The Potential Educational Value of Mobile Augmented Reality Games: The Case of EduPARK App

Abstract

New teaching methodologies are nowadays integrating mobile devices, augmented reality (AR), and game-based learning in educational contexts. The combination of these three elements is considered highly innovative, and it allows learning to move beyond traditional classroom environments to nature spaces that students can physically explore. The literature does not present many studies of this approach’s educational value. The purpose of the study is to present an illustrative case of a mobile AR game in order to analyse its educational value based on the users’ opinion, both teachers and students, and on logs of game results. Through a mixed method approach, the educational value scale was applied to 924 users after playing the EduPARK app in a Green City Park. Results revealed high educational value scores, especially among teachers and students of 2nd and 3rd Cycles of Basic Education (83.0 for both). Hence, this particular software seems to be more suitable for 10–15 years-old students who highlighted motivational features, such as treasure hunting, points gathering, the use of mobile devices in nature settings, and AR features to learn. This study empirically revealed that mobile AR games have educational value, so these specific game features might be useful for those who are interested in creating or using games supported by apps for educational purposes.

Guidelines for Teacher Training in Mobile Augmented Reality Games: Hearing the Teachers’ Voices

“…"The way teacher guides the classes is very important" was stated by Teacher 8, and "It is crucial to keep students motivated resorting to strategies that avoid their demotivation" (T12) is also a global concern. Globally, teachers recognized the value of MARGs' integration in teacher practices as they promote students' involvement for deeper learning, which is in accordance with the literature [2][3][4].…”

“…Exploring a green park provides an example of a truly authentic context for situated and contextualized learning, where the location is essential for learning. The app can be explored either individually or in a group, although working in groups may support the users' construction of meaning, with this being influenced by the interaction of the learners' prior knowledge with the new experiences, as well as by their interactions with others [2]. The EduPARK project has developed several short-term training actions to promote teacher adoption of these innovative and effective approaches.…”

“…MARGs can be leveraged for educational purposes, as there are several examples in the literature revealing their educational value [2][3][4]. Among their benefits, the literature has been pointing to increased engagement and motivation for learning [2,5,6] as well as students' enhanced understanding of scientific models [7] and of complex concepts that are difficult to understand with traditional textbooks [8].…”

“…MARGs can be leveraged for educational purposes, as there are several examples in the literature revealing their educational value [2][3][4]. Among their benefits, the literature has been pointing to increased engagement and motivation for learning [2,5,6] as well as students' enhanced understanding of scientific models [7] and of complex concepts that are difficult to understand with traditional textbooks [8]. For example, the authors of [9] mentioned that there is no limit to the potential valuable educational uses of AR apps that are aligned with situated [10] and constructivist learning theories [11], highlighting the relevance of social interactions among people, for learning within a specific context.…”

“…This app integrates AR contents, games, and outdoor environments to promote cross-subjects as well as contextualized and authentic learning. It has displayed a high usability and educational value in several educational contexts [2]. The underlying principles of its creation are as follows: (i) to stimulate the app users to become active participants in their own learning, in a user-centered learning process with hands-on activities; (ii) to foster collaboration among app users from the same work group, through debate of ideas before answering questions, instead of making use of only competitive approaches; (iii) to embed learning in a real context, a park, which is rich in biology, history, and mathematics learning opportunities, thus providing authentic and situated learning experiences; (iv) to offer multiple modes of representation, namely through AR contents with video, audio, text, and 3D models; (v) to allow users to progress at their own pace, not establishing limited time to answer the challenges posed through the app; and (vi) to provide feedback with a scientific explanation after answering the proposed challenges.…”