Educational Uses of Augmented Reality (AR): Experiences in Educational Science

Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology that is gaining greater influence on teaching every day. AR, together with mobile technology, is defined as one of the most efficient pairs for supporting significant and ubiquitous learning. Purpose of the study: the Instructional Material Motivational Survey (IMMS), by Keller, was used to determine the degree of motivation possessed by the Pedagogy students on the utilization of the notes enriched with AR in the classroom, available for their didactic use through mobile devices. Methods: through an app designed for the courses Education Technology (ET) and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Applied to Education, the motivation gained when participating in this experience, and how it influences the improvement of academic performance, was evaluated. Results and conclusions: the most notable main result was finding a strong relationship between the motivation of the students when using the enriched notes and the increase of performance in the academic subject where it was used. Likewise, it was proved that the use of Augmented Reality benefited the learning process itself

Smartphones

Many of the research approaches to smartphones actually regard them as more or less transparent points of access to other kinds of communication experiences. That is, rather than considering the smartphone as something in itself, the researchers look at how individuals use the smartphone for their communicative purposes, whether these be talking, surfing the web, using on-line data access for off-site data sources, downloading or uploading materials, or any kind of interaction with social media. They focus not so much on the smartphone itself but on the activities that people engage in with their smartphones

Technology-enabled Learning (TEL): YouTube as a Ubiquitous Learning Aid.

The use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the society has become ubiquitous. The advent of communication technologies alongside other unification trends and notions such as media convergence and digital content allow the users of the social network to integrate these networks in their everyday life. There have been several attempts in the literature to investigate and explain the use of social networks such as Facebook and WhatsApp by university students in the Arab region. However, little research has been done on how university students utilise online audiovisual materials in their academic activities in the UAE. This research aims to elucidate the use of YouTube as a learning aid for university students in the UAE. We adopt the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical framework for this investigation. A quantitative methodology is employed to answer the research question. Primary data consisting of 221 correspondents were analysed, covering patterns of using YouTube as an academic audiovisual learning aid. Statistical techniques including descriptive, correlations, regression tests were used to analyse the data. The study concluded that students use YouTube as a learning tool for their academic studies and enriching their general knowledge; and there is a positive relationship between the use of YouTube videos in academic settings and the students’ overall performance. This study can shed light for teachers, curriculum designers, government entities, and other stakeholders on how to best utilise and integrate the online technology — YouTube — as a learning aid

Student acceptance of educational games in higher education

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Learning to play in digital games

There is growing interest in the use of games for educational purposes, particularly with regard to teaching curriculum subjects. Much of the research however has focused either on the content of games or the learning theory they illustrate. This paper presents a methodology that allows for an examination of how players learn to play. An understanding of this process is arguably crucial for incorporating games into educational systems. Three case studies are presented that illustrate the application of this method. We also evaluate its usefulness and limitations. The paper concludes with a discussion of issues in researching learning from games, and suggestions for how research methods in this area might be developed

The motivation of technological scenarios in augmented reality (AR): results of different experiments

Augmented Reality (AR) is an emergent technology that is acquiring more and more relevance in teaching every day. Together with mobile technology, this combination arises as one of the most effective binomials to support significant and ubiquitous learning. Nevertheless, this binomial can only prove valid if the student is motivated to use it during the learning process. An attempt was made through the implementation of Keller’s Instructional Material Motivational Survey model o determine the degree of motivation of Pedagogy, Medicine and Art students from the University of Seville for using AR-enriched notes available by means of mobile devices in the classroom. Three applications designed for the subjects of Educational Technology, Anatomy and Art served to assess it positively in terms of the motivation raised by the participation in the experiment, as well as regarding academic performance improvement. It can additionally be stated that our main finding was a link between students’ motivation to use the enriched notes and the performance obtained in the subject in which they use them. Evidence was also found that the utilization of Augmented Reality benefits the learning process

'I play, therefore I learn?' Measuring the Evolution of Perceived Learning and Game Experience in the Design Flow of a Serious Game

This article explores how the serious game Poverty Is Not a Game (PING) is experienced by high school students in its subsequent design stages. We first focus on the multifaceted construct of game experience and how it is related to serious games. To measure game experience we use the Game Experience Questionnaire and add a perceived learning scale to account for the specificity of serious games in a classroom. Next, the data obtained from testing PING in 22 classrooms are analyzed. Results suggest that the evolution in the different design stages of the game is not just an issue of game experience, but also of usability. Furthermore, little evidence is found indicating that the learning experience changed positively during the different test phases. However, findings show a strong effect of the game experience on perceived learning while the game experience also varies significantly between different classrooms