Lesson 5: Augmented and Virtual Reality

A screenshot from Skyview on my phone, an AR product that displays the night sky with planets and constellations

What Are AR and VR?

Before we begin, we need some definitions.

Augmented Reality (AR) is defined as “a set of technological elements that allow the user to have a clear image of the real world while using a tool or device that generates additional graphical information” (Marrahi-Gomez & Belda-Medina, 2022).

Virtual Reality (VR) is “a computer-generated simulation of a real-life environment that can be explored and interacted with using head-mounted displays or other devices” (Zhao, Ren, & Cheah, 2023).

Essentially, the difference is that AR alters a picture, while VR generates one entirely.

Advantages of AR and VR

The key strength of both AR and VR is immersion, with VR being the more immersive but also more difficult option. Immersion can be a powerful tool for sparking creativity, and the tools available for creating AR worlds can easily be utilised to help students create and then experience their own virtual or augmented realities.

Marrahi-Gomez & Belda-Medina (2022) when writing of the educational uses of AR noted that enables greater emotional connection with subject matter and further increases motivation in sutdents. From personal experience, I can attest that when I was a kid I had a 3Ds with an AR feature and I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Some research also suggests that AR and VR and other immersive technologies may enhance learning in other ways also. (Dede, 2009)

A rather blurry photo of an AR puzzle game that I found endlessly entertaining during the tutorial. While this was engaging, I should note I mostly liked it because I like puzzle games and I often found the AR elements annoying. Misreads of my actions would often give hints to the solution, and sometimes I had the solution but the scanner couldn't tell which was frustrating.

Disadvantages

It is risky to become too enamoured with the potential of AR and VR, as the immersion they spark can potentially become a disadvantage, if students become more interested in the tech itself than what it’s teaching. In a 2018 literature review Erica Southgate warned that “research on the effects of IVR on children and their learning is still nascent.” (Southgate, 2018).

AR in particular has been prone to fashionable cycles where people expect too much of it and abandon it when it proves unable to live up to those expectations (Perez-Calañas, Hernández-Garrido, Perea, & Rodriguez-Perez, 2023).

Ultimately, the biggest weakness with AR and VR is the same as with a video game, you want kids to be using it as a tool to learn, not wasting their time with it.

Conclusion

AR and VR can provide the spark of creativity whether it is by inspiring students with immersion or by having them create whole worlds or even taking learning into new contexts. But it must be used carefully so that students learn, and do not get distracted by the technology itself.

Examples

Zapworks AR image

https://edu.cospaces.io/Studio/Space/zRVhE6l4aWYUq8bb

Link to cospace 'space' which is really a VR environment, though it can be an AR if you use real images... whatever, it was in the tutorial and now it's here. It has a spaceship I spent WAY too long making go in a circle.

References

Dede, C. (2009). Immersive Interfaces for Engagement and Learning. Science, 66-68.

Marrahi-Gomez, V., & Belda-Medina, J. (2022). The Integration of Augmented Reality (AR) in Education. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal , 475-487.

Perez-Calañas, C., Hernández-Garrido, R., Perea, D., & Rodriguez-Perez, Á. (2023). Augmented Reality (AR) in Education: An Exploratory Analysis. In F. Cavas-Martínez, M. Marín Granados, R. Mirálbes Buil, & O. de-Cózar-Macías, Advances in Design Engineering III. (pp. 703-710). INGEGRAF 2022.

Southgate, E. (2018). Immersive virtual reality, children and school education: A literature review for teachers. DICE Report Series Number 6. Newcastle: DICE Research. Retrieved from http://dice.newcastle.edu.au/DRS_6_2018.pdf

Zhao, X., Ren, Y., & Cheah, K. S. (2023). Leading Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in Education: Bibliometric and Content Analysis From the Web of Science (2018–2022). SAGE Open.

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