A Design Framework for Smart Glass Augmented Reality Experiences in Heritage Sites

Abstract

Despite the growing applications of smart glass Augmented Reality (AR) in heritage, there is not a framework that can serve as a base for designing meaningful and educational immersive heritage experiences. This article proposes such a prototype design framework for AR experiences in heritage sites, drawing on literature that connects affective experiences with learning, and practically exploring AR as a non-didactic storytelling medium. Smart glass AR is considered here an important technology milestone for creating affective interactions, one that offers visitors/viewers new ways to experience, embody, and have a physical and social interaction with a localized past, and learn about it.

An embodied perspective on an augmented reality game in school: pupil's bodily experience toward learning

“…The findings revealed the application's potential for promoting pupils' ability to experience the physical environment and to activate their sensory modalities, aligned with Pezzulo et al (2013), who considered knowledge development grounded in bodily states and modalities. These results also support the findings reported by Dima (2022), who asserted that AR offers students affective interactions. In addition, pupils in this study reported an awareness of both the weather, either cold or rainy, and the physical surroundings, consistent with Kumpulainen et al (2023), who found that AR revealed sensual intensities affecting children's presence in and attention to the world.…”

“…Recent studies have demonstrated that using AR in an educational environment helps students improve their 21st-century skills, such as communication, the ability to learn, and social practices (Ozyalcin & Avci, 2022). In addition, this technology offers students affective interactions and new ways of experiencing embodied physical and social interactions with the world (Dima, 2022;Sydorenko et al, 2021). Kumpulainen et al (2023) tested the impact of augmented storying on children's ecological imagination.…”

“…The problem-solving tasks became not just academic exercises but also exciting challenges the pupils were eager to tackle in the dynamic, open-air environment. Using learning applications with AR can, therefore, create rewarding activities that inspire students to learn and enhance children's social and physical activity and participation in their learning process, as evidenced by recent research that found that AR improves 21st-century skills and enhances students' social interactions and skills (Dima, 2022;Ozyalcin & Avci, 2022;Sydorenko et al, 2021). Freiler (2008) recognised bodily experiences when constructing knowledge, which the pupils mirrored in this study by highlighting physical activity as a welcoming break from what they experience as sedentary activities in the classroom.…”

Smart Glasses for Cultural Heritage: A Survey

“…Focusing on affective storytelling in cultural spaces, Dima M. [32] proposes a design framework that connects affective experiences with learning through three main pillars: interpretation, affective storytelling, and technology considerations. Interpretation involves providing curatorial guidance for visitors, outlining learning objectives, and guiding the design of stories, including chronology and the selection of archival material.…”

“…The impact of digital storytelling in education is also huge, in terms of student engagement and satisfaction, ease of learning and memory retention [52]. Thus, some research focuses on the application of digital storytelling methods for museum education, using augmented reality and smart glasses as tools for immersion and greater engagement [32,33].…”