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Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Education and Approaches".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 May 2023) | Viewed by 14879

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fisnik Dalipi

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Guest Editor

Department of Informatics, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden
Interests: technology-enhanced learning; MOOC; security and privacy; user experience and applied artificial intelligence

Dr. Arianit Kurti

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Guest Editor

Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, Faculty of Technology, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Växjö, Sweden
Interests: technology-enhanced learning; web and mobile engineering; context sensing and serialization; data modeling; user engagement; visualisation; innovative technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Digital transformation is profoundly impacting and disrupting every facet of society, and education is no exception. Moreover, as the COVID-19 epidemic has caused new requirements in education, the use of various emerging technologies and materials has gained more importance for educational sustainability. One such emerging technology is undoubtedly Augmented Reality (AR), which has received both research and practical attention across diverse application domains. The recent advances in AR have created opportunities for developing educational applications that allow the manipulation and visualization of information in a more engaging and attractive manner. AR applications typically involve interactive books, geographical maps and objects emerging from educational objects such as worksheets, notebooks, and AR cards. Such applications provide new possibilities for teachers to motivate and engage students in learning activities. In this regard, the application of AR facilitates the addition of gaming elements by teachers, in order to increase the motivation and presence of students in the learning activities. The addition of such interactive contents to the education curriculum would further increase the students’ attention, understanding, and performance.

However, there are still some challenges to overcome in including such technology in education, due to the lack of instructional aspects in applying AR technology and the need for sustainable curriculums. Moreover, the lack of teacher training and improvement, the few educational experiences found, the lack of a conceptual foundation, and the lack of institutional support are also challenging factors. On the other hand, from the design standpoint, there is a shortage of more consistent and uniform patterns in terms of methods for systematically developing and evaluating AR approaches in the educational landscape.

The main goal of this Special Issue is to fill these gaps by collecting conceptual, review and research papers exploring the application of AR in education with the goal of achieving a sustainable learning experience.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Design and development of AR learning environments;
Game-based AR learning experiences;
Pedagogical approaches, learning theories and methodologies for AR application in education;
User experience and acceptance evaluation of AR learning applications;
Sustainable learning experience through AR in education;
Technical platforms, scalability, and implementation of AR learning environments;
Ethical, privacy and security issues of AR learning applications.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Fisnik Dalipi
Dr. Arianit Kurti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

AR in education
gamification and AR in education
educational innovation
AR application in STEM education
AR applications in education and teacher/students’ perspectives

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 2734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Conceptualisation of User-App Interactivity in Augmented Reality-Mediated Learning: Implications for Literacy Education

by Tingjia Wang and Lynde Tan

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10949; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410949 - 12 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1030

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) is transforming users’ multisensory experiences and heightening the level of engagement with multimodal learning. Scholarly attention is urgently needed to conceptualise and examine user–app interactivity in educational contexts. Drawing on the systemic functional–multimodal discourse analysis approach, this article aims to explore key user roles prompted by AR apps and examine educational functions that these user roles fulfil in AR-mediated learning. Based on our analysis of 14 AR apps selected for a 3-day workshop with six Australian primary school teachers, we identified four categories of user roles that facilitated different literacy activity types during AR-mediated learning. To design effective learning experiences, this article argues that teachers need to consider the resonance between students’ AR experiences and their prior engagement with other forms of digital texts when planning for scaffolding strategies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems)

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20 pages, 4074 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Evaluation for Immersive Virtual Reality Learning Environment: A Systematic Literature Review

by Ying Cao, Giap-Weng Ng and Sha-Sha Ye

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 1964; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031964 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4038

Abstract

This systematic review broadly attempted to synthesize all relevant evidence residing in the Scopus, IEEE Xplore and MDPI databases, in order to inform the related Research Questions of this work. More precisely, the review protocol includes a broad and comprehensive search for eligible data sets from the Scopus, IEEE Xplore and MDPI databases, published from January 2017 to December 2022 by using inclusion/exclusion search criteria. Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI) was commissioned to assess and analyze the quality of 69 quantitative studies. The findings generally received positive feedback and there was a discussion about the results. This work was an original contribution guided by pedagogical theory and the validity of the evaluation constitutes a proposal for future improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems)

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22 pages, 7400 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Training Effectiveness of Professional Maintenance Personnel Based on Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Technology

by Xiao-Wei Liu, Cheng-Yu Li, Sina Dang, Wei Wang, Jue Qu, Tong Chen and Qing-Li Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14351; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114351 - 02 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2963

Abstract

The maintenance training method based on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology has the characteristics of safety, no space limitation, and good reusability. Compared with the traditional training method, it can reduce the training cost, shorten the training period, and improve training effectiveness. Therefore, more and more maintenance training use VR and AR to replace training based on actual equipment to improve training effectiveness. However, in the context of multi-level tasks, there is still no clear research conclusion on how to choose training methods, maximize the advantages of each training method, and achieve higher training effectiveness. In response to this problem, this study constructed three training platforms based on VR, AR, and actual equipment, designed three maintenance tasks at different levels, and created a comparative analysis of the training effects of 60 male trainees under the three tasks and three training platforms. The results show that for single-level maintenance tasks, the training effect of the traditional group was significantly better than that of the AR group and the VR group. For multi-level maintenance tasks, the training effect of AR group was significantly better than that of the VR group. With the increasing difficulty of maintenance tasks, the training efficiency of the AR group was more than 10% higher than that of the VR group and traditional group and the AR group had less cognitive load. The conclusions of this study can provide a theoretical basis for the selection of training methods and evaluation design and help to formulate training strategies, thereby shortening the training period of professional maintenance personnel. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems)

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14 pages, 1381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Simulation-Based VR Training for the Nuclear Sector—A Pilot Study

by Italo Masiello, Romain Herault, Martin Mansfeld and Maria Skogqvist

Sustainability 2022, 14(13), 7984; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14137984 - 30 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1765

Abstract

Simulation-based training has seen an increased use of extended reality, that is, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) displays. The health professions have been using VR for simulation-based training more extensively than others. This method can offer the possibility of immediate feedback, which promotes more accurate training to self-correct mistakes in environments that are otherwise risky or provide unsafe conditions. The nuclear industry has attempted to seize the same digital and educational transformation to train their personnel to handle dangerous scenarios. We ran a pilot study with the aim of evaluating the VR training scenario developed for the specific target group and the acceptance of the VR technology itself for this kind of training. We used the Kirkpatrick framework to evaluate the training and the VR-HAM acceptance model to evaluate the acceptance of VR. A VR scenario was developed to test specific technical skills of nuclear power plant personnel. The 13 participants showed results within the basic level of the Kirkpatrick framework and held both positive reactions and concerns, that is, they enjoyed the training with VR and expressed concerns regarding the stability of the VR technology. The participants also showed positive attitudes towards the perceived ease of use and usefulness of the VR-HAM and its various constructs. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic limited our testing, we could show valuable data and positive attitudes and perceived ease by the participants. Simulation-based VR training could be an important complement to traditional training methods, especially where safety is a priority, but we still need to provide solid evidence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems)

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Review

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17 pages, 2232 KiB

Open AccessReview

Augmented Reality in K–12 Education: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature from 2000 to 2020

by Jiakai Zhang, Gege Li, Qinglin Huang, Qinna Feng and Heng Luo

Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9725; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159725 - 07 Aug 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4067

Abstract

With its capacity to support student-centered learning through digital transformation and shared experience, augmented reality (AR) has received increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners as an emerging technology to achieve innovative and sustainable education. Therefore, this study systematically reviewed the literature on the application of augmented reality in K–12 education settings between 2000 and 2020. After two stages of screening, 129 articles were selected, and the key research results were analyzed and integrated by adopting a coding scheme including basic information, instruction contexts, technical features, instructional design, and research results. The results revealed interesting findings regarding the augmented reality literature in terms of publication patterns, application fields, technological affordances, instructional designs, and methods. Furthermore, a meta-analysis was conducted to examine the effectiveness of augmented reality-based instruction, and the results showed a large overall effect size (g = 0.919) with three significant moderators. Finally, the practical significance of AR-based instruction and a future research agenda are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring Technologies for Sustainable Learning Experience: Augmented Reality (AR) in Education Systems)

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