Teresa Restivo

Augmented reality to improve STEM motivation

This paper presents an exploratory study about educational potentialities of an augmented reality (AR) application developed for DC circuit fundamentals. Particularly the study aims to characterize student involvement using the application as well as its use as an additional experimental tool and to characterize how students perceive their experience and their learning through the use of this AR application. It is also briefly described how this application was developed and how the exploratory study was implemented involving STEM students. The AR application confirmed to be manageable and students have explored its configurations intuitively. Additionally, the AR tool usability according to our preliminary results showed to be effective for the AR developed application purposes, has induced student satisfaction and revealed very good student perceptions about learning perspectives. So, this study showed this AR application for DC circuits has a great educational potential.

Augmented Reality in Engineering

This work discusses the applicability of the augmented reality technology as a tool for learning/teaching and its role in engineering training. Online Experimentation Resources at the Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto permits and fosters contact with technologies that are used currently in industry, medicine, development, services and research by providing remote, virtual and augmented reality experiments. The available resources are diverse and they offer an “all-purpose” structure in order to be easily adapted and so, allowing the teacher to frame it according the resource applicability perspective in the context of his/her course curriculum. In this context some augmented reality applications had been used by engineering students to familiarize them with this type of tools based in emerging technology that can be playing an important role in later students’ labor environment. To evaluate the reaction of students to the contact with this kind of technology a twenty four items questionnaire was prepared, filled by students and evaluated. Finally, the results were analyzed and briefly reported here.

NeReLa project: Building network of remote labs using EU best practice

This paper gives brief presentation of the ongoing Tempus project deals with increasing attractiveness of engineering education in Serbia through innovative teaching methods by introducing remote experimentation as well as trough the strengthening of university-secondary vocational schools collaboration. The project objectives and key activities, which would be carried out in order to produce the expected results, as well as project consortium, are introduced. The best practice in using remote experiments for engineering education at EU partner institutions is elaborated.