Nurturing Environmental Education at the Tertiary Education Level in China: Can Mobile Augmented Reality and Gamification Help?

Abstract

In the educational context, there currently emerges a growing research interest in using mobile augmented reality (AR) and the gamification concept to promote environmental education (EE). However, to date, scant attention has been paid to practically linking this approach to formal curricula at the tertiary level in China. Given the situation, we designed a geolocation-based mobile AR scavenger hunt to explore students' perception of embedding technology-enhanced and gamified EE in their language learning process. Ninety-eight first-year students, majoring in English at a Chinese university, were invited to participate in this study. In this game, students need to find the answers to 24 environment-themed questions phrased in English. Guided by prior technology acceptance research, we employed a mixed methods approach to capture participants' experience and perception of the process. The results show that this approach was positively perceived among the participants, for it could not only enrich their language learning experience but also promote their awareness of the environment. The findings offer insights into how EE can be purposefully integrated with tertiary education by leveraging current technological and pedagogical innovations.

A Systematic Review of Augmented Reality Applications in Language Learning

“…None of the research in this study of AR in language learning was conducted on middle school students. The large proportion of college and university students as study participants corresponded to previous studies [21,38] potentially due to the accessibility of mobile devices, [39], readily available samples [38], and the ability to give detailed and constructive feedback on the use of AR applications. Most of the AR applications from the study were prototypes, hence requiring feedback on the effectiveness and usability of the applications from matured language learners.…”

The Study of AR-Based Learning for Natural Science Inquiry Activities in Taiwan’s Elementary School from the Perspective of Sustainable Development

“…By combining virtual digital information, text, images, and other data in a real environment, AR is a real-time interactive tool that can help complement information lacking in the physical environment and assist learners in learning abstract concepts and constructing knowledge [16]. Recent research in the field of AR-assisted science has been widely applied to astronomy [25,26], mathematics [27], science [28], STEM education [29], and environmental education [30][31][32][33]. In particular, Tarng et al [30] developed the Augmented Reality Butterfly Ecological Learning System (ARBELS) using AR technology combined with a mobile device and a GPS positioning system to raise virtual butterflies in the vicinity of food plants and nectariferous plants on campus as a background.…”

Gamification in Teaching and Learning Languages: A Systematic Literature Review

“…For instance, a gamification method has been proposed by Udjaja (2018) to assist international students in learning the Japanese language by stimulating the nervous and sensory system to motivate them to study more. Also, although gamification has been implemented in other age groups throughout high school (Wang et al, 2019) and secondary school (Hashim et al, 2019) however, gamification has most wildly been used for university students (Bassani et al, 2018;Mei & Yang, 2019;Tan, 2018).…”