Augmented Reality And Its Effects On Education

Augmented Reality And Its Effects On Education

Ganga devi D

Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Applications

The Standard Fireworks Rajaratnam College For Women, Sivakasi, India

Abstract:

Nowadays, many students find it difficult to perceive theoretical information without any visuals. Thus many concepts remain incomprehensible. In this digital era, many technologies come to the rescue to provide visual transformation of information. The Augmented reality (AR) is one such innovative technology, which becomes a part of such a transformation. AR is a combination of a real and a computer-generated virtual world. It is achieved by augmenting computer-generated images on real world. In recent times, the use of AR in education has increased because of its interacting ability to explore the knowledge. It paves the way for the improvement in creativity and imagination of the learner. It also helps in improving the attention ability of ADHD children. This paper focuses on the essential part of AR and its use cases. This paper reveals the betterment of AR over VR (Virtual Reality). The methodology of applying AR mode of education in institutes is also discussed.

Keywords: Augmented reality, Virtual Reality, ADHD

1. Introduction

Up to the 19th century, formal education focused exclusively on lectures and recitations. Some early studies, however, explored the educational applications of manipulative interfaces and suggested that students learn best through their senses and through physical activity. The constant evolution of the technology is making the education to move towards the new era, making attractive to the students and taking to an evolution on the teaching process.

The Virtual Reality (VR) took an important place in this evolution. VR replaces physical reality with a computer-generated environment i.e. creates a whole new, detached virtual experience. With the help of some modelling and animation programs, the VR can help students in the comprehension and assimilation of concepts [1]. VR is used mostly for simulation purpose, immerse users in a virtual environment using holograms of the equipment. VR requires special equipment like controllers. The user can experience VR in personal.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a well-known cousin of VR has its origin from the word ‘Augment’ meaning to add or enhance, superimposes digital information on the physical world i.e.  it adds a virtual overlay to the physical world with any smart phone. The main advantage of AR over VR is the device required and the ability of multiple people to explore the AR content in social.

In recent years, many researches demonstrate the feasibility and innovation of AR as human-computer interaction technology. With the improvement of computing power, AR has gradually shifted from the theoretical research stage to recognize and experience the things around.

II. Types of AR

There are four types of Augmented Reality (AR) observed as follows:

  1. Marker Based Augmented Reality. It is also known as Image Recognition [2]. A camera and a visual marker such as a QR code is used. The marker is sensed by the reader and then the output is given. Relevant Apps use a camera to differentiate a marker from any other real world object.
  2. Marker Less Augmented Reality. It is also known as Location-based reality [2] or GPS. Data which is provided is based on our location and is provided with the help of a digital compass, accelerometer, velocity meter or GPS in our smartphones.
  3. Projection Based Augmented Reality. It is used to project a 3D interactive hologram [2]. An artificial light is projected onto realworld objects.User’s touch is detected by distinguishing between an expected projection and an altered projection by the user.
  4. Superimposition Based Augmented Reality. In this type of reality, the object recognition plays an important role [2]. The original view of an object is either partially or fully replaced with a newly augmented view of that same object. E.g. IKEA, a virtual furniture app that augments furniture onto real floor.

III. AR in Education: Use Cases

The following are some prominent examples of AR in education that show the authentic capabilities of such learning methods.

Children’s safety education. In China, they involve more than 80 kindergartens in a research that shows that the usage of AR technology in an elementary education program to teach children all the basic safety rules from an early age has a better chance of making children remember such vital information and apply it in life [3].

Augmented reality in Western University. In Western University, The Unity Charitable Fund was granted for an AR project that will allow students to swim with sharks. This may help the students-biologists to explore the sharks’ view and behaviour up close [3].

Google Arts & Cultures in the classroom. At the time of quarantine and a pandemic, it has become much more challenging to organize excursions to museums, exhibitions, theaters, etc., for students. This application from Google allows you to conduct a virtual 3D tour of the most famous museums globally, spend a day at ballet, and even visit different countries without leaving a classroom or home [3].

The TOJET study. An AR system designed for fourth grade students to support the learning of the digestive and circulatory systems. The results of a comparative study show a significant increase in knowledge retention in students that used the AR system over the ones that attended traditional master classes. Participants were highly motivated and expressed interest in using the new technology in the classroom [4].

Augmented Reality Application on the Field of Vocational Education and Training(ARAVET) project. This project involves various organizations from eight different countries proved that the digital data provided through AR interfaces can already supplement static content and improve student understanding of the processes described in the educational material [5].

Improving the ADHD children’s attention. The researcher built a prototype called ATHYNOS using a methodical formal game design approach. The descriptive statistical analysis confirms that participants who played ATHYNOS, during the eight sessions improved significantly in their daily life functioning across domains of time management and social skills. As a result, there is an improvement in their level of concentration [6].

Research study with Cape Town students. The research examined the differences in student learning motivation before and after using the AR mobile application. A total of 78 participants of undergraduate health science students at the University of Cape Town, used the AR mobile application and completed the preusage and postusage questionnaires. The results showed the increase in the learning motivation, attention, satisfaction, and confidence factors and these results were found to be significant [7].

AR-Therapist for ADHD. To enhance the behavior of ADHD patients, Albaha University of Saudi Arabia proposed a theoretical cognitive model using a game-based AR environment. It achieves an excellent accessibility level to every patient. It mimics the therapist roles by applying AR techniques that provide it with features including: adaptiveness, smartness, responsiveness, and accuracy [8].

IV. Methodology

Various methods are available to incorporate AR subjects in the education field. Teachers can use AR during class activities. The minimum requirements for AR mode of education involves an internet connection and gadgets like smart phone or tablets. Figure 1 shows the working process of marker based AR mode.

Premade markers. The markers are used to trigger the augmented reality. These markers are directly related to the topic of the lesson. The students can obtain the content by pointing their device camera towards the marker. The predesigned markers saves time and money. The teachers do not need to involve in complex technology work of creating custom markers.

AR worksheets. The AR-enabled worksheets makes the students to engage in AR content from the ease of their homes. This will also make the home assignments fun and creative for the students.

Custom designed markers. The teacher can design custom markers that are unique and in accordance with the age and interests of the students. It acts as an organizer for all kinds of subjects.

AR-enabled photos on the wall. The AR-enabled photos on the walls of the school or any educational organization will allow the students to scan them and get the appropriate AR content. The student or the parent can simply scan a picture and see them come to life.

Access to learning materials. AR can be used for better representation of the material. It delivers the latest data and display it in an interactive format.

AR for virtual equipment. The 3D model in AR is used to simulate the work nature of specific equipment to add practical value. The students can perform and learn about various experiments. With this, the students can scan numerous lab instruments and get information like what rules and safety measures to keep in mind while working with such instruments. Medical students can learn anatomy and practice examining the body with an AR app representing the human body inside and out.

Safer practice through AR. Science teachers promote the use of AR to ensure that a safe learning environment is there for the students. Science experiments which require working with concentrated chemicals can be dangerous. The technology allows conducting experiments like trying different chemical combinations without any harm.

AR enabled Distance education. Over the past couple of years, the method of distance learning has become very popular due to the pandemic. The distance-learning students do not always need a teacher to explain the material. AR can be used to provide detailed explanation of the theory and interactive practice.

VI. Conclusion

Augmented reality is becoming the future of education to provide an experience-based learning environment for understanding the concept. AR has the potential to influence the interest among the students to learn more subjects. Generation Alpha will be the world’s youngest generation by the year 2025. They may have the usual habit to gain knowledge by screen touching, doing or experiencing. The people of this generation will be the most educated and will benefit most from the AR as they have not seen a world without internet and gadgets [9]. Schools need to improvise their methods and encourage this type of learning. They need to adapt these learning methods which are according to the Alpha generation.

Reference

  1. 1] Sandra Dutra Piovesan, Liliana Maria Passerino and Adriana Soares Pereira, “Virtual Reality As A Tool In The Education”, IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age, pp.295-298, 2012.
  2. 2] Riya Aggarwal, Abhishek Singhal, “Augmented Realityand its effect on our life”, 9th International Conference on Cloud Computing, Data Science & Engineering, pp.510-515, 2019.
  3. 3] Using Augmented Realityin Education: Key Concepts and Benefits, https://program-ace.com/blog/augmented-reality-in-education/
  4. 4] David Pérez-Lopez, Manuel Contero, David Perez-Lopez, Manuel Contero, “Delivering Educational Multimedia Contents Through An Augmented RealityApplication: A Case Study On Its Impact On Knowledge Acquisition And Retention”, TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, volume 12 issue 4, pp.19-28, 2013.
  5. 5] Opatija, Croatia, Bojan Kraut and Jelena Jeknic, “Improving education experience with Augmented Reality”, MIPRO, pp.755-760, 2015.
  6. 6] Diego Avila-Pesantez, Luis A. Rivera, “Towards the Improvement of ADHD Children through Augmented RealitySerious Games: Preliminary Results”, IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference, pp.843-848, 2018.
  7. 7] Tasneem Khan, Kevin Johnston, and Jacques Ophoff, “The Impact of an Augmented Reality Application on Learning Motivation of Students”, Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, Article ID 7208494, 14 pages, 2019.
  8. 8] Saad Alqithami, “Modeling an AR Serious Game to Increase Attention of ADHD Patients”, IEEE 44th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), pp.1379- 2020.
  9. 9] How Augmented Realityis changing Education? https://www.queppelin.com/ augmented-reality-is-changing-education/

 

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