Effects of Augmented Reality on Student Achievement and Self-Efficacy in Vocational Education and Training

This study aimed to test the impact of augmented reality (AR) use on student achievement and self-efficacy in vocational education and training. For this purpose, a marker-based AR application, called HardwareAR, was developed. HardwareAR provides information about characteristics of hardware components, ports and assembly. The research design was quasi experimental with pre-test post-test that included a control group. The study was conducted with 46 undergraduate students in the Computer Hardware Course. Computer hardware course achievement test, motherboard assembly self-efficacy questionnaire and unstructured observation form were used in the study for data collection purposes. The control group learned the theoretical and applied information about motherboard assembly by using their textbooks (print material) while students in the experimental group used HardwareAR application for the same purpose. It was found that the use of AR had a positive impact on student achievement in motherboard assembly whereas it had no impact on students’ self-efficacy related to theoretical knowledge and assembly skills. On the other hand use of AR helped learners to complete the assembly process in a shorter time with less support. It is concluded that compared to control group students, experimental group students were more successful in computer hardware courses. This result shows that AR application can be effective in increasing achievement. It was concluded that AR application had no effect on students’ motherboard assembly theoretical knowledge self-efficacy and motherboard assembly skills self-efficacy. This result may have been affected from the fact that students had high levels of theoretical knowledge and assembly skills before the implementation. Observations showed that AR application enabled students to assemble motherboard in a shorter time with less support. It is thought that simultaneous interaction between virtual objects and real world provided by the AR application is effective in reducing assembly time. The students who were able to see the process steps and instructions directly with the help of HardwareAR application could complete the assembly by getting less help. Considering these results, it can be argued that, thanks to simultaneous interaction it provides, AR offers an important alternative for topics that need learner application and practice

Assembly Guidance in Augmented Reality Environments Using a Virtual Interactive Tool

The application of augmented reality (AR) technology for assembly guidance is a novel approach in the traditional manufacturing domain. In this paper, we propose an AR approach for assembly guidance using a virtual interactive tool that is intuitive and easy to use. The virtual interactive tool, termed the Virtual Interaction Panel (VirIP), involves two tasks: the design of the VirIPs and the real-time tracking of an interaction pen using a Restricted Coulomb Energy (RCE) neural network. The VirIP includes virtual buttons, which have meaningful assembly information that can be activated by an interaction pen during the assembly process. A visual assembly tree structure (VATS) is used for information management and assembly instructions retrieval in this AR environment. VATS is a hierarchical tree structure that can be easily maintained via a visual interface. This paper describes a typical scenario for assembly guidance using VirIP and VATS. The main characteristic of the proposed AR system is the intuitive way in which an assembly operator can easily step through a pre-defined assembly plan/sequence without the need of any sensor schemes or markers attached on the assembly components.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Extended Reality in the World Wide Web: Investigating and Testing the Use Cases of WebVR Manuals

Web Virtual Reality (WebVR) extends the World Wide Web (WWW) in its possibilities by enabling it to present 3D objects. Past research suggests that this could enhance accessibility and calls for further research on user acceptance of this technology. This study conducts an online experiment with a manual for folding an origami figure and compares data from a classic approach versus one where a WebVR manual is presented. Time, quality, knowledge transfer, and motivation are measured, and mediation is tested for usability, cognition, imagination, and comprehensibility. Participants show higher levels of motivation, mediated by comprehensibility and less cognitive effort. The reduced cognitive strain enhances knowledge transfer. Furthermore, the time used is lower in the WebVR setting than in the traditional one. This effect is moderated by usability. Regarding quality, no significant effects are reported

A Scoping Review on Virtual Reality-Based Industrial Training

The fourth industrial revolution has forced most companies to technologically evolve, applying new digital tools, so that their workers can have the necessary skills to face changing work environments. This article presents a scoping review of the literature on virtual reality-based training systems. The methodology consisted of four steps, which pose research questions, document search, paper selection, and data extraction. From a total of 350 peer-reviewed database articles, such as SpringerLink, IEEEXplore, MDPI, Scopus, and ACM, 44 were eventually chosen, mostly using the virtual reality haptic glasses and controls from Oculus Rift and HTC VIVE. It was concluded that, among the advantages of using this digital tool in the industry, is the commitment, speed, measurability, preservation of the integrity of the workers, customization, and cost reduction. Even though several research gaps were found, virtual reality is presented as a present and future alternative for the efficient training of human resources in the industrial field.This work was supported by Instituto Superior Tecnológico Victoria Vásconez Cuvi. The authors appreciate the opportunity to analyze topics related to this paper. The authors must also recognize the supported bringing by Universidad Tecnica de Ambato (UTA) and their Research and Development Department (DIDE) under project CONIN-P-256-2019, and SENESCYT by grants “Convocatoria Abierta 2011” and “Convocatoria Abierta 2013”

ISAR: Ein Autorensystem für Interaktive Tische

Developing augmented reality systems involves several challenges, that prevent end users and experts from non-technical domains, such as education, to experiment with this technology. In this research we introduce ISAR, an authoring system for augmented reality tabletops targeting users from non-technical domains. ISAR allows non-technical users to create their own interactive tabletop applications and experiment with the use of this technology in domains such as educations, industrial training, and medical rehabilitation.Die Entwicklung von Augmented-Reality-Systemen ist mit mehreren Herausforderungen verbunden, die Endbenutzer und Experten aus nicht-technischen Bereichen, wie z.B. dem Bildungswesen, daran hindern, mit dieser Technologie zu experimentieren. In dieser Forschung stellen wir ISAR vor, ein Autorensystem für Augmented-Reality-Tabletops, das sich an Benutzer aus nicht-technischen Bereichen richtet. ISAR ermöglicht es nicht-technischen Anwendern, ihre eigenen interaktiven Tabletop-Anwendungen zu erstellen und mit dem Einsatz dieser Technologie in Bereichen wie Bildung, industrieller Ausbildung und medizinischer Rehabilitation zu experimentieren

Authoring Organizational Tensions Within the Roman Catholic Church: Women Religious Organize for Themselves

For centuries women religious have faced an uncomfortable tension with the all-male hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. This tension is underscored today by the Vatican’s 2008 assessment and subsequent investigation of women religious in the US. Considering this tension-filled context, this study is concerned with the ways in which women religious organize around, alongside, and in some cases against the Church while also supporting the same beliefs and values as the Church. Specifically, this study recognizes NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice as a unique organizational site operating at the intersection of religion, politics, and authority, and explores how women religious and staff at NETWORK frame organizational tension and construct and stabilize authority for the purpose of their ministry. Embracing a tension-centered approach, along with the lenses of authority/authoring and alternative organizing, this study aimed to contribute to theory by exploring the organizational implications of subunits (i.e., women religious) of larger institutions (i.e., the Roman Catholic Church) authoring new tensions. To do so, this dissertation project relied on the qualitative methods of interviews, varying degrees of participant-observation, and document analysis, and engaged a manual approach to data analysis. The findings revealed how staff and sisters associated with NETWORK framed tension and manifested authority through their work, as well as how their organizing efforts have historically authored tension(s) within the institution of Church. First, NETWORK identified tension around three central tensional nodes, framed as dualisms, namely: Catholic/secular; all-male hierarchy of the Church/laity; and religious convent/society. In response to tension, NETWORK discursively constructed a third space, or a space between opposite poles wherein tension can be united in creative ways (Janssens & Steyaert, 1999). NETWORK’s third space is named sister spirit, and it allows staff and sisters to redefine the situation and be productive within the tension. Next, the manifestation of authority happened on two separate levels: the individual, or micro-level (i.e., Catholic sisters who associate with NETWORK) and the organizational, or meso-level (i.e., NETWORK as an organization). At the individual level Catholic sisters leveraged the support of their religious communities as a means of collective construction of authority in order to dissent from the Catholic Church. At the organizational level, NETWORK invoked authority through the Gospel, as an authoritative text brought to life through their work in engaging politics as an avenue for change. Finally, NETWORK’s organizing efforts of have authored tensions within the institution of the Church through NETWORK’s foundational feminist agenda and its Catholic identity. This study contributes to theory on tension and authority/authoring by explicitly recognizing the ways tension engenders authoring, and advances theory on the construction and stabilization of authority in third space. Additionally, this work responds to requests for theory development around duality relationships, suggesting the process of constructing third space via trialectics as a strategy to manage tension inherent in dualities. Methodologically, this project contributes to scholarship by introducing the strategic application of authority construction to qualitative data analysis and expands on manual procedures for data analysis through the use of whiteboarding during specific moments of the analysis process. Practical contributions identify third space as a strategically ambiguous form of alternative organizing that may be ideal for other religious or spiritual social change organizations. In addition, the use of religious or spiritual guiding principles, when organizationally appropriate, may offer stability and energy for staff facing a variety of organizational tensions