systems and various sensors such as GPS, accelerometer,
and gyroscope (Escobedo et al., 2014). Besides, AR related software is increasing day
by day and there is a lot of content on the internet.
AR, which has attracted people’s attention in recent years, is an easy-to-understand
and easy-to-use technology and has the potential to be used in many areas in daily life
(Lin & Chang, 2015). Today, AR is used in a wide range of fields such as medical,
industrial areas, artistic design, modeling and production, robotic teleoperations, mili-
tary aviation, defense, entertainment, games, translation, driving assistance, indoor and
outdoor design, decoration, and virtual companionship environments (Iftene &
Trandabăț, 2018).
Education is another field where AR technology is used (Chen et al., 2016).
The use of AR in the field of education generally takes the form of supporting and
1924 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

enriching traditional approaches with augmented content such as 2D or 3D

images, animation, text, video, or audio (Iftene & Trandabăț, 2018). There are
many studies on the effectiveness of AR use in education. Most research on AR
use in education is directed towards individuals with typical development and
especially towards STEM education (McMahon et al., 2015b). Introducing the
human body and organs, or examining the 3D model of the solar system in the
classroom can be given as an example of an AR application in STEM education
(Taryadi & Kurniawan, 2018). Thanks to AR, it is possible for the student to
interact with this type of material from different aspects, and thus, it is possible to
create more realistic educational environments (Chen et al., 2015). Because
attracting student attention is a prominent AR feature, AR can improve the
effectiveness of traditional methods by increasing student motivation (Afrianto
et al., 2019). Therefore, learning can be made more fun and permanent through
AR (Cakir & Korkmaz, 2018).

1.4 Augmented reality in special needs education

Although there are many studies on AR use in education, very few of them are
related to special needs education (Casas et al., 2012) but AR is a technology with
the potential to be used in many areas in teaching individuals with special needs
(Kelley et al., 2016). Barriers that students with disabilities face can be reduced
via the advantages provided by the developing technologies in recent years (Aziz
et al., 2012). In particular, wearable and portable devices provide the opportunity
to use different AR applications which can facilitate the lives of individuals in
many ways. Determining the strategies for effective use of mobile technologies in
special needs education is an important issue. Therefore, more research is needed
on how new technologies such as AR can be used to improve the lives of
individuals with special needs (Kelley et al., 2016). This study aimed to reveal
the characteristics of research that use AR as a learning material in the education
of individuals with special needs. For this purpose, answers to the following
research questions were sought:

1. What are the general characteristics of researches about the use of augmented
reality as a learning material in special needs education?
2. What are the characteristics of the materials used in research on the use of
augmented reality as a learning material in special needs education?
3. What content development tools are used to prepare learning material with aug-
mented reality in special needs education?

2 Method

In this study, researches on AR as a learning material for individuals with special needs
were examined by using descriptive content analysis. Also, the AR contents and devel-
opment environments used in the researches were examined. Descriptive content analysis
is defined as systematic research in which tendencies and research results are evaluated in
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1925

a descriptive dimension by examining the studies on a particular subject (Calik & Sözbilir,
2014).

2.1 Review process

This study investigated studies on the use of AR as a learning material in the

education of individuals with special needs. For this purpose, the databases
presented in Table 1 were reviewed. The keywords used in the review are also
included in Table 1. The review was limited to peer-reviewed academic journals in
English. The review is, also, limited to articles published between 2013 and 2019.
A total of 519 studies were obtained when the duplicate articles were excluded.
Articles that did not use AR technology, articles that AR is used as an assistive
technology for individuals with special needs for a purpose other than learning
material and articles published as conference papers were excluded from these
articles obtained in this manner. This exclusion process included examining the
titles and abstracts of the articles during the stage step. The articles whose titles
and abstracts did not present enough information for the conclusion as to their
relevance were investigated as full texts. At this stage, studies focusing only on
the introduction of the AR content prepared, the design process, or the various
tests performed during the design process are also excluded. As a result of this
process, 19 articles that examined the use of AR as a learning material in the
education of individuals with special needs were included in this study. The
studies included in the study were examined in terms of research design, results,
dependent variables, supported teaching approaches, and participants. Also, AR
contents (hardware/devices, the purpose of production, marker or location-based,
and software/content development environments) were also examined. The find-
ings obtained were tabulated.

Table 1 Databases and keywords used in the review

Databases Academic Search Complete

ScienceDirect
MEDLINE Complete
Education Source
Springer Nature Journals
Scopus
ERIC
Sciences Citation Index
Social Sciences Citation Index
Keywords (Augmented reality or AR or smart glass or smartglass) AND (attention deficit or hyperacti* or
Dislex* or special education or special needs or special children or attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder or ADHD or learning disabili* or autis* or ASD or mental retardation or
intellectual disability* or pervasive or developmental disabili* or down syndrome or cerebral
palsy)
1926 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

3 Findings

Table 2 presents the general characteristics of 19 studies examining the use of AR as a

learning material in the education of individuals with special needs. When the studies
are examined in terms of the research designs used, it is understood that single-subject

Table 2 Research using AR for teaching purposes

Participants

Author Research type Result Dependent Supported Type of

variable teaching disability
approach

Chang et al. (2013) Single subject Effective Food service Picture and Cognitive
audio cues
–
Escobedo et al. Mixed method Effective Attention and – ASD
(2014) duration of
focusing on an
activity
Bai et al. (2015) Experimental AR condition is more Imitation, symbolic Play ASD
with no effective play
control
groups
Chen et al. (2015) Single subject Effective Recognizing facial Social stories ASD
expressions
Lin and Chang Single subject Effective Level of physical Play DD + PD
(2015) activity
McMahon et al. Single subject AR condition is more Navigation, finding – DD
(2015a) effective than Google addresses
Maps and paper map
McMahon et al. Single subject Effective Teaching science System of least 3 ID, 1
(2015b) concepts, prompts ASD
vocabulary
Chen et al. (2016) Single subject Effective Recognizing facial Video ASD
expressions model/social
stories
Cihak et al. (2016) Single subject Effective Brushing teeth Video
Marker Aurasma AR
Aplication
Lin et al. (2016) Experimental AR condition is more Geometrical shapes Play DD
with no effective
control
groups
Smith et al. (2016) Single subject Effective Navigation, finding System of least ID
addresses prompts
Cascales-Martínez Pre- test/Post-test Effective Money recognition Play DD
et al. (2016) with no
control
groups
Liu et al. (2017) Pre- test/post-test Effective Social and Play ASD
with no communication
control skills
groups
Social skills Play ASD
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1927

Table 2 (continued)

Participants

Author Research type Result Dependent Supported Type of

variable teaching disability
approach

Lorenzo et al. Pre- test/post-test No significant difference

(2018) with control between experimental
group and control groups
Lee et al. (2018) Single subject Effective Social roles and Concept map, ASD
greetings social stories
Vahabzadeh et al. Single subject Effective Decreasing problem Play ASD
(2018) behaviors
Afrianto et al. Pre- test/post-test Effective Reading skills Gillingham ID
(2019) with no method
control
groups
Lee (2019) Single subject Effective Social skills Social stories ASD
Mahayuddin and Experimental Effective Phonics-based Play ASD
Mamad (2019) with no literacy
control
groups

Participants

Author Number Hardware Commercial/ Marker/ Software

device developed based location
on research based

Chang et al. (2013) 3 PC, WebCam Developed for Marker –

research
Escobedo et al. 12 Smart Phone Developed for Marker –
(2014) research
Bai et al. (2015) 12 PC, Web Cam Developed for Marker Goblin XNA, ALVAR tracker
research
Chen et al. (2015) 3 Web Cam, TV Developed for Marker 3D Facial Studio 3.0, 3d Max
research 2012, Unity 3D
Lin and Chang 3 Web Cam, PC Developed for Marker Scratch
(2015) research
McMahon et al. 4 Smart Phone Commercial Location Layar Mobile Navigation App.
(2015a)
McMahon et al. 4 Tablet Developed for Marker Aurasma AR Aplication
(2015b) research
Chen et al. (2016) 6 Tablet Developed for Marker Vuforia Target Manager, Unity
research 3D
Cihak et al. (2016) 3 iPod Developed for Marker Aurasma AR Aplication
research
Lin et al. (2016) 21 Smart Phone Developed for Marker Aurasma
research
Smith et al. (2016) 3 Smart Phone Commercial Location Heads Up Navigator mobile
application
Cascales-Martínez 22 Projector, camera Developed for Marker –
et al. (2016) (Tabletop) research
Liu et al. (2017) 2 Smart Glass Commercial Marker Empowered Brain
1928 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

Table 2 (continued)

Participants

Author Number Hardware Commercial/ Marker/ Software

device developed based location
on research based

Lorenzo et al. (2018) 11 Smart Phone Developed for Marker Quiver Vision
research
Lee et al. (2018) 3 Tablet Developed for Marker Vuforia
research
Vahabzadeh et al. 4 Smart Glass Commercial Marker Empowered Brain
(2018)
Afrianto et al. (2019) 20 Smart Phone Developed for Marker Unity
research
Lee (2019) 3 Tablet Developed for Marker Quiver Vision
research
Mahayuddin and 10 Smart Phone Developed for Marker Vuforia, Unity 3D
Mamad (2019) research

ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder, DD Developmental Disability, ID Intellectual Disability, PD Physical

Disability

research designs (n = 11) are mostly preferred. The effectiveness of AR use was
investigated in 15 of the studies in Table 2. In all effectiveness studies, it was concluded
that AR use was effective on the dependent variable. In the four studies in Table 2, the
use of AR was compared with different conditions. In one of the comparative studies,
McMahon et al. (2015a) compared the effectiveness of using paper maps, Google
Maps, and AR navigation software to teach four adults with developmental disabilities
address finding skills as a pre-vocational skill. The study results showed that the use of
AR navigation software was more effective than the other two conditions. In one study,
Bai et al. (2015) compared AR and non-AR conditions in teaching symbolic play skills
to 4-7-year-old 12 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). According to the
research findings, instruction that included AR was more effective than teaching
without AR. In a study, Lin et al. (2016) compared situations with and without AR
in teaching geometric shapes to 21 students (6-12-year-old) with developmental dis-
abilities. Six different Chinese tangram puzzle and square puzzle games were used to
teach geometric shapes in the study. According to the findings of the research, the
participants improved their puzzle completion tasks more in AR conditions compare to
the traditional paper-based conditions. Another study conducted by Lorenzo et al.
(2018) compared the situations in game-based social skills instruction with and without
AR to 2-6-year-old 11 participants (6 in the experimental group, 5 in the control group)
with ASD. According to the research findings, there was no significant difference
between the two situations.
The analysis of the studies in Table 2 shows that most of the participants (n = 70) are
individuals with ASD and social and communication skills were preferred as the
dependent variable in most studies (n = 6). Also, almost all the studies were found to
support teaching approaches such as games, social stories, video models, the system of
least prompts, and concept maps via their content prepared with AR.
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1929

The analysis of Table 2 regarding the imaging devices used in the studies shows that
portable devices such as smartphones and tablets were used in most of the studies.
Another finding is that most of the contents (n = 15) were developed for research
purposes. Only four studies used AR software, which can be found free or paid. Also,
it was found that marker-based AR was used in 17 studies, while location-based AR
was used in two studies that investigated the address finding skills. The studies which
examined the address finding skills by using location-based AR were found to use free
mobile applications called “Layar” and “Heads Up Navigator” currently withdrawn
from the market.
The Layar was a free, widely available mobile application that works on many
platforms, including iOS and Android mobile devices. The Layar application had a
wide variety of content layers such as restaurants, ATMs, and job postings. The user
selects the desired content from these content layers and views the AR contents
according to her/his geographical location. The Layar application served as a search
engine that searched for suitable content using the location information of the user
(McMahon et al., 2015a).
Heads Up Navigator mobile application combines Google Maps with AR features
in real-time to help users navigate. These combined visual information systems appear
as arrows and textual bookmarks in various views when viewed with the camera feature
and directed to a specific destination. The prompts also show the distance to the
destination. Heads Up Navigator interface functions as a compass, with arrows con-
stantly pointing towards the final destination. The user tries to reach his target by
following the AR arrows and written expressions on the screen. Also, a small embed-
ded map appears at the bottom of the screen with a point showing the user’s current
location (Smith et al., 2016).
The two studies which used marker-based AR focused on Empowered Brain,
a commercial product developed using Google Glass. Empowered Brain is a
tool designed to help improve social and communication skills in children and
adults with ASD. Empowered Brain offers the user wearing AR glasses visual
and auditory stimuli as a hint thanks to its game-based applications. Users can
earn in-game rewards such as points and stars based on their performance (Liu
et al., 2017; Vahabzadeh et al., 2018). The contents of the 15 studies which
utilized marker-based AR were found to be developed for research. It was
observed that researchers used various content development platforms such as
Goblin XNA, Facial Studio, 3d Max, Unity 3D, Vuforia, Aurasma, Quiver
Vision, and Scratch to create AR content.
Goblin XNA is an open-source research environment that focuses on research on 3D
user interfaces including mobile augmented reality and virtual reality. With the help of
C # programming language, the Goblin XNA platform enables the development of
interactive AR contents (Goblin XNA, 2020).
Facial Studio is a software to create 3D digital characters similar to the
person in a photograph via analyzing photographs taken from the front and side
profiles of people. With more than 500 control options, Facial Studio allows
various changes on the character such as ethnicity, gender, age, head symmetry,
and nose structure. Characters created with Facial Studio can be used in
different AR and VR development environments (Facial Studio, n.d.).
1930 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

3D Max Studio is one of the most preferred 3D modeling programs. Due to its
advanced modeling features, it is frequently used in game design, film industry,
architecture, and industrial design fields (3ds Max, 2020).
Unity 3D is a platform used widely especially by game developers. Unity 3D allows
content preparation for many environments such as iOS, Android, Xbox, Nintendo Wii,
and PC. Unity 3D is supported by common programming languages such as java or c #
(Santoso & Gook, 2012).
Vuforia is one of the leading platforms for developing AR content with phones,
tablets, and goggle support and works as an add-on for Unity 3D software (Vuforia,
n.d.).
Aurasma is a free application that allows users to create an augmented reality
experience by pairing a visual marker captured by the camera of the user-created
device to trigger user-generated digital content which may contain pictures, video, or
audio. Aurasma has a rich content library. This application also allows users to create
unique AR contents using the markers they created and digital content such as pictures,
videos created by them. It can be easily used in portable devices such as smartphones
and tablets (McMahon et al., 2015b).
Quiver Vision is a web 2.0 tool that uses AR. The quiver website has markers
available for free download. These markers are like colorless painting materials. The
users paint the downloaded markers as they like. With the Quiver mobile app installed
on the phone or tablet, AR content can be activated by scanning the marker with the
camera. AR content is animated in the colors painted by the user and can respond to the
user’s reactions (Quiver, 2020).
Scratch is a free visual programming environment that allows users to create
interactive, media-rich projects. With Scratch, users can prepare content by combining
colorful command blocks to control 2D graphic objects called sprites that move on a
background called the stage. Scratch also allows users to create projects that react to
movements in the physical world using images from their webcam. Thanks to this
feature, digital information such as visual or audio can be played simultaneously with
the webcam image, depending on the movements in the physical world. In other words,
interactive AR contents can be prepared (Lin & Chang, 2015).

4 Discussion

AR can be used as a screening-diagnostic tool, learning material, and other support

tools in the education of individuals with special needs (Joseph et al., 2013; Wedyan
et al., 2020). This study, however, focuses only on research on the use of AR as
learning material. The findings of existing studies indicate that AR technology has the
potential for special needs education (Afrianto et al., 2019). To fully reveal this
potential, regardless of which research design was conducted, the studies carried out
should be able to provide convincing evidence (Clearinghouse, 2017). It was observed
that only one of the investigated studies used experimental designs with control group.
The analysis of Table 2 shows that the studies AR used as a learning material in the
education of individuals with special needs are mostly conducted with single-subject
research designs. Single-subject research designs are important to develop evidence-
based practices in the field of special needs education (Horner et al., 2005). For this
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1931

reason, it is recommended that the researchers who will conduct single-subject re-
search, consider the recommended design standards (Kratochwill et al., 2013) and
quality indicators (Horner et al., 2005) for single-subject research.
Analysis of the studies presented in Table 2 shows that AR technology is frequently
used in teaching social and communication skills. When the researches in which social
and communication skills are studied are examined, it is understood that all participants
are individuals with ASD. When studies on AR use in the education of individuals with
ASD are examined, it is understood that social and communication skills are frequently
studied with individuals with ASD (Baragash et al., 2019; Marto et al., 2019).
Dependent variables of other studies are academic skills, address finding, self-care,
imitation and symbolic play, money recognition skills, food service, reduction of
problem behaviors, duration of focusing on activity, and level of physical activity.
Besides, AR is a kind of simulation environment and one of the biggest advantages of
simulations is that students can be safely and gradually exposed to difficult or danger-
ous situations of the real world. Due to this advantage, AR can also be used in teaching
individuals with special needs different skills such as security, traffic (pedestrian),
shopping, and coping with fear/phobia (Fletcher-Watson, 2014).
Studies show that AR technology is mostly used to increase the effectiveness of
traditional teaching approaches and to create interesting learning environments (Chen
et al., 2016). It is recommended to use this technology that enables students to have
different learning experiences by moving them away from the desk to support
evidence-based teaching practices (Escobedo et al., 2014).
Most of the research on AR use was conducted for individuals with ASD. Most
research on AR use has been done for individuals with ASD. When similar studies in
the literature are examined, it is understood that the research on the use of AR in special
education is frequently worked with individuals with ASD and ID (Baragash et al.,
2019). Virtual environments such as AR and VR have several advantages in the
education of individuals with ASD. First, the use of AR technologies, like other types
of assistive technologies, makes learning environments more interesting and fun (Chen
et al., 2016). The use of AR technologies also allows the preparation of controlled and
predictable learning environments that individuals with ASD need. Social interactions
in virtual environments can be easier than the interaction between people. AR allows
individuals with ASD to progress at the speed they need, away from the difficulties of
learning environments that require face-to-face interaction. Teaching activities in these
controlled environments help individuals with ASD to overcome the difficulties they
face in real environments (Fridhi et al., 2018).
Mobile devices such as phones and tablets were found to be preferred as content
viewing tools in the majority of studies on AR in special needs education. In most of
the studies on AR in special needs education, it has been found that mobile devices
such as phones and tablets are preferred as content viewing tools. This finding is valid
not only in special needs education but also in all research on AR use in education
(Akçayır & Akçayır, 2017). It is believed that these devices are preferred more because
they are very common and easy to use. In addition to portable devices, some studies
used projectors, wearable headsets or glasses. Using projectors may require special
equipment and environmental adaptations. AR glasses and headgear in the wearable
technologies are expensive today and may be difficult to obtain in some countries.
However, it is thought that these tools will become widespread in the near future and
1932 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

will be used more frequently in the field of education. Different devices that may offer
AR content may also come into our lives in the future. For example, some time ago,
smart contact lenses, called Mojo Vision with micro-electronics and a small screen,
were introduced (Mojo, n.d.). With the proliferation of these and similar products that
are still in the development phase, AR can become a technology that provides support
to individuals with special needs not only in the teaching environments but in all areas
of life.
It was found that the vast majority of AR content used in these studies were
developed for research. This may be due to the lack of educational software produced
for individuals with special needs. Educational software developers can choose to
develop more applications for individuals with typical development, a larger audience.
It should also be remembered that developing applications for individuals with special
needs may be more difficult and time-consuming since they need to be adapted to
individual differences (Lin & Chang, 2015). To overcome this difficulty, the contents
prepared for use in studies that are thought to be effective can be shared on the internet.
Prepared content can be published in a web-based library, so more students with similar
learning needs can benefit from them. Also, educational software can develop adapt-
able to students’ differences so that applications can meet the learning needs of all
students with or without special needs.
It was found that the vast majority of studies in this research used marker-based AR.
The very few studies that used location-based AR examined only the ability to find
addresses. However, location-based AR contents may be used to ensure that students
can spend time outside the classroom. Learning environments where students can learn
many skills together with their friends may be designed as out-of-class activities. For
example, in a study, Crandall et al. (2015) prepared an educational game on the subject
of enzymes for university students enrolled in the “upper-level food chemistry” course
by using location-based AR. The game requires that students complete the instructions
and various tasks given to them by using their smartphones. Throughout the game,
students need to navigate through the university campus and interact with their friends
to complete the assigned tasks. With location-based AR, of course, fun content like this
can be prepared for individuals with special needs to learn by socializing.
Some of the content used in the studies reviewed were developed with free and easy-
to-use mobile applications such as Aurasma and Quiver Vision, which enable only AR
content to be displayed. In addition to these, there are other applications with similar
features. Practitioners or researchers can find many more suitable applications for
themselves and their students by doing some research on the Internet. For example,
“WallaMe” mobile application, which is ad-free and completely free, allows users to
create and share location-based AR content. This application originally developed for
social sharing and entertainment can be used to create AR content for special education
purposes.
Another noteworthy application is a language learning tool called Mondly AR.
The main purpose of this application with artificial intelligence is teaching lan-
guage through dialogue and interaction by using AR contents (Mondly, 2020). We
believed that this application which supports 33 different languages, can be used
to create environments where many concepts and skills for individuals with
special needs can be taught in addition to language teaching. Besides, it also has
the potential to be used to teach many social and communication skills especially
Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936 1933

to individuals with ASD such as communication initiation, common attention, and

eye contact.
Some of the AR contents used in the studies were more complex educational
materials that enabled data collection with interactive and/or record-keeping features.
It is understood that these complex structured educational contents were usually created
in “game development environments” such as Unity 3D by using AR plug-ins such as
Vuforia and ARToolKit. Besides, different AR content development environments can
be used. Some of the most remarkable of these environments are application develop-
ment interfaces such as ARKit developed by Apple company and ARCore developed by
Google company and they work as extensions of application development software
such as Android Studio, Unity 3D, and Unreal Engine. Although these are free of
charge, they possess many of the features of paid AR development environments with
advanced features. Thanks to depth-sensing sensors and average lighting intensity
estimation algorithms, they can create lifelike perceptions (Zhang et al., 2019). For
this reason, it is thought to be beneficial for researchers and teachers to examine the
potential of ARKit and ARCore in creating AR content for special needs education.
However, the use of these environments may require expertise and therefore prepara-
tion of materials that require the use of such game development environments may
require interdisciplinary work.

5 Conclusion and suggestions

Preparing educational content by using assistive technologies is a process that requires

expertise, budget, and effort. In contrast, AR technology enables the creation of
educational content with a smartphone and free and easy-to-use software that can be
found on the Internet. Many environments that can be used easily by researchers,
teachers, families, and even students to prepare AR content can be found by doing
some research (Smith et al., 2016).
AR technology is on the rise to become an important learning tool. However, the
vast majority of research on AR use in education has focused on individuals with
typical development and especially on STEM education (McMahon et al., 2015b).
However, this technology has a high potential for special needs education and this
potential can be used to overcome the barriers faced by individuals with special needs
(Afrianto et al., 2019). More quality research is needed to reveal this potential, which
could revolutionize our teaching approaches, with evidence (Chen et al., 2015; Lorenzo
et al., 2018). However, there are research findings that support the claims that technol-
ogies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud technology and the Internet
of Things will make AR content smarter and more interactive (Jo & Kim, 2019; Pauly
et al., 2015; Westerfield et al., 2015). These and similar developments in technology
support the prediction that AR will have a much more important place in our lives in
the near future. AR technology, as in many fields, can play more effective roles in the
lives of individuals with special needs as a learning tool.

Availability of data and material Not applicable.

Code availability Not applicable.

1934 Education and Information Technologies (2021) 26:1921–1936

Funding Not applicable.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflicts of interest/competing interests The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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institutional affiliations.

Hasan Köse is a Ph.D. student in special education. He works as an information technology teacher in a
public school where inclusive practices are carried out. He is interested in assistive technologies for individuals
with special needs.

Nevin Güner-Yıldız is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education, Eskisehir Osmangazi
University. Her research interests focus on inclusion, teacher education, and classroom management in
inclusive classrooms.