This project examines how designing an augmented reality (AR) campus navigation app can improve college students\u27 sense of place and connection with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). To guide the design of the app, I engaged in qualitative research using a curated campus walk protocol that invited students to walk to their favorite place on campus and record their walk while narrating it.
My analysis reveals the larger patterns that students use to select favorite places and favorite routes to those places, as well as how space navigation may lead to the formation of a sense of connection with the campus through enabling community, evoking memory, providing opportunities for people- and nature-watching, and developing a sense of place ownership. Using the affordances of AR technology, this app will provide students with a broader view of places to explore on campus for navigation and to enhance each student\u27s sense of community and belonging. The recommended features of the app would provide tools for building, place, and route discovery, as well as dynamic ways of discovering proximate places based on a student’s location. This project highlights the potential of AR to enhance students\u27 academic journeys and institutional ties, which is in line with CSUSB\u27s mission of establishing a transformative educational experience for all students
