José Luis Saorín Pérez

Teaching with AR as a tool for relief visualization: usability and motivation study

ABSTRACT In the field of geographical and environmental education, maps and geo-referenced information are frequently used, in which the earths surfaces are represented in a two-dimensional (2D) way. Students have difficulty interpreting the relief representation and switching between 2D and 3D scenarios. Digital terrain modelling is added to the traditional cartographic techniques to represent the landforms, and the AR technology provides a new 3D and mapping human–machine interaction. In the 2015–2016 course, an educational experiment using AR on a tablet with 63 students from La Laguna University was performed covering three steps: academic improvement, usability of this technology to interpret the relief, and if it is motivating for the students. This paper presents the results in usability and motivation. A usability study in terms of efficiency, efficacy and satisfaction is presented. To assess student motivation, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory motivational model with six dimensions is adopted. Results about AR on tablets in the interpretation of terrain relief show a great usability of this technology, which serves as a motivational tool for the 3D visualization.

La capacidad espacial y su relación con la ingeniería

Spatial skills, which have an impact on almost all scientific and technical careers, remain an active fi eld of research, particularly in the engineering area. This work aims to clarify the state of current knowledge on spatial skills, within the intellectual capacities of individuals, developing the concept, the components and measurement techniques. It is a brief historical overview of the stages that are distinguished in research in this area and it justified their relationship and its importance to the engineering, highlighting the findings from 1920 to present in this field. The tools and courses designed to improve space abilities are profuse; the Michigan Technological University (MTU) and Purdue University are active in this field. Furthermore, it highlights the work developed at the national level, especially that carried out by Dehaes (Spatial Skills’ Research Group), made up of researchers of the Universidad de La Laguna and Universidad Politecnica de Valencia.

ENTORNOS GRÁFICOS 3D AVANZADOS PARA LA REPRESENTACIÓN DEL RELIEVE CARTOGRÁFICO

The use of cartographic representations for the relief representation is frequent in engineering projects. The interpretation of the relief, therefore, is a competence to be developed by the engineers. This paper assesses the potential of four 3D technologies (two digital and two tangible) for the improvement of spatial perception: augmented reality, 3D mesh viewers, digital terrain models printed in 3D and mock-ups built by stacked sections. A workshop was conducted with engineering students in which they obtained a statistically significant increase in their ability to interpret the relief of 6.19 points, measured by the Topographic Map Assessment test, higher than that obtained using traditional 2D representations (2, 22 points). Participants believe that tangible models help them to understand the concepts of contour lines, maximum slope line and longitudinal profile better than digital versions. Keywords: 3d printing, augmented reality, 3d mesh viewer, mock-ups, spatial perception.

Construcción de un mundo virtual en Minecraft para el aprendizaje del patrimonio escultórico urbano / Building a virtual world in Minecraft for learning urban sculptural heritage

En este articulo se describe una experiencia para divulgar el patrimonio escultorico a los alumnos a traves de un mundo virtual inmersivo en tres dimensiones. Este mundo se ha construido con Minecraft y consiste en una simulacion 3D de un espacio fisico que representa parte de la ciudad de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, en concreto la Rambla que cruza toda la ciudad y el Parque Garcia Sanabria. En esta zona de la ciudad se encuentran ubicadas 24 esculturas correspondientes a la I Exposicion Internacional de Esculturas en la calle. Dichas obras se han colocado en el mundo virtual, en su ubicacion real y se ha disenado una actividad para realizar una visita virtual. En este trabajo, se detalla los pasos necesarios para crear el entorno virtual mediante programas gratuitos que se pueden manejar con conocimientos informaticos basicos. Para probar este material, se ha realizado una accion con 12 estudiantes del Master de profesorado para validar los aspectos tecnologicos, medir el aprendizaje y al finalizar la actividad, se ha pasado un cuestionario de satisfaccion. Abstract This article describes an experience to divulge the sculptural heritage to students through an immersive virtual world in three dimensions. This world has been built with Minecraft and consists of a 3D simulation of a physical space that represents part of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, specifically the Rambla which crosses the entire city and the Parque Garcia Sanabria. In this area of the city, 24 sculptures are located corresponding to the First International Street Sculpture Exhibition. These works have been placed in the virtual world in its actual location and designed an activity to make a virtual tour. This paper details the steps to create the virtual environment working with free programs that can be used with a basic computer knowledge. To test this material, an activity has been performed with 12 students belonging to the Master of Education to validate technological aspects, measure the learning improves and at the end, the students fill a satisfaction questionnaire.