Educational Technology & Society (Jul 2020)
Integrated Games, e-Books and AR Technique to Support Project-based Science Learning
Abstract
The study integrated learning technology and various e-learning materials to assist teachers in conducting project-based learning for a science course. The activities were designed for learning science concepts such as circuits and the symbols of electricity firstly, and then for applying the concepts to produce a scientific toy. The study intended to integrate the value of the convenience and accessibility of e-books, the feature of interactive demonstration, a combination of visual information with physical objects using augmented reality (AR), and the enjoyment brought by game-based learning to create an integrated e-learning model to support project-based learning processes. A total of 51 elementary school students were invited to take part in the research and were separated into two groups, one using the game-based learning environment with AR-based materials and the other with e-books for the science project-based activity. Despite the quantitative data not presenting any learning differences for the two groups, the qualitative results showed that the e-learning materials with multimedia content were helpful for scaffolding students while completing the hands-on scientific electric current toy, and triggered peer discussion to achieve concept agreement. For example, the text and figures in the e-books helped the students to doubly confirm the processes of the learning information, while the colored blocks on the physical objects in the AR materials facilitated assembly of the elements to complete the science toy. It was noticed that the well-designed AR materials might hinder learners’ thinking ability and restrict their creativity, and hence, the researcher proposes a revised e-learning integration model that combines the advantages of e-books and AR techniques to create more easily accessible e-learning supports and to encourage active thinking for fostering independent and self-regulated learners.
