The LAB@FUTURE Project - Moving Towards the Future of E-Learning

This paper presents Lab@Future, an advanced e-learning platform that uses novel Information and Communication Technologies to support and expand laboratory teaching practices. For this purpose, Lab@Future uses real and computer-generated objects that are interfaced using mechatronic systems, augmented reality, mobile technologies and 3D multi user environments. The main aim is to develop and demonstrate technological support for practical experiments in the following focused subjects namely: Fluid Dynamics - Science subject in Germany, Geometry - Mathematics subject in Austria, History and Environmental Awareness – Arts and Humanities subjects in Greece and Slovenia. In order to pedagogically enhance the design and functional aspects of this e-learning technology, we are investigating the dialogical operationalisation of learning theories so as to leverage our understanding of teaching and learning practices in the targeted context of deployment

From Industry to Practice: Can Users Tackle Domain Tasks with Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is a cutting-edge interactive technology. While Virtual Reality (VR) is based on completely virtual and immersive environments, AR superimposes virtual objects onto the real world. The value of AR has been demonstrated and applied within numerous industrial application areas due to its capability of providing interactive interfaces of visualized digital content. AR can provide functional tools that support users in undertaking domain-related tasks, especially facilitating them in data visualization and interaction by jointly augmenting physical space and user perception. Making effective use of the advantages of AR, especially the ability which augment human vision to help users perform different domain-related tasks is the central part of my PhD research.Industrial process tomography (IPT), as a non-intrusive and commonly-used imaging technique, has been effectively harnessed in many manufacturing components for inspections, monitoring, product quality control, and safety issues. IPT underpins and facilitates the extraction of qualitative and quantitative data regarding the related industrial processes, which is usually visualized in various ways for users to understand its nature, measure the critical process characteristics, and implement process control in a complete feedback network. The adoption of AR in benefiting IPT and its related fields is currently still scarce, resulting in a gap between AR technique and industrial applications. This thesis establishes a bridge between AR practitioners and IPT users by accomplishing four stages. First of these is a need-finding study of how IPT users can harness AR technique was developed. Second, a conceptualized AR framework, together with the implemented mobile AR application developed in an optical see-through (OST) head-mounted display (HMD) was proposed. Third, the complete approach for IPT users interacting with tomographic visualizations as well as the user study was investigated.Based on the shared technologies from industry, we propose and examine an AR approach for visual search tasks providing visual hints, audio hints, and gaze-assisted instant post-task feedback as the fourth stage. The target case was a book-searching task, in which we aimed to explore the effect of the hints and the feedback with two hypotheses: that both visual and audio hints can positively affect AR search tasks whilst the combination outperforms the individuals; that instant post-task feedback can positively affect AR search tasks. The proof-of-concept was demonstrated by an AR app in an HMD with a two-stage user evaluation. The first one was a pilot study (n=8) where the impact of the visual hint in benefiting search task performance was identified. The second was a comprehensive user study (n=96) consisting of two sub-studies, Study I (n=48) and Study II (n=48). Following quantitative and qualitative analysis, our results partially verified the first hypothesis and completely verified the second, enabling us to conclude that the synthesis of visual and audio hints conditionally improves AR search task efficiency when coupled with task feedback

Collaborative Practices that Support Creativity in Design

Design is a ubiquitous, collaborative and highly material activity. Because of the embodied nature of the design profession, designers apply certain collaborative practices to enhance creativity in their everyday work. Within the domain of industrial design, we studied two educational design departments over a period of eight months. Using examples from our fieldwork, we develop our results around three broad themes related to collaborative practices that support the creativity of design professionals: 1) externalization, 2) use of physical space, and 3) use of bodies. We believe that these themes of collaborative practices could provide new insights into designing technologies for supporting a varied set of design activities. We describe two conceptual collaborative systems derived from the results of our study

Using Augmented Reality in Science Education to Foster 21st-Century Skills and Higher-Order Thinking Skills

No abstract required

Conceptualization and Design of a Workflow Management System Front End for Augmented Reality Headsets

A currently discussed approach to increase efficiency during task execution, inter alia to reduce error rates and execution times, is the utilization of headset-based augmented reality systems (HARS). Additional to direct task support, HARSes can offer workflow management and control functions. However, these are only covered very limitedly by existing design-oriented approaches. Thus, users have to resort to additional devices, decreasing efficiency, and usability. Based on a three-step systematic literature analysis and two focus groups, we present a novel tentative design theory for HARSes supporting the full range of workflow management and control functions. Our design theory consists of four design requirements and nine design principles and is the basis for a software artifact prototype. Both our tentative design theory and software artifact are formatively evaluated by a third focus group. Our contributions add to the prescriptive knowledge base of the community and may be adapted by researchers and practitioners

Conceptualising teachers' professional learning with Web 2.0

Purpose – This paper seeks to identify and develop an exploratory framework for conceptualising how teachers might use the affordances of Web 2.0 technologies to support their own professional learning. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a large corpus of literature and recent research evidence to identify the principal elements and features of professional learning and the underlying affordances of Web 2.0 technologies and applications. It generates an exploratory conceptual framework based on the emerging findings from this review using a socio‐cultural theoretical perspective. The framework is explored through three individual illustrations which are drawn from a much larger case study which the author is undertaking within a newly established Academy in the North of England. Findings – The findings indicate that there is potential value in exploring professional learning with Web 2.0 technologies in the ways described. The framework offers an exploratory instrument to examine how professional learning for teachers could be supported with Web 2.0 technologies in ways that might have significant benefits over traditional methods of continuing professional development (CPD). Originality/value – The potential value and affordances of Web 2.0 technologies for teachers' professional learning are largely unexplored and under‐theorised, and this work seeks to establish a framework for further discussion and empirical exploration

How can exploratory learning with games and simulations within the curriculum be most effectively evaluated?

There have been few attempts to introduce frameworks that can help support tutors evaluate educational games and simulations that can be most effective in their particular learning context and subject area. The lack of a dedicated framework has produced a significant impediment for uptake of games and simulations particularly in formal learning contexts. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by introducing a four-dimensional framework for helping tutors to evaluate the potential of using games- and simulation- based learning in their practice, and to support more critical approaches to this form of games and simulations. The four-dimensional framework is applied to two examples from practice to test its efficacy and structure critical reflection upon practice