What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive 3D technology that allows individuals to combine the physical world with virtual reality (Cuendet et al., 2012). As technologies continue to expand, AR provides new opportunities to learning and teaching in education, with research supporting the benefits of enhancing student engagement, creativity and motivation (Wu et al., 2013). By introducing syllabus outcomes through AR, it has shown to increase students’ conceptual understanding as they can now visualise abstract concepts.

Quiver is an interactive application, created by QuiverVision that allows students’ to watch their 2D drawings come to life. It is an engaging, high quality AR platform readily available to teachers in all subject matters.

How does AR and Quiver foster creativity?

AR and Quiver allow students’ personal drawings, models and maps come alive in a 3D form, enhancing their imagination. Creativity is enhanced through open-ended tasks as it cognitively engages students, motivating them to achieve higher order thinking. AR provides a multitude of open-ended tasks, allowing student-centred learning to manipulate reality in a range of concepts (Wu et al., 2013; Wheeler, Wait & Bromfield, 2002). Collaborative learning is also supported to achieve creativity through the communication of ideas, designs and concepts (Bujak et al., 2012).

How it can be efficiently used in the classroom?

AR can be efficiently used within the classroom with a combination of structured lesson plans in coherence with carefully selected syllabus outcomes. To create an effective lesson with AR and Quiver, it is important that the teacher has sufficient knowledge and skills with the emerging technology.  

Pedagogical benefits and issues of AR and Quiver

AR can be used for a range of pedagogical strategies including problem-based, games-based, and place-based learning (Wu et al., 2013). The flexibility of pedagogy allows teachers to adapt their lessons to maximise engagement. It is critical to provide vast opportunities to students to develop ICT skills from their early years of school, as it fosters creativity, technological, and communicative skills (Wheeler, Wait & Bromfield, 2002).

Wu et al. (2013) express a range of affordances of AR including students learning in a collaborative, learner-centred, visual, and situated manner. To enhance the AR experience, it is important to carefully link targeted learning outcomes to create a captivating learning process (Cuendet et al., 2012). Kerewalla et al. (2006) demonstrated how teachers have a high positive attitude towards AR within their teaching, however express the lack of control over the content available. Creating a wider range of content within AR applications would allow more teachers to apply this emerging technology within their classroom. 

Other types of AR include:

• EKID – Simple flashcards and virtual imaging provided in areas such as animals and transport
• Civilisations AR – discovering artefacts, art and culture from around the world in a 3D virtual reality
• Moon Phases AR – using 3D visual imaging to identify the sun, moon and earth phases, location and sizing.

References

Bujak, K. R., Radu, I., Catrambone, R., MacIntyre, B., Zheng, R., & Golubski, G. A psychological perspective on augmented reality in the mathematics classroom. Computers & Education, 68, 436-544. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.017

Cuendet, S., Bonnard, Q., Do-Lenh, S., & Dillenbourg, P. (2013). Designing augmented reality for the classroom. Computers & Education, 68, 557-569. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.015

Kerawalla, L., Luckin, R., Seljeflot, S., & Woolard, A. (2006). Making it real”: exploring the potential of augmented reality for teaching primary school science. Virtual Reality, 10(3-4), 163-174. doi:10.1007/s10055-006-0036-4

Wheeler, S., Waite, S. J., & Bromfield, C. (2002). Promoting creative thinking through the use of ICT. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18(3), 367-378. doi:10.1046/j.0266-4909.2002.00247.x

Wu, H. K., Lee, S. W., Chang, H., & Liang, J. (2013). Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented reality in education. Computers & Education, 62, 41-49. doi: 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.024