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In this paper we address the problems of virtual object interaction and user tracking in a

The MagicBook is a Mixed Reality interface that uses a real book to seamlessly transport users between Reality and Virtuality. A vision-based tracking method is used to overlay virtual models on real book pages, creating an Augmented Reality (AR) scene. When users see an AR scene they are interested in they can fly inside it and experience it as an immersive Virtual Reality (VR). The interface also supports multi-scale collaboration, allowing multiple users to experience the same virtual en vironment either from an egocentric or an exocentric perspective. In this paper we describe the MagicBook prototype, potential applications and user response.

Augmented reality (AR) technology is mature for creating learning experiences for K-12 (pre-school, grade school, and high school) educational settings. We reviewed the applications intended to complement traditional curriculum materials for K-12. We found 87 research articles on augmented reality learning experiences (ARLEs) in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library and other learning technology publications. Forty-three of these articles conducted user studies, and seven allowed the computation of an effect size to the performance of students in a test. In our meta-analysis, research show that ARLEs achieved a widely variable effect on student performance from a small negative effect to a large effect, with a mean effect size of 0.56 or moderate effect. To complement this finding, we performed a qualitative analysis on the design aspects for ARLEs: display hardware, software libraries, content authoring solutions, and evaluation techniques. We explain that AR incur three inherent advantages: real world annotation, contextual visualization, and vision-haptic visualization. We illustrate these advantages through the exemplifying prototypes, and ground these advantages to multimedia learning theory, experiential learning theory, and animate vision theory. Insights from this review are aimed to inform the design of future ARLEs.

Blending reality and virtuality, these interfaces let users see each other, along with virtual objects, allowing communication behaviors much more like face-to-face than like screen-based collaboration.