Prof. Alberto Cattaneo
This project investigates the design of different scenarios of use of hypervideo (HV) and handheld and wearable markerless augmented reality (AR) for skills development in vocational education and training (VET).
Specifically, the aim is to discover the unique contributions of HV and AR, and their best combination, for student motivation and procedural knowledge development. A design-based approach is adopted which consists of five stages. Stage 1 is a technical review and feasibility analysis. Stage 2 revolves around interviews with teachers, trainers and professionals in nine professions. This inventory should identify the (two) most suitable profession(s) and best content for the HV/AR prototypes. In stage 3, teachers and designers collaborate in developing and pilot testing the prototypes for each profession. Stage 4 is a lab experiment that investigates the influence of motivation on procedural knowledge development. Stage 5 consists of two cycles of in-field experiments on scenarios of HV and AR combined use; it aims to refine design principles and also serves to assess outcomes. The impact of several key variables is studied. One, the effect of HV and AR on cognitive load is examined. No significant differences for the three tools (HV, handheld AR, wearable AR) are expected. Two, the effect of ‘presence’ (also called immersion) on learning is assessed. Wearable AR provides a higher sense of presence than HV or handheld AR. The latter provides the same sense of presence. More immersive tools (i.e. wearable AR) are expected to yield more learning. Three, presence is investigated as a mediating variable between motivation and learning. Four, motivation is investigated as a moderating variable towards learning. The products will be disseminated within the selected professions. The insights (e.g., design guidelines and effects) are expected to be valuable for similar designs for HV and AR usage in a wide variety of professional domains. Finally, as HV and especially AR are rapidly being diffused in industry and applied settings, the project also offers schools the chance to be more closely aligned with the real world context.