The (Augmented) World Is Our Campus

ABSTRACT

Just prior to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to the United States, an augmented reality-based exhibit was built and pilot tested with a group of students and faculty. The exhibit strives to utilize key educational affordances of this teaching medium (e.g., removing physical barriers of time and space) to increase patron engagement with content and help them learn. This unique application of augmented reality offers many opportunities to enhance learning about our world and provides students with greater exposure to this emerging technology. It also may serve as a model of how the technology can be utilized in the classroom to teach principles and other challenging conceptual knowledge for which the affordances of this technology are suited. This paper is a report of ongoing efforts to further develop and improve this exhibit in an effort to provide background and ideas for those interested in creating AR experiences to enhance learning. It discusses key development considerations and summarizes several practical applications for this technology in a library setting. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021