Enhancing collaborative learning in an augmented reality supported environment

Abstract

In this research project, effort had been made into the application of collaborative augmented reality technology (AR) to mediate traditional collaborative learning process. The objective is to study how collaborative AR as a relatively new technology could mediate the collaborative learning process. A server-supported mobile collaborative system was built to simulate the phenomena on `elastic collision?, a topic selected from the physic textbooks of Singapore?s junior high school. The end user software client was implemented on mobile platform to give collaborator more freedom in collaborative task. Technologically, server based architecture has been implemented to facilitate the central control on the multi-person collaboration and also allow mobile client to offload computational intensive tasks. User experiment had been conducted with sixty students from National University of Singapore who did not possess prior knowledge on the topic of `elastic collision?. Results empirically verified that the influence of AR could effectively foster better collaborative learning. Participants had also reported substantial stronger learning interest. As a conclusion, AR appears to be a promising technology for education community as instructional tools in the future. It is the mission of both technical and educational research communities to work together to build AR application that shape the future of AR as promising educational technology.