Augmented Reality in Informal Learning Environments Design and Evaluation of Mobile Applications

The digitization of the education sector is already in progress, and the new concepts and technologies are continuously explored. In particular, Augmented Reality (AR) is receiving increasing focus, and many studies are investigating its effectiveness for teaching and training. However, only a few studies have been conducted outside laboratory settings, and most of them have used questionnaires to evaluate learning outcomes in terms of concepts aspects like
perceived learning, perceived usefulness, and students’ motivation. What’s more, the development of such AR applications is rarely based on design guidelines that support a wellfounded evaluation and measurement of learning effects based on significant metrics. Against this background, this cumulative thesis and the related research project introduce the study of AR outside laboratory settings and in informal learning environments. It covers the research (i.e., steps, processes, tasks, and results) undertaken to develop a framework that
provides design guidelines for the development of AR applications that support teaching and training. Following a well-defined design science research process, this thesis covers the design and implementation of AR applications as IT artifacts and their applicability and utility in empirical terms. Therefore, the design framework acts as a toolbox that is structured in layers and considers design elements derived from learning theories to support learning and the
development of efficient applications. The thesis also provides metrics for the measurement of user and task performance and discusses the requirements for research rigor and validity. The application of the design framework was successfully tested in several implementations in a variety of learning environments. The results, the impact, the practical benefits, and the
findings from the field studies make valuable contributions to the knowledge base for mobile AR in education.
This thesis covers most of the research work in the educational research and development project “LAAR - Principles for effective Learning Analytics in AR learning applications for professional education,” which was conducted between 2017 and 2019 and is listed in the ERASMUS+ Program of the European Commission under the number 2017-1-LI01-KA202-000087.