Um framework para apoio ao desenvolvimento de aplicações educacionais de realidade aumentada móvel baseada em marcadores

Abstract

In recent years, different technologies have begun to be used in educational scenarios, providing gains in the teaching-learning processes. Augmented Reality (AR), and more specifically Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR), is a technology that provides great opportunities in education, allowing to blend real-world elements with virtual information, giving the learner a richer environment and greater possibilities of interaction than their natural environment, still encouraging mobility. Aiming to foster the development of educational applications with this technology, frameworks and methodologies are necessary in such way that facilitate the development and guide the creation process trying to minimize the complexity. However, it is also required that created frameworks are specifically oriented towards education, and therefore provide functionalities that support educational needs (e.g. to support the use of questionnaires with questions/answers). Currently there are many frameworks for creating AR, however they are oriented towards the creation of generic, rather than specifically educational, AR applications. In this project, a framework is proposed to support a methodology for the development of educational applications with MAR based on markers. The framework allows developers to implement a set of education-oriented functionalities without programming, and instead drag and drop classes, creating and customizing scenarios with the required resources (3D models, images, etc.). The methodology is composed of guidelines to be followed in the development of the application. A case study was carried out to evaluate the framework, mainly regarding usability, additionally the framework was also evaluated through experiments with developers, and using questionnaires for data collection. Finally, through the experiments carried out, it can be concluded that the proposed framework can allow the development of educational applications of AR with ease, providing functionalities that are customizable according to the needs of the user, and of a general nature in education (useful in any area of education).