Teaching and Learning Context in Augmented Reality Environment

The article presents Augmented reality (AR) as a step between reality and virtual reality for the benefit of education. After some introductory example of where AR heads, the technology will be explained itself. Then, I describe the modules of the AR that are developed and how it can be used in university courses and activities. AR is the mid-point on a continuum between the real physical world around us, and the virtual digital world online superimposing information on our sensory experiences as we move through time and space. Viewing physical objects through a mobile’s camera, AR uses image recognition, geo-location, the device’s accelerometer, and online databases to provide information relevant in time and space to the user. Research continues into different interaction methods and display possibilities making engagement with online data more natural and intuitive. The article explores current research in AR and associated technologies in order to understand possibilities for learners today and in the future. This literature review focuses on AR for learning that utilize mobile, context-aware technologies (e.g., smartphones, tablets), which enable participants to interact with digital information embedded within the physical environment. Summarizing research findings about AR in formal and informal learning environments (i.e., schools, universities, museums, parks, zoos, etc.), with an emphasis on the affordances and limitations associated with AR as it relates to teaching, learning, and instructional design. As a cognitive tool and pedagogical approach, AR is primarily aligned with situated and constructivist learning theory, as it positions the learner within a real-world physical and social context while guiding, scaffolding and facilitating participatory and meta-cognitive learning processes such as authentic inquiry, active observation, peer coaching, reciprocal teaching and legitimate peripheral participation with multiple modes of representation.