Dmitry Resnyansky

This paper examines mathematics teachers’ level of acceptance and intention to use the Augmented Reality Geometry Tutorial System (ARGTS), a mobile Augmented Reality (AR) application developed to enhance students’ 3D geometric thinking skills. ARGTS was shared with mathematics teachers, who were then surveyed using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand their acceptance of the technology. We also examined the external variables of Anxiety, Social Norms and Satisfaction. The effect of the teacher’s gender, degree of graduate status and number of years of teaching experience on the subscales of the TAM model were examined. We found that the Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) had a direct effect on the Perceived Usefulness (PU) in accordance with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Both variables together affect Satisfaction (SF), however PEU had no direct effect on Attitude (AT). In addition, while Social Norms (SN) had a direct effect on PU and PEU, there was no direct effect on Behavioural Intention (BI). Anxiety (ANX) had a direct effect on PEU, but no effect on PU and SF. While there was a direct effect of SF on PEU, no direct effect was found on BI. We explain how the results of this study could help improve the understanding of AR acceptance by teachers and provide important guidelines for AR researchers, developers and practitioners.

The aim of this research was to examine the effect of Augmented Reality (AR) supported geometry teaching on students’ 3D thinking skills. This research consisted of 3 steps: (1) developing a 3D thinking ability scale, (ii) design and development of an AR Geometry Tutorial System (ARGTS) and (iii) implementation and assessment of geometry teaching supported with ARGTS. A 3D thinking ability scale was developed and tested with experimental and control groups as a pre- and post-test evaluation. An AR Geometry Tutorial System (ARGTS) and AR teaching materials and environments were developed to enhance 3D thinking skills. A user study with these materials found that geometry teaching supported by ARGTS significantly increased the students’ 3D thinking skills. The increase in average scores of Structuring 3D arrays of cubes and Calculation of the volume and the area of solids thinking skills was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). In terms of other 3D geometric thinking skills’ subfactors of the scale a statistically significant difference was found in favour of the experimental group in pre-test and post-test scores (p < 0.05). The biggest difference was found on ability to recognize and create 3D shapes (p < 0.01).The results of this research are particularly important for identifying individual differences in 3D thinking skills of secondary school students and creating personalized dynamic intelligent learning environments.

The aim of this research was to examine the effect of Augmented Reality (AR) supported geometry teaching on students’ 3D thinking skills. This research consisted of 3 steps: (1) developing a 3D thinking ability scale, (ii) design and development of an AR Geometry Tutorial System (ARGTS) and (iii) implementation and assessment of geometry teaching supported with ARGTS. A 3D thinking ability scale was developed and tested with experimental and control groups as a pre- and post-test evaluation. An AR Geometry Tutorial System (ARGTS) and AR teaching materials and environments were developed to enhance 3D thinking skills. A user study with these materials found that geometry teaching supported by ARGTS significantly increased the students’ 3D thinking skills. The increase in average scores of Structuring 3D arrays of cubes and Calculation of the volume and the area of solids thinking skills was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). In terms of other 3D geometric thinking skills’ subfactors of the scale a statistically significant difference was found in favour of the experimental group in pre-test and post-test scores (p < 0.05). The biggest difference was found on ability to recognize and create 3D shapes (p < 0.01).The results of this research are particularly important for identifying individual differences in 3D thinking skills of secondary school students and creating personalized dynamic intelligent learning environments.

Innovative technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality, tangible user interfaces (TUIs), computer games, robotics and microprocessors have seen an interest within educational research due to their potential for fostering active learning in and outside the classroom. This paper aims to explore the affordances of AR and TUIs as mediums of instruction to address the problem of teaching and learning text-based computer languages, computer science concepts, and programming skills such as debugging. It presents parallels between the technology-supported learning and the active, scaffolded narrative entertainment experience in videogames, and suggests a conceptual framework for the design of learning environments for programming and debugging by using AR and tangible interaction to support scaffolding.

This paper presents research on the potential application of Tangible and Augmented Reality (AR) technology to computer science education and the teaching of programming in tertiary settings. An approach to an AR-supported debugging-teaching prototype is outlined, focusing on the design of an AR workspace that uses physical markers to interact with content (code). We describe a prototype which has been designed to actively scaffold the student's development of the two primary abilities necessary for effective debugging: (1) the ability to read not just the code syntax, but to understand the overall program structure behind the code; and (2) the ability to independently recall and apply the new knowledge to produce new, working code structures.

Innovative approaches in the teaching of computer science are required to address the needs of diverse target audiences, including groups with minimal mathematical background and insufficient abstract thinking ability. In order to tackle this problem, new pedagogical approaches that make use of technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality, Tangible User Interfaces, and 3D graphics are needed. This paper draws upon relevant pedagogical and technological literature to determine how Augmented Reality can be more fully applied to computer science education.