From Grand Canyon to Yosemite: Lessons learned from the development and assessment of digital geoscience field trips for mobile smart devices

How geoscience apps are enhancing students' understanding of the geology of places such as Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks

Mobile learning: benefits of augmented reality in geometry teaching

As a consequence of the technological advances and the widespread use of mobile devices to access information and communication in the last decades, mobile learning has become a spontaneous learning model, providing a more flexible and collaborative technology-based learning. Thus, mobile technologies can create new opportunities for enhancing the pupils’ learning experiences. This paper presents the development of a game to assist teaching and learning, aiming to help students acquire knowledge in the field of geometry. The game was intended to develop the following competences in primary school learners (8-10 years): a better visualization of geometric objects on a plane and in space; understanding of the properties of geometric solids; and familiarization with the vocabulary of geometry. Findings show that by using the game, students have improved around 35% the hits of correct responses to the classification and differentiation between edge, vertex and face in 3D solids.This research was supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council Design Star CDT (AH/L503770/1), the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) projects LARSyS (UID/EEA/50009/2013) and CIAC-Research Centre for Arts and Communication.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Augmented Reality and Animation Supported-STEM Activities in Grades K-12: Water Treatment

Animation is used to increase the interest and engagement of students in the learning environment. Animation is exciting and fun, and using animation, abstract concepts are easy to present, display, and convey to students. Augmented reality, like animation, can help make it easier to understand abstract concepts. In many areas, augmented reality is used in education since it perfectly integrates virtual content with the natural world. STEM education is one of the areas where augmented reality can be used effectively. In this context, this research aimed to reveal the fourth-grade students' opinions about augmented reality and animation-supported STEM activities on the "Water Treatment" topic. These  STEM activities were carried out with 15 (7 females, 8 males) fourth-grade students from a primary school in Turkey and lasted for 6 lesson hours. This study is a case study. As data collection tools in the study, the Know-Want-Learned chart, and the Application General Evaluation Form, which consists of eight open-ended questions developed by the researchers, were used. Based on the study's findings and the researchers' observations, it was determined that the augmented reality and animation-supported STEM activities are appropriate for acquisition, content, application, active participation, duration, and student level. In addition, the activities were enjoyable, humorous, engaging, and exciting. It is recommended in this context to conduct similar studies on different disciplines or concepts.

Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6

This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE). Themes: • Big-data inquiry: thinking with data • Learners making science • Navigating post-truth societies • Immersive learning • Learning with internal values • Student-led analytics • Intergroup empathy • Humanistic knowledge-building communities • Open Textbooks • Spaced Learnin

Using the Proteus virtual environment to train future IT professionals

Abstract. Based on literature review it was established that the use of augmented reality as an innovative technology of student training occurs in following directions: 3D image rendering; recognition and marking of real objects; interaction of a virtual object with a person in real time. The main advantages of using AR and VR in the educational process are highlighted: clarity, ability to simulate processes and phenomena, integration of educational disciplines, building an open education system, increasing motivation for learning, etc. It has been found that in the field of physical process modelling the Proteus Physics Laboratory is a popular example of augmented reality. Using the Proteus environment allows to visualize the functioning of the functional nodes of the computing system at the micro level. This is especially important for programming systems with limited resources, such as microcontrollers in the process of training future IT professionals. Experiment took place at Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University and Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko with students majoring in Computer Science (field of knowledge is Secondary Education (Informatics)). It was found that computer modelling has a positive effect on mastering the basics of microelectronics. The ways of further scientific researches for grounding, development and experimental verification of forms, methods and augmented reality, and can be used in the professional training of future IT specialists are outlined in the article

Augmented Reality Technology Used To Enhance Informal Science Learning

With science advancements ever-changing and an increased use of multimedia to display information to the public, science literacy and critical thinking skills are important for the public to keep up to date. Students will need to know how to interpret science information they are faced with throughout their lives to make decisions and critique scientific arguments (Squire & Mingfong, 2007). Science education reform is becoming more focused on incorporating science practices with the use of tools and processes to enhance learning. An authentic learning experience can be described as experiencing real problems and consequences in context (Rosenbaum et al., 2007). Augmented reality technology can be used to create authentic learning experiences as it allows for many unique affordances in the field such as place based learning context, personal embodiment of a role, and solving a problem modeling real life science research.This paper will examine augmented reality technology in science education and the pedagogical support behind this technique. The project is comprised of a literature review discussing the benefits and support for augmented reality games used in science education followed by the descriptions of six different augmented reality science games that were created using the online platform “Taleblazer”

The impact of augmented reality on curriculum and training design

Augmented reality (AR) is a relatively emerging technology that is being applied in a somewhat exploratory stage, for training design and curriculum development. In this review, 30 articles were selected and analyzed to identify some current uses of augmented reality in training and curriculum design. Four major themes were identified: 1) a brief introduction about AR; 2) the current uses of AR in curriculum and training development, 3) a review of the effects AR has on student engagement, and 4) the future implications of augmented reality in curriculum and training development. Recommendations for the future are also discussed

A case study: what attracts teachers to augmented reality

This study aimed to identify the reasons why teachers are interested in augmented reality (AR) technology. AR is a technology that allows simultaneous enrichment of real-world images with virtual objects. AR is used at all levels of education from preschool to graduate school. The teachers who liked the Facebook page were sent the online survey via a message. 205 teachers who responded voluntarily to the questionnaire constituted the study group. Criterion sampling method, which is a purposeful sampling method, was used in the research. Case study design which is one of the qualitative research methods was used in this research. To ensure the reliability of the study, the coding process was conducted by the first researcher and another domain expert, and the codes were cross-checked. The results of the study showed that the reasons teachers are interested in AR were classified under three themes: educational benefit (teaching more effective lessons, attracting students' attention to lessons, enriching the content of the course, facilitating easier understanding of subjects, ensuring more permanent learning, making lessons more fun were attractive for teachers), professional development (follow current educational technologies, develop specialized course materials, share what they know with other teachers, use this information with other subjects) and personal development (learning new things, benefit from academic studies, prepare projects). © 2022, Ozgen Korkmaz. All rights reserved

Introducing Virtual Reality and Emerging Technologies in a Teacher Training STEM Course

In recent years, the adoption of Emerging Technologies in Education (ETE) has significantly grown. However, the effective integration of these technologies remains challenging as many educators have not been accounted with the professional/career readiness to properly acknowledge and use them as educational tools. Although the STEM approach has gained prominence in Science Education, it still requires proper teacher readiness for a successful implementation. In this study, with a design-based research and mixed method approaches, a ten-session program for prospective teachers was developed and evaluated to foster the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively integrate different technological resources in STEM education. The program aims to bridge the gap between technology and pedagogy, empowering educators to maximize the use ETE to enrich learning experiences. The main conclusions emphasize the significance of technology-centric education for future educators, stressing the necessity for Teacher Training programs that align technological potential with practical classroom applications. Integrating Emerging Technologies supports contemporary pedagogical approaches like STEM Education, promoting active student participation and problem-solving skills. To fully harness Emerging Technologies' potential, educators need training and support. Developing comprehensive training pathways for these technologies is vital to narrow the gap between technology and effective educational integration.Departamento de Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales (Universidad de Granada)Departamento de Didáctica de la Matemática (Universidad de Granada)Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR)Grupo de Investigación HUM613 (Didáctica de las Ciencias Experimentales y de la Sostenibilidad)Instituto Interuniversitario Andaluz de Investigación Educativa (Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad de Granada)Departamento de Didáctica de la Expresión Musical, Plástica y Corporal (Universidad de Granada)Proyecto TED2021-129474B-I00 financiado por MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y por la Unión Europea NextGenerationEU/ PRT