Adopting Augmented Reality to Engage Higher Education Students in a Museum University Collection: the Experience at Roma Tre University

Abstract

University museums are powerful resource centres in higher education. In this context, the adoption of digital technologies can support personalised learning experience within the university museum. The aim of the present contribution is to present a case study carried out at the Department of Educational Sciences at Roma Tre University with a group of 14 master’s degree students. Students were involved in a 2-h workshop in which they were invited to test augmented reality technology through a web app for Android. At the end of the visit participants were required to fill in a questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended questions aimed at investigating their ideas on the exhibition and their critical thinking level. Students appreciated the exhibition, especially its multimodality. Most of the frequent themes identified in open-ended answers are related to critical and visual thinking. Despite the positive overall evaluation, there is still room for improvement, both in terms of technology and educational design.

Realidad aumentada en la educación superior: posibilidades y desafíos

“…En esta línea, podemos afirmar las grandes posibilidades que tiene la realidad aumentada en el desarrollo del proceso de aprendizaje en la educación superior, destacando, además, el desarrollo de la creatividad y los niveles de pensamiento crítico cuando se implementa con tareas de aprendizaje reflexivo (Marín Díaz, 2017;Poce et al, 2019).…”

Tecnologías emergentes para el proyecto de educación digital:

“…In this sense, the most widespread forms of AR are: a) based on markers with geolocation (Andrade & Dias, 2020;Bhaskara & Sugiarti, 2019). In case location is not required, there is usually the overlay of 3D objects using QR code (Poce et al, 2019;Supriyono et al, 2020) or as detectable icons within a printed map (K. ; b) without markers of geolocation (Higgett et al, 2016;Jones et al, 2019;Mendoza-Garrido et al, 2021;Petrucco & Agostini, 2016;Shih et al, 2019).…”

“…Other valued topics are in situ learning, collaborative heritage learning, reflection, and critical reconstruction of the past (Schaper et al, 2018) or smart textbooks with AR (Azhar et al, 2019). Moreover, within the most explored educational levels, AR's implementation in university museums stands out (Bernarduzzi et al, 2021;Poce et al, 2019). have tried to prove their influence on the quality of the users' experience, enjoyment, and learning (Marto et al, 2020;Marto & Gonçalves, 2019).…”

“…In the latter case, the students with the greatest prominence are those at the university level. When addressing the question of gender, there is considerable equality, although some people choose not to specify their gender (Higgett et al, 2016;Jones et al, 2019;Poce et al, 2019). Other data of interest from the publications were languages, nationality, and purchasing power.…”

The Role of Immersive Virtual Realities: Enhancing Science Learning in Higher Education

“…The influence of these technologies extends well beyond the confines of traditional classrooms. For instance, Poce et al [5] delve into AR's potential for engaging students with university museum collections, highlighting a broader spectrum of applications for AR within educational contexts. Also, Okada et al [6] delve into the utilization of AR inquiry games as a means of cultivating skills relevant to Responsible Research and Innovation, accentuating AR's capacity to nurture critical thinking and inquiry skills.…”