A study on real/virtual relationship through mobile augmented reality applications

Pier Giuseppe Rossi1, Laura Fedeli1, Annarita Bramucci1, Marco Polci2

1 2

University of Macerata , Italy Dante Alighieri Institute, Macerata, Italy

Learning & Teaching with Media & Technology

March, 7-9 2013 - Genoa, Italy

AR: the evolution

any case in which an otherwise real environment is 'augmented' by means of virtual (computer graphic) objects (Milgram, Kishino, 1994). any system that 1) combines real and virtual, 2) is interactive in real time, and 3) is registered in three dimensions (Azuma, 1995). A conceptual issue that needs a new reference taxonomy: the relationship between real and virtual and the clarification of the processes of interrelation that defines if its either the reality or the virtuality to be augmented (Milgram and Colquhoun, 1998).

Aim of the research

To clarify how the evolution of AR, as highlited by the literature, can be identified in the educational context and, specifically, in the class work; To go deeper in the concept of mixed reality.

AR in education
The school and the teaching/learning process must be interpreted also as the opportunity in which the cultural practices of the use of mobile devices and their applications in everyday life need to be assimilated (Pachler et al. , 2010, p. 2). Considering the wider and wider interest in this field and its application in different educational context AR apps have been identified in the Horizon Report 2013 as one of the technologies to be fully exploited in the next 3 years.

The research: goals

To determine if the use of AR applications to be used in a formal context through mobile devices, can create new perceptions of the relationship between real and virtual and, consequently, new practices in students in primary school. To make it explicit the nature of the mixed reality in which the student acts within the continuum real-virtual and the role played by the context in such a process.

The research framework

The research is framed in a qualitative approach and adopt a collaborative model . Specifically the university researchers didnt develop their research process on primary school students and their teacher, but with them. The collaboration between University and School takes into account the competence of the teacher in his context. That competence makes it proper to assign to the teacher the status of collaborator in the research (Desgagn, Giddens, Schn).

The research questions

Does the involvement with AR apps modify the students perceptions of real and virtual and their relation? In what ways? What kind of conceptualization of real, virtual and their relation do the students have at the end of the AR project?

The participants

The research implied the participation of two classes of the Primary School Fratelli Cervi. Both classes are composed by 24 pupils aged 10; In both contexts the same teacher was involved as research collaborator.

The AR project

Applying the point at app to connect trigger images to videos

Both the trigger image and the video are designed and created by pupils The final products are explored in class with iPADs and that experience will be the focus of a collaborative reflection.

Point at

Showcase

Point at: how the app works

The mobile AR app allows the recognition of physical objects and works as follows: Make a digital photo of the object (trigger image) and convert it with Qualcomm Vuforia Augmented Reality technology (trackable image); The trackable image is connected to a web resource (e.g. a video published on YouTube); The i-PAD rear camera points at the physical object and the app makes the connected web resource open.

The research timeline: 1

Preliminary step (December 2012) : Clinical interview with pupils; Description of AR apps and presentation of the aims of the class project; Negotiation of the macro topics to be addressed in each class and organization of the work in small groups.

The research timeline: 2

Hands on step (January /February 2013): First approach with audio and video editing free software; Storyboarding and video construction in small groups.

The research timeline: 3

Final step (February 2013): Conversion of the trigger images and connection with the videos published online; Experimentation of the app using i-PADs in class; Final clinical interviews with pupils.

The data: 1
Preliminary step

Students seems to perceive a clear separation between real and virtual: virtual stuff is like another life the daily life is real, the computer life is virtual AR is a vague concept, a sort of mixture between what students call reality and what they identify as technology

The data: 2
Hands on step

The two classes worked with a different modality (topic based groups, friendship based goups) The creation of the video project fostered students: Be a group in which each member helps and contribute in reaching a quality final product explore the web to find meaningful resources, select them and take into account the privacy and copyright issues

Improve their expertise in the use of software.

The data: 3

Final step
Students report that: the work done to create the video is real Real is what you actually do, so the exploration activity and editing activities are perceived as real the AR app let users take advantage of an an added value: the real trigger image can be clarified (because enriched) by the video

Conclusion
The experimentation produced a reflection on the multiple dimensions of the connection between real and virtual. The perception of reality seems to be consistent with the potential of action on the world (Im creating something) and its perception (I can touch it). The AR project seems to have had a role in stimulating a reflection on the nature of information both in the real world and in the virtual one. The whole process created a serendipitous exploration by the pupils in different directions (personal, interpersonal and related to the subject matter). While the AR app works in the same way of a QR code, trigger objects seems to have a different conceptual value in an educational perspectives, they work as conceptual nodes.