Augmented Reality Markers

Augmented Reality is a technology that is interactive and allows users to get “‘a real-time direct or indirect view of the real world environment that has been enhanced/augmented by adding virtual computer- generated information to it” (Cihak et al. as cited in Carmigniani and Furht). Some types of AR require markers for users to trigger the AR experience. Using the camera on their mobile, the AR application can identify the object or image independently from what is surrounding them and launch the augmented experience which could be in a video, 3D model or other file format depending on the app. This has been used in different fields such as e-commerce, training, marketing, gaming, tourism, and many more.

Example of application used to create AR markers: Arloopa

Download Arloopa in Android

Download Arloopa in iOS

Potential Educational Uses

Interactivity: In certain situations, having markers to trigger the AR experience provides a consistent and better tracking experience. When users see a marker, the interactivity with it becomes intuitive for them and the content can be more engaging.
Self-guided learning: Teachers can use the AR experience with markers to provide additional support that students can refer to during their self-guided learning. For example, in language learning, teachers can tie a video pronouncing a word and explaining its definition to an image with the word written on it.
Modeling: Students with disabilities such as autism can learn by following the steps given in an image but also by mimicking the actions in a 3D video (Cihak et al., 2016).
Instructions: Create links between the images in textbooks and tutorial videos to further explain concepts (as shown in the example video of Arloopa above).

This video provides a tutorial on how to use Canva to create your marker and how to use Arloopa to create the AR content.

Click here to read more classroom uses of an AR app. Note that the app mentioned in this link is discontinued.

Potential risks

Privacy: A lot of times, application systems ask for more permissions than they need. Applications requiring access to functions such as the camera give developers with malicious intent to acquire personal data from users without their consent (Lehman et al., 2022) which could potentially lead to cyber fraud and data manipulation.
Security: Depending on the use of the AR app, some hackers could alter the output of the AR marker and trick users into perceiving the generated object as real. This could put their physical security at risk (Perkins, 2018). Similarly, placing the AR marker at a dangerous location can also be dangerous if users are reckless.

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