The Limited Effect of Graphic Elements in Video and Augmented Reality on Children’s Listening Comprehension

There is currently significant interest in the use of instructional strategies in learning environments thanks to the emergence of new multimedia systems that combine text, audio, graphics and video, such as augmented reality (AR). In this light, this study compares the effectiveness of AR and video for listening comprehension tasks. The sample consisted of thirty-two elementary school students with different reading comprehension. Firstly, the experience, instructions and objectives were introduced to all the students. Next, they were divided into two groups to perform activities—one group performed an activity involving watching an Educational Video Story of the Laika dog and her Space Journey available by mobile devices app Blue Planet Tales, while the other performed an activity involving the use of AR, whose contents of the same history were visualized by means of the app Augment Sales. Once the activities were completed participants answered a comprehension test. Results (p = 0.180) indicate there are no meaningful differences between the lesson format and test performance. But there are differences between the participants of the AR group according to their reading comprehension level. With respect to the time taken to perform the comprehension test, there is no significant difference between the two groups but there is a difference between participants with a high and low level of comprehension. To conclude SUS (System Usability Scale) questionnaire was used to establish the measure usability for the AR app on a smartphone. An average score of 77.5 out of 100 was obtained in this questionnaire, which indicates that the app has fairly good user-centered design

Augmented Reality to Facilitate Learning of the Acoustic Guitar

[Abstract] Many people wishing to learn a musical instrument opt to learn using alternative or informal methods instead of the traditional Master–Apprentice model that requires a greater cognitive load. This paper presents an augmented reality (AR)-based application designed to teach and train guitar chords, with the novelty that it is also used to teach short melodies consisting of four chord transitions so that users have to change hand and finger positions. The app uses high-quality 3D models of an acoustic guitar and animated hand to indicate correct finger positions and the movements required when changing from one chord to another. To follow the animated instructions, the learner overlaps the 3D model onto the neck of the physical guitar and his or her own hand. A system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire was used to measure the usability of the application. A score of 82.0 was obtained, which is higher than the average of 68 points that indicates the application is good from a user experience perspective, thus satisfying the purpose for which it was created. Having analysed the data for both groups—individuals with no prior experience of playing a musical instrument versus individuals with prior experience—it was concluded that the application provided a useful learning approach for all participants involved in the study, regardless of experience. That said, those possessing prior experience of playing an instrument learnt faster. It should be noted that the research revealed significant difference in learning by gender, with male participants learning faster than female participants. Similar results have been detected in other research performed in the field of music, as well as in other fields. As this study required spatial reasoning when viewing the 3D model, the differences identified this case may well have arisen as a consequence of differences in men and women’s spatial awareness, thereby leaving open an alternative line of research