Augmented Reality (AR) has the potential to support effective learning in informal and non-formal learning environments. This is not only the case in school or higher education (see Sommerauer & Müller, 2014) but also in professional education (i.e. ERASMUS+ Project „EI-integration“).
Especially in the construction sector or in the event industry, it is necessary to have trainings for safety and security to protect workers at their workplace. One central issue here is, which elements must be taken into consideration (i.e. teaching and learning elements, design elements, etc.) when developing effective learning applications.
Furthermore, we ask ourselves how such applications can support the people responsible at the workplace so that they can ensure that each employee has been trained in safety & security, has understood the key elements of the training, and has the ability to behave according to the instructions.
Learning Analytics (LA) provides various tools and concepts to support learning for the people who are involved in learning processes (trainer, trainee, evaluator) in particular. The project aims to create a framework, based on LA insights, that will implement elements in AR learning applications. This framework will support learners and trainers in their teaching and learning processes and will lead towards a higher efficiency and efficacy.
There are two reasons why elements from LA, like functions and integration of analytical elements, will be implemented: to receive feedback about handling and how easy to use the apps are, and to provide measurable points for the learning performances.
A series of pilot applications will be developed and tested in different cycles and within specific training areas such as facility management, construction and the events sector.. The results and insights will provide the answers to key questions, like: “How can LA and AR be used in professional training applications to create more effective learning experiences for learners, with respect for their individual learning trajectory and -speed?”
Additionally we gather insights on the data required for “big-data analysis methods” and how these data can be processed in a small work environment, or which methods can be developed to derive knowledge from established, large learning environments.
A concrete, desirable result would be to provide recommendations about how learning tools can be made more transparent with the help of LA and AR to ensure the learning results are clear. This means that an employer can prove he fulfilled his responsibility to provide training, not only by registering the (passive) participation in safety briefings, but also by ensuring that employees have understood their instructions and that they are capable to act accordingly and adequately.
The existing research results and their most important questions have been used for a first development of generic framework, to allow for the framework to be developed as a software application. In a second step, a functional prototype of al AR learning application will be developed for analysis and evaluation purposes, which afterwards – according to a design scientific approach – will be applied in several cycles of experiments in the field at workplaces. The final goal of the project is to support a full training and assessment based on AR learning applications and the use of LA tools and measures.
The consortium of leading European scientists coming from the areas of LA and AR aims to establish a strategical partnership with partners from the professional education sector. In this partnership, the conceptualisation of the topics LA and AR is applied, specifically in informal learning environments and directly at the workplaces. Since a result should also cover a contribution to the research community, the project is developing new opportunities at workplaces by using LA and AR to provide an answer to current questions from the professional education sector.
Project website
Researchers
- Chris Van Goethem
Timing
- oktober 2017 – september 2019
Partners
- GPOCS, Global Partners Online Communication Services (LI)
- Oxford Brookes University (UK)
- IT-Universitetet I Kobenhavn (DK)
- VPLT (DE)
- STEPP vzw
With the support of
Erasmus+ Key Action 2 – Strategic PartnershipsERASMUS+ 2017-1-LI01-KA202-000087
