1. Introduction
We are living in a time of rapid advancement in terms of the capabilities and economic viability of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), multi-user virtual environments, and various forms of mixed reality (MR). These new media seem to open up extraordinary opportunities for the enhancement of motivation and learning across a range of subject areas, student developmental levels, and educational settings. With the development of practical and affordable virtual reality and mixed reality, people now have the chance to experience immersive learning both in classrooms and informally in homes, libraries, and community centres [
1].
Virtual reality is an artificial environment which is experienced through sensory stimuli (such as sights and sounds) provided by a computer and in which one’s actions partially determine what happens in the environment [
2]. This is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment.
Virtual reality’s most often used component is the head-mounted display (HMD). Audio-visual information is most easily replicated in virtual reality, but a lot of research and development is being conducted with regard to the other senses. Tactile inputs allow users to feel as though they’re actually walking through a simulation, rather than sitting in a chair. Haptic technologies, also known as feedback tech, have progressed from simple spinning-weight motors to high quality ultrasound technology. It is now possible to hear and feel true-to-life sensations along with visual VR experiences.
A lot of educational technology companies are using virtual reality to bring true to life experiences to the classroom, while highlighting the technology’s ability to inspire and grab the attention of the students. In the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, fully interactive virtual laboratory simulations are designed to engage and stimulate a student’s natural curiosity as they learn [
3]. However, there are certain risks, too. Experts are still trying to understand the impact of VR on children’s learning. Research conducted by Bailenson and his team [
4] at their Stanford lab in 2008 looked at the potential psychological effects on young children using VR. In some cases, children who experienced swimming with whales in a VR environment developed false memories of having visited SeaWorld in real life [
4,
5]. Bailenson believes that concerns about VR use can be addressed in two ways: moderation and supervision. VR is an engaging tool, but within a 40-min lesson plan, it should be used carefully—for two or three minutes.
While virtual reality offers the simulation of an entirely computer-generated perceptive experience, augmented reality is the integration of digital information with the user’s environment. Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, augmented reality uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it. AR looks to augment the digital world with physical objects, allowing a real-world user to seamlessly interact with digital components. The purpose does not consist only of the quantitative enrichment of information [
6]. A study which investigated the use of AR in art education confirms that, “The use of augmented reality has a key position in the latest developments related to learning with technology, which views the new technological devices as a means capable of promoting the learning process” [
6]. Further on in the same research: “AR is now transforming human processes by accelerating skills development and empowering guidance.”
The popularity of AR is rising because it brings elements of the virtual world into the real world, thus enhancing the things we see, hear, and feel. It brings computer-generated objects into the real world, but they can be seen only by the user. When using augmented reality applications, the user sees a combination of synthetic and natural light. Overlaying images are projected on top of a pair of glasses, which allows the images and interactive virtual objects to be on top of the user’s view of the real world. Some of the things that can make AR accessible are AR applications. AR could be very suitable for simulations, especially in the area of STEM education.
With the rise in computing power and lowering of computer costs there has been an increase in the use of simulations. School laboratories and classrooms are starting to be widely equipped with suitable technological infrastructure. A simulation, for the purposes of this study, is a computer-based interactive environment with an underlying model. In the STEM area in particular, real equipment can be difficult to obtain, so simulations enable students to experience phenomena they normally would not be able to access first-hand. For example, simulations can take the place of laboratory equipment that might be too expensive or dangerous to have in a school. Simulations can also be used to explore phenomena that occur over long or extremely short time periods in a way that can easily fit into a class period. With simulations, students can also manipulate variables and see the results of multiple experiments without having to actually replicate them. Augmented reality has the potential to combine the real with the virtual world. AR is a technology that makes it possible to generate virtual environments that overlap a real environment in a direct or indirect way, allowing the interaction of reality with the visualization of virtual graphics [
7]. As virtual information layered over a real environment, any type of information can be digitized; e.g., text, images, video, audio, web links, and three-dimensional (3D) models. This functionality is one of the main characteristics enabling this technique to be applied to a wide range of human activities, education being the most important among them [
6]. Augmented reality is capable of being taken as a didactic tool which contributes to transforming modes of learning. The potential of AR in education was identified almost from its inception—“a system that allows the user in the classroom to manipulate 3D objects and receive information from a real environment is clearly of great relevance in the educational field” [
7]. In view of these benefits, it is believed that using simulations based on AR in the classroom can help improve learning [
8]. This technology “has made it possible for both teachers and students to see information in a real environment that would otherwise be impossible to show, allowing many scientific concepts to be visualized that until now have been impossible to illustrate clearly” [
7].
Some recent studies focus on this technology and have summarised that the superposition of information on the real world is basically aimed at improving the perception that an individual has of the real world by initiating the creation of an interactive experience. Thus, the technology used in the classroom is going to be adaptable, responsive, immersive and engaging, individualized, and appropriate. It should provide the learner with a unique experience that is not easily reproduced or possible in a traditional classroom. Therefore, the fundamental objective of AR is to add more information that is more meaningful to real objects, thus improving students’ understanding of the world that they are observing [
7].
This paper aims to explore the impact of an AR tool on students’ learning performance. The research estimated the effect of a learning environment mediated by augmented reality, implemented to strengthen the learning and understanding of the education material.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization and methodology, P.D.P. and T.V.A.; investigation, resources, data curation, P.D.P.; writing—original draft preparation, P.D.P.; writing—review and editing, T.V.A.; visualization, P.D.P. and T.V.A.; supervision, T.V.A.; funding acquisition, T.V.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding
This research was partially funded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science (contract D01–205/23.11.2018) under the NSP ICTinSES, approved by DCM number 577/17.08.2018.
Acknowledgments
Research described in this article was partially supported by the National Scientific Program “Information and Communication Technologies for a Single Digital Market in Science, Education and Security (ICTinSES),” financed by the Ministry of Education and Science. The collection of the data used in this study, and the design of the tests on which the results were based, were carried out by Nezabravka Treneva, a biology teacher at 134 Dimcho Debelyanov School, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.
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