The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that might affect pre-service teachers’ intention to use Mobile Augmented Reality in their future teaching. The Mobile Augmented Reality Acceptance Model (MARAM) was used as the study’s theoretical framework. In addition, this work was a validity study for MARAM. Empirical data was collected from 137 pre-service teachers who had developed their own Mobile Augmented Reality applications during an undergraduate university course. The findings of the regression analysis revealed that the MARAM’s variables can explain the variance of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitude, and intention to a satisfactory degree. Mobile self-efficacy and facilitating conditions were predictors of perceived ease of use. Both perceived enjoyment and perceived relative advantage were predictors of perceived usefulness. In addition, both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment were predictors of attitude. Finally, attitude and perceived usefulness were predictors of pre-service teachers’ intention to use Mobile Augmented Reality in their future teaching. However, perceived ease of use failed to be a predictor of attitude and perceived usefulness. These results have implications for pre-service teachers’ education, school leaders and researchers in the field of augmented reality acceptance models.

This study examined in-service teachers’ perceptions regarding spatial presence, simulator sickness and usability of First-Person view drones through Head-Mounted Displays in order to determine the suitability of their use in teaching and learning processes. The sample consisted of 60 in-service teachers of primary education. Data was collected via the Temple Presence Inventory Scale, Simulator Sickness Scale and the System Usability Scale. Results showed that the teachers rated an increased level of spatial presence. Additionally, the simulator sickness was relatively low, and the drone’s usability was rated as excellent. These findings contribute to the better understanding of the potential of First-Person view drones as learning tools.

The number of students with Intellectual Disability (ID) enrolled in general classes increases. They appear to meet difficulties in acquiring basic science literacy skills and addressing grade-aligned curriculum. Digital technology seems to contribute to this challenge by engaging students in augmented and virtual environments, especially by enabling 3D representations of abstract and difficult to visualize physical magnitudes and phenomena. This work investigates design issues regarding the development of digital learning environments that contribute to Science Education for students with ID. In this phase, the study explores the perceptions of different groups of professionals and a student with ID regarding the structure of matter. They interacted with different versions of both an augmented and a virtual environment simulating the water vapor in microscopic view. A focus group discussion revealed important data concerning presence, simulator sickness, acceptance and satisfaction for the two environments. The results show that professionals prefer engaging, rather than scientifically aligned representations. The choice between augmented and virtual reality seems to depend on the instructional objectives and strategies based on the specific academic profile of each student with ID.

This study proposed MARAM, a mobile augmented reality acceptance model that determines the factors that affect teachers' intention to use AR applications in their teaching. MARAM extends TAM by adding the variables of perceived relative advantage, perceived enjoyment, facilitating conditions, and mobile self - efficacy. MARAM was tested in a pilot empirical study with 127 teachers who used educational mobile AR applications and developed their own ones. The results of regression analysis showed that MARAM can predict a satisfactory percentage of the variance in teachers' intention, attitude, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Attitude, perceived usefulness, and facilitating conditions affected intention. Both perceived usefulness and perceived enjoyment affected attitude. Furthermore, perceived relative advantage and perceived enjoyment affected perceived usefulness. In addition, mobile self-efficacy and facilitating conditions affected perceived ease of use. However, perceived ease of use did not have any effect on attitude and perceived usefulness. MARAM could serve as the basis for future studies on teachers' acceptance of mobile AR applications and be expanded through the addition of other variables.

Augmented Reality (AR) appears to have great potential in education and training. Although this technology has become mainstream through the use of handheld mobile devices, consumer-grade AR glasses are beginning to become available. These glasses could unlock the potential of AR by increasing freedom of movement, performance and safety. This preliminary study explores user experience and acceptance of state-of-the-art AR glasses. A simple activity was created to visualize electromagnetic radiation for science literacy purposes and then evaluated by university students (N=154). The results showed moderate spatial presence, low simulator sickness and high levels of acceptance and satisfaction.

Sensory-perceptual difficulties are a common characteristic in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Studies in children with ASD describe an array of challenging behaviors regarding sensory simulation. Parents, special educators, and therapists are often witnessing these behaviors throughout the day. This study aimed to use an Augmented Reality (AR) system for the simulation of the sensory overload that children with ASD experience. A total of seventy (N=70) parents, special educators, and therapists of children with ASD responded to researchers' invitation for this study. Researchers held individual sessions with each participant who wore a head-mounted AR device (Magic Leap One™). Six visual and two auditory stimuli were individually and consecutively administered via the AR device. Participants experienced autism-like sensory overload under controlled conditions. Their acceptance and experience of the AR device were measured with the use of three online questionnaires (Temple Presence Inventory, TPI; Simulator Sickness Questionnaire, SSQ; Technology Acceptance Model, TAM). An open-ended question was also administered to measure the overall AR experience. In regard to the study's findings for participants' experience, the results from the TPI (Cronbach's Alpha = .84) suggested that the AR system offered a convincing blended environment. Also, low scores in SSQ indicated that the use of the AR system was comfortable. The results from the TAM showed in their majority high internal consistency (> .70) and high mean scores. This indicated that the participants accepted the AR system. In the open-ended question, participants reported overall satisfaction from their experience with the AR system. The study's findings suggested that the AR device enabled participants to experience a sensory overload similar to the one child with ASD report. Participants' experience was deemed to be convincing, comfortable, and user-friendly. The results of this study are encouraging and highlight the potential of AR in autism research. Future studies are needed to incorporate richer and more interactive AR simulations for authentic real-life experiences.

Differences in technological characteristics between expensive head-mounted displays like Oculus Rift and low-cost mobile-based Virtual Reality (VR) devices may affect the experience of the user and learning in virtual environments with an educational content and therefore are important to be studied. This paper describes a study that aims at finding differences in levels of spatial presence, usability, simulator sickness, satisfaction, workload and learning outcome between Oculus Rift and a low cost smartphone VR Headset, when users interact with an educational virtual environment. Our results do not show differences in the variables studied. It seems that mobile-based VR systems could provide acceptable levels of immersive user experience and contribute to the pedagogical use of VR.

This paper attempts an empirical study regarding the attitude of primary education students (n=32) towards gesture based interfaces in educational contexts. A simple construction activity was designed and tested both with Microsoft Kinect and the traditional mouse. The main finding was that Kinect was preferred over mouse, even though it was less easy to use. It seems that gesture based interfaces increase student's motivation and engagement. Nevertheless, in order to fully exploit their potential as educational tools, the following are needed: more robust motion sensing technology, exploitation of the kinesthetic taxonomy and customized educational software.

Technological factors, user characteristics and didactic strategies do not function consistently across Educational Virtual Environments. This study investigates the impact of viewing condition and didactic strategy on attention allocation, suspension of disbelief, spatial presence, and learning outcomes in an Educational Virtual Environment concerning ancient Greek pottery. Our results show that the viewing condition does not affect attention allocation, suspension of disbelief, and spatial presence. Learning outcomes are better in the monoscopic viewing condition. Didactic strategy has an impact on suspension of disbelief and learning outcomes. Domain specific interest associates with higher level of attention allocation and spatial presence, while spatial presence is not related to learning outcomes. More research is needed in order to identify the role of each one of the above factors in Educational Virtual Environments.

Multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) seem to have great potential in education. Current educational uses of MUVEs seem to exploit them more as group interaction platforms and less as worlds where users learn by interacting and modifying the environment in a constructivist approach. There is also a need for systematic research efforts that will lead to guidelines and principles for designing and evaluating effective learning activities in MUVEs. This paper presents preliminary empirical results from an exploratory study with university students. A collaborative problem-based physics learning activity was designed in Second Life® (SL), following a constructivist approach. Students (n=30) collaborated “in-world” in pairs assisted by a tutor, in order to solve the problem. Data were gathered using a questionnaire and session recordings. The study focused on issues related to educational environment design, collaboration and instruction. Results indicate that satisfactory, engaging and effective collaborative learning activities can be realized in SL.