Hello, I am a French and English as a second language teacher and I am currently exploring ways of introducing gamification principles and technology in my classes. As an avid geocaching player I find AR apps exciting and would like to be able to develop one for my own classes to add to a regular annual treasure hunting activity I usually do with my students. The following essay is a result of my exploration of this topic. There is more to be said about the AR apps but not in 300 words.

Augmented reality applications in education: an example of second language learning with an AR app

Augmented Reality is “a real time direct or indirect view of a physical real world environment that has been enhanced/augmented by adding virtual computer generated information to it” (Carmigniani and Vurht, 2011). There are two forms of AR: 1) location-aware; and 2) vision based. Location-aware AR presents digital media to learners as they move through a physical area with a GPS-enabled smartphone or similar mobile device. The media (i.e., text, graphics, audio, video, 3D models) augment the physical environment with narrative, navigation, and/or academic information relevant to the location. In contrast, vision-based AR presents digital media to learners after they point the camera in their mobile device at an object (e.g., QR code, 2D target). [4] So basically it brings the world into the classroom and creates immersive experience which is crucial for language learning or it overlays the existing world, outside the classroom with additional meaning and introduces new parallel stories events objects. The potential power of AR as a learning tool is its ability “to enable students to see the world around them in new ways and engage with realistic issues in a context with which the students are already connected” (Klopfer & Sheldon, 2010, p. 86). 

Here I would like to look at an example of a location-aware application for learning French. Explorez by Bernadette Perry is a quest-based AR mobile app created on ARIS platform. Students walk around campus on a mission to please a French celebrity they are serving while learning about campus and collaborating with other learners. Students first create their avatars on Voki and then are given instructions with directions and tasks they should complete in French. If the task is correct they can unlock a new mission. The app uses GPS to identify if the students are in the right place in the right time. Then students can collect virtual items and unlock new missions. In addition, it incorporates different media, such as Youtube videos with songs in French.

Game design which includes avatars, missions creating feeling of anticipation, open-end missions, badges and fast feedback resulted in students describing the experience as “fun”. Some played longer than the class lasted in order to finish their missions.

Explorez aligns well most learning theories. Students are outside the classroom within a real-world physical and social context where they learn as a result of interaction with people, objects and culture. One problem that can affect learning outcomes is that students do not necessarily have to use French in their communication. While Perry noticed that weaker students were often helped by more advanced ones, it is questionable whether students would collaborate in a foreign language if the instructor was not present.

I believe that this type of apps can successfully be used as an additional tool to take the students outside the classroom creating a more authentic experience, to break the routine, give learners the necessary freedom in learning, enhance critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration and increase motivation.

References

J. Carmigniani and B. Furht. (2011). Augmented reality: An overview. In B. Furht (ed.) Handbook of Augmented Reality, Springer Science & Business Media. 3–46.

Klopfer, E., & Sheldon, J. (2010). Augmenting your own reality: Student authoring of science-based augmented reality games. New Directions for Youth Development, 128 (Winter), 85–94

Perry, B. ( 2015). Gamifying French Language Learning: a case study examining a quest-based, augmented reality mobile learning-tool. In Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 174 ( 2015 ) 2308 – 2315

Scrivner, O. et al. (2016). Augmented Reality Digital Technologies (ARDT) for Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. In IEEE of Future Technologies Conference

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9AEeb1Z5qY

http://arisgames.org