Use of Augmented Reality in Learning
Use of Augmented Reality in Learning
Use of Augmented Reality in Learning
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Budapest University of Technology and Economics
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Abstract: Augmented reality offers great solutions in learning because most of high school
students are familiar with them. Augmented reality-based applications such as the
Pokémon Go 3D, or Quiver and HP Reveal can be used effectively in education. Using AR
technology, teachers or even students can create content. For example, triggers using the
provided website. The triggers can be image or videos, so the AR experience can be
customized. In this study, authors first introduce the augmented reality and a specific
application, Pokémon Go, then demonstrate the use of AR in education and finally present
a survey conducted among students of a higher education in Hungary.
1 Introduction
The phenomenon of augmented reality (AR) is primarily relying on usability and
entails the analysis of the harmony of sensory organs, linking, tagging,
interactivity while the learning process taking place in the respective space [1].
The study explores one principal issue, namely what makes the specific
educational applications utilizing augmented reality function?
While augmented reality entails a variety of meanings and presentation forms,
common features can be discerned as well. The most important shared attribute is
the real time integration of virtual objects into the physical or material world. As a
type of mediatized or media-based communication augmented reality is
inseparable from the technology making it possible. The respective equipment
includes optical devices and other sensors perceiving the external world along
with appropriate displays presenting the specific images in high definition.
Consequently, via these applications information related to the objective world
becomes interactive and digitalized. Thus the given data being stored and made
accessible can complement the real world through forming additional
informational layers. This also means that augmented reality is device-dependent,
technology-determined and convergent at the same time [2] [3] [6].
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2 Augmented Reality
The digital revolution gave rise to an incessant need for information and
contributed to the decline of traditional information and knowledge accumulation,
processing, and transmission structures. It has been indicated earlier that
augmented reality can be brought about by a variety of devices and platforms.
Consequently, it is related to the phenomenon of media convergence. Augmented
reality utilizes three screens or displays, while out of the TV, computer, and
mobile telephone trio the phone display has the crucial role. A long time has
passed since the first, perhaps less successful attempts of mobile service providers
to generate content in a quantity determined by the user. Nowadays content
quantity and user activity demands can be reconciled by the adaptation of a proven
and tested model to the context of the mobile phone. Thus, users observing the
existing operational rules and guidelines must be provided with complete and
unlimited access to the worldwide web via a significantly larger and touch
operated display screen. As a result of this process the smart phone becomes “the
most personal computer”.
Since augmented reality based on mobile devices eliminates the need for
expensive equipment or the acquisition of new knowledge the number of
applications generating additional interactive layers over the physical world is
expected to rise [4] [8] [14] [15].
AR uses can be several:
games
military use
medical use
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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 15, No. 5, 2018
entertainment industry
education
Figure 1
Evolution of AR devices, https://bit.ly/2D8kTWN
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Figure 2
A relative marker used in education
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Acta Polytechnica Hungarica Vol. 15, No. 5, 2018
Figure 3
Pokémon Go in action
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Figure 4
An AR volcano erupting
Apart from the innovative nature of the AR technology and the versatility of its
educational use, there is a further advantage. It does not require any particular IT
or human resources investment. There is no need for IT specialists to engage in
curriculum development, and teachers build lectures based on AR without
programming skills, with only general knowledge of IT. As majority of students
have smartphones and tablets capable of running AR applications, the BYOD
philosophy is applied. All this makes it possible to rapidly spread the AR
technology and philosophy in education [8] [9] [13].
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Augmented reality often improves students learning activity and at the same time
enables complex competency-development. As the students often work in a group,
it supports project work.
Although the augmented reality is often considered to be a tool of gamification, it
is an info communication technology that can create interactive surroundings for
the students. The most outstanding ramification of it is a long-lasting experience
which can motivate them for further learning and participation in education.
AR apps put students into the story, what makes learning more lively. Instructors
can use AR as “distracting” technology to motivate and engage. At the University
of Pécs, a 3D visualization in the VR (Virtual Collaboration Arena) learning
environment was created in the VirCA platform which suits to the natural
cognitive processes of the human brain better [5] [10].
Finally, a good example for VR and AR used in education can be found in several
CogInfo papers. According to Horváth: “For accomplishing laboratory practices at
a higher level, the 3D VR space also contains video files for facilitating the usage
of equipment, instruments and machines at highly-skilled level. These files show
the instruments and machines used in the given measurement, the process of
making the measurement and the guide for the assessment of the measured data.
In this virtual space, the element of the psychologically motivated learning
definitions so correct in the every days of the pedagogy was created, according to
which learning is not only finding information, but also forming the attitude, as
the students learnt in the VR space how to behave during a project. The goal in
itself included the “excitement of playing” activated by the creative, innovative
attitude [16] [17] [26] [27] [28] [29] [36] [37].
According to Horvath and Sudar, there are some significant and determinate
research results on learning efficiency related to AR technology (30% faster
student’s activity and team work, 50% better information comprehension, 50%
more complex information sharing, 30% less user operations, 80% less machine
operations in the same digital workflow). AR applications play an important role
in the field presentation in education. For example, MaxWhere presents the
information in 3D environments. Numerous studies have been carried out and
published on this issue at the CogInfo conference [30] [33] [34] [35] [38] [39]
[40] [41] [42] [43] [44].
There are several AR platforms that can be used in learning. Quiver trigger images
when user scan the markers and activates the augmented reality content. The
application often uses coloring pages as markers. This also means that younger
age groups can be involved into interaction, while motor skills and hand-eye
coordination can be improved. It can be used at higher education institutions as
well, but there are some limitations. The biggest weakness is the technology itself.
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In theory, 2-3 year old smart devices can run the application. In practice, there are
several cases when the devices run out of memory or the internet connection
cannot be established.
Similar to Quiver, HP Reveal (former Aurasma) can be used for creating and
presenting AR experiences. In this case, teachers or even students can create
content. For example, triggers using the provided website. The triggers can be
image or videos, so the AR experience can be customized. There are several
teachers who insist on creating their own curricula, and HP Reveal can help them
accomplish this task.
4 Empirical Survey
The primary objective of action research conducted is an empirical inquiry into
the digital competence and ICT attitudes of the new generation along with the
impact of AR programs and methods on the learning process taking place through
student’s own devices. The respective survey included a quantitative questionnaire
administered to a sample of 91 respondents in the fall of 2017. The test population
assembled via stratified sampling (N=91) consisted of full-time university
students. The eventual and evaluated sample reached a magnitude of 94. The
inquiry based on an interactive, Kahoot measurement device, enabling the user to
have a hands-on experience utilized the BYOD method as well. The target group
primarily consisted of university students enrolled in engineering programs and
representing the generations Y and Z. The survey mostly utilized close ended
questions and the results were processed via simple descriptive statistical methods
and presented in diagrams. The graphs below show only the processed data related
to AR use.
Figure 5
How open are the students for new teaching-learning methods
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Figure 5 displays the level of respondents’ acceptance of modern, new type, and
open teaching and learning methods. The respective results indicated that 50% of
the respondents is fully open to new instruction and learning methods, while about
one quarter (28%) is rather receptive (3), and only 12% (2) and 10% (1) indicated
their reluctance to integrate the new generation teaching methods into their
learning efforts.
Figure 6
Popularity of Pokémon Go application
96% of the respondents have heard about the Pokémon Go application, and its
popularity is indicated by the fact that most of them tried it as well.
Figure 7
Acceptance of AR use in lectures
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Figure 7 partly substantiates the answers given to Question 4. The question probed
the extent, to which augmented reality-based applications such as Pokémon Go is
liked by students, More than one third of the respondents, 22 people would like to
listen to lectures via such interactive virtual reality context, 12 respondents could
not assess the significance or importance of the given question, and only 8 out of
70 respondents stated that they would not like to participate in lectures or learning
experiments utilising virtual reality, Furthermore 17 respondents indicated
openness toward participating in such new type learning experiments.
Conclusions
The appreciation of visuality is assisted by the virtual and augmented reality
spaces. The cyberspace that houses these offers a promising and beneficial way of
life to the digital citizens in both public life and learning, given the fact that these
citizens attend the courses only when they wish or have the time for those.
Obviously, in order to be successful in it, they must use the digital devices
constantly and must acquire the self-driven and informal learning.
References
[1] Azuma, R., A Survey of Augmented Reality. Hughes Research Laboratories,
Malibu, 1997
[2] P. Baranyi, A. Csapo and Gy. Sallai, Cognitive Infocommunications
(CogInfoCom). Springer, 2015
[3] P. Baranyi, A. Csapó, “Definition and Synergies of Cognitive
Infocommunications,” Acta Polytechnica Hungarica, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 67-
83, 2012
[4] I. Horváth, "Innovative Engineering Education in the Cooperative VR
Environment," 2016 7th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive
Infocommunications (CogInfoCom), Wroclaw, 2016, pp. 000359-000364
DOI: 10.1109/CogInfoCom.2016.7804576
[5] Dr. Schuster, G., & Terpecz, G, “A virtuális tanulási környezetek (VTK)
alkalmazása a mérnök-műszaki oktatásban,” Repüléstudományi
közlemények, 24. évf. 2. sz., 295-306, 2012
[6] L. Manovich, The Language of New Media, MIT Press, 2001
[7] R. C. Chang and Z. S. Yu, "Application of Augmented Reality technology
to promote interactive learning," 2017 International Conference on Applied
System Innovation (ICASI), Sapporo, Japan, 2017, pp. 1673-1674. DOI:
10.1109/ICASI.2017.7988257
[8] Z, Szűts, & Y. Jinil, A kiterjesztett valóság térhódítása. Információs
Társadalom, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2013, pp. 58-67
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