MSL_AR TOOLKIT: AR WITH INTERACTIVE FEATURE FOR
NEXT GENERATION EDUCATION
Jinwook Shim, Jonghoon Seo
Dpt. of Computer Science,Yonsei University, 134, Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
Tack-don Han
Dpt. of Computer Science,Yonsei University, 134, Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea
Keywords: Augmented Reality, Interaction, Authoring tool.
Abstract: We describe an authoring tool for Augmented Reality (AR) contents. In recent years there have been a
number of frameworks proposed for developing Augmented Reality (AR) applications. This paper describes
an authoring tool for Augmented Reality (AR) application with interactive features. We developed the AR
authoring tool which provides Interactive features that we can perform the education service project and
participate it actively for the participating education service. This paper provides learning and teaching
models for next generation digital textbook which Augmented Reality interactions between teacher and
learner. The proposed method of this paper is applied to educational contents and we found positive effect
which is supported by statistical experiments.
1 INTRODUCTION
The digital textbook project which embarked by the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has
focused on experiments and practices from the
school designated by the government in Korea.
However the previous research about digital
textbook provides static interaction models and
teaching-learning models analogous to web-based
learning based PC even the framework of the digital
textbook is based of Augmented Reality.
This paper provides learning and teaching
models for next generation digital textbook which
encourages interactions between teacher and
students. The proposed method is applied to
educational contents and we found positive effect
which is supported by statistical experiments. The
results of this study about the future development of
digital textbooks will be effective development plan.
The study results from the demonstration digital
textbook project sponsored by the Ministry of
Education showed that the form of the digital
textbook contents made the insertion of
supplementary study materials difficult. This
difficulty resulted in a failure to arouse continued
interest and as a learning obstruction factor. In
particular, because the simple presentation-type,
web- and multimedia-based passive contents
currently used in schools and the composition of
digital textbook contents are similar and thus
provide only a limited degree of freedom with
respect to learning, such contents revealed
limitations in terms of inducing interest and flow.
Since virtual information difficult to observe in
the real world can be attained with the use of
augmented reality technology, it is possible to utilize
additional information and receive guidelines or
additional information appropriate for the user’s
situation through situated cognition. As it allows
tangible testing using markers, it can be effective for
inducing interest in learning.
In this paper, we aim to design and create a
future digital textbook content scenario by using
augmented reality technology. Accordingly, for
augmented reality-based digital textbook
development and application, we drew up and
applied a development and teaching-learning method
design for “interactive chemical formula teaching
contents” to explain structures of atoms and
molecules in a chemistry course. Through the results
obtained, we seek to increase the student’s interest in
457
Shim J., Seo J. and Han T..
MSL_AR TOOLKIT: AR WITH INTERACTIVE FEATURE FOR NEXT GENERATION EDUCATION.
DOI: 10.5220/0003476404570461
In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computer Supported Education (ATTeL-2011), pages 457-461
ISBN: 978-989-8425-50-8
Copyright
c
2011 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)
learning together with learning flow and inquiry
ability.
2 BACKGROUND
2.1 Augmented Reality
Augment Reality means a converged environment of
the real-world and a virtual reality. The time that the
research related to augment reality begins is since
the Boeing Company has coined a term 'Augmented
Reality'.
Also, since augmented reality technology as a
learning tool is provided to have the students
directly experience the contents regarding study
materials that are not abstract symbols, it induces
motivation by enhancing the interactivity and
increasing the flow. In addition, by serving as a
guide that enables the students to become interested
and to inquire about the learning assignment on their
own, it aids the students to engage in active, self-
driven learning. (Jeeheon Ryu., et al., 2006).
2.2 Augmented Reality Authoring Tool
Current situation of AR Authoring Tools have too
short history and lack of common application
compare with 3ds MAX, MAYA. AR Authoring
tool has a major ripple effect on technically yet. (e.g.
(Yuan Wang, et al., 2009))
Table 1: Types of Authoring tools.
Programmers Non-programmers
Low level
ARToolKit
arTag
DART
ComposAR
High level
Studierstube
osgART
AMIRE
MARS
2.3 Flow
As an outcome of continuous responses hastened by
interactivity, flow is accompanied by loss of self-
awareness and is characterized by voluntary
enhancement. Hoffman and Novak (1997), through
their research on flow in the web environment,
asserted that flow is the continuity of ceaseless
responses hastened through the interaction between
machine and human in the process of sailing the
network.
In this paper, based on the concept of the flow,
we tried to look at the effect of student's flow related
to a digital study contents based on an augmented
reality.
2.4 Interest
Since existing digital textbooks have repetitions of
unnecessary animations or sounds and are mostly
filled with pictures and videos for simply presenting
the content of the text, they can degenerate into
simple presentation types that reduce the level of
concentration or interest.
In this study, however, augmented reality
technology is applied as the future digital textbook
technology, enabling the students to understand
given principles by directly experiencing and
manipulating on their own the contents of the
textbook. We are going to see the change of before
and after the interest by planning the study activity
so that the class becomes possible to focus on the
students.
3 MSL_AR TOOLKIT
In this section we describe the prototype of a
MSL_AR toolkit process. Our goal is to develop a
low-level tool that will allow programmers to build
AR contents with interactive features. The users can
modify configure file that needs for interaction on
AR content through GUI.
Figure 1: MSL_AR toolkit authoring tool process.
Fig 1 is a diagram of a MSL_AR toolkit
authoring tool overall process. The first step is to
input the information to create a simple AR content
through User GUI. After that it creates AR content
about entered information through main frame of
MSL_AR toolkit.
The AR content that came out as the result of
MSL_AR toolkit works with interactive feature
CSEDU 2011 - 3rd International Conference on Computer Supported Education
458
which specified by the user
3.1 MSL_AR Toolkit Process
MSL_AR toolkit authoring tool requires coding and
scripting skills with programming knowledge. This
authoring tool provides main function of engine and
DLL library basically. Configure file determines
markers` ID and the interaction methods, etc.
Authoring tool that has been developed provides
interaction that uses marker occlusion and marker
merge methods. Fig 2 shows a flowchart of
MSL_AR toolkit authoring tool.
Figure 2: MSL_AR toolkit flowchart.
User sets the configure file through interface.
And then, user implements the MSL_AR toolkit, it
creates the AR content by applying the configure file
in the stage of preprocessor. When the process
activates, it will find marker in the inputted video
from camera and augments the object above the
marker. It interacts by interactive feature with the
information that user input.
3.2 Augmented Reality Content Design
for Education
In this research, we developed the contents
instructing 'Atoms and Molecule' in Chemistry. An
each marker indicates the unit of the atoms or
molecule like Figure 3.
When these individual atoms or molecules are
brought near to each other, the molecular (Figure 4)
and application models (Figure 5) (Figure 6) that can
be generated from the combination of atoms or
molecules are generated through the interaction
function of the designed markers.
Figure 3: Basic atomic model.
Figure 4: Molecular model by Interaction.
Figure 5: Refrigerator Marker.
Figure 6: Change of state.
A teaching-learning guidance plan was designed
based on the ‘4-1. Three Forms of Matter’ unit for
the 7
th
grade level in Korea by using the augmented
reality contents related to molecular arrangement, as
shown in Figure 3. A teaching-learning course, in
which the learning contents of the augmented
reality-based molecular arrangement were applied,
was created as a problem-solving learning model
where the student directly makes the physical model
MSL_AR TOOLKIT: AR WITH INTERACTIVE FEATURE FOR NEXT GENERATION EDUCATION
459
of each molecule and explores its strengths and
weaknesses and understands and resolves the
molecular arrangement resulting from the condition
of the substance by utilizing the augmented reality
contents. The learning format consists of group
learning activity followed by individual learning
stage.
4 ANALYSIS
4.1 Applying Object
To apply the guideline of teacher who is dealing
with Augmented Reality contents, we guide the
people who are mostly students.
The study subjects comprised 30 fifth grade
students from a primary school located in Incheon,
Korea. The developed contents were used in class
lessons for one month.
4.2 Applying Result and Analysis
As the teaching-learning design that utilized the
augmented reality proposed in this study was being
applied to the students, in order to find out whether
there are significant changes in the three dependent
variables of learning flow, interest, and inquiry
ability with respect to the students before and after
its application, the results were analyzed through
paired samples t-test.
The collected materials are analyzed by SPSS12.0
which is a statistic program and we set the
significant level as p <0.5.
4.3 The Influence of Future Contents
Application that will Affect the
Someone`s Flow of Study
In order to determine whether there is a significant
difference in terms of the students’ learning flow
when the augmented reality-based contents were
applied in the digital textbook, the learning flow test
tool translated by Eun-ju Lee (2001) was modified
and used. The examination tool is total 28 questions
and we measured 5 point as Likert standard.
Table 2: flow before-after Test of experimental group.
average
Standard
deviation
t p
before 2.80 .39
-6.761 .00
after 3.20 .46
p<.05
4.4 The Influence of Future Contents
Application that Will Affect the
Someone`s Interesting of Study
In order to determine whether there is a significant
difference in terms of the students’ learning interest
when the augmented reality-based contents were
applied in the digital textbook, the learning flow test
tool created by Eun-ju Lee (2001) was used. The test
tool consisted of 10 questions with a mixture of 5-
level Likert scale and short-answer types.
(T.P.Novak., et al., 1996)
The pre- and post-test results of the test group
students’ learning interest showed that the average
value improved by 3.2 points after the program
application. This is a significant difference since the
significance property value is less than .05.
Therefore, the future contents are shown to be
effective in terms of learning interest when applied
to digital textbooks.
Table 3: Interesting before-after Test of experimental
group.
average
Standard
deviation
t p
before 56.17 6.98
-6.033 .00
after 59.37 7.69
p<.05
5 CONCLUSIONS
The existing limitation of Augmented Reality
authoring tool is fixed and provided restricted
contents. Thus, there is no more additional
information. The function of Augmented Reality
based offers additional virtual information; that is
actually difficult to observe, recognizes the situation
and provides guideline about experimental
procedure or order, etc. Also through interaction
technology, MSL_AR toolkit increases the
educational effectiveness and can be performed
effectual, tangible experiments using marker.
In this study, as an alternative for the social
demand for learning contents and system
supplementation that can be applied to future digital
textbooks, we applied to education augmented
reality-based contents that provide a learning
environment allowing students on their own to
immerse in studying as well as improve learning
interest and learning flow effect by hastening the
sense of realness and flow. From this study, the
following conclusions were obtained.
CSEDU 2011 - 3rd International Conference on Computer Supported Education
460
First, augmented reality contents can be widely
applied in school lessons under the future digital
textbook environment because work that would have
been impossible to do or learning elements that
could not have been experienced due to spatial and
physical limitations can be easily simulated in the
augmented reality environment where the real world
and virtual reality converge.
Second, the results from the application of
augmented reality-based contents showed that it can
provide high level of interest and learning
effectiveness of learning flow; and as such, it can be
applied as the next-generation learning model.
Third, through this technological progress, the
augmented reality-based learning, as a revolutionary
learning method by which the students can become
immersed on their own and gain understanding and
generate new knowledge using the method of
exploratory learning, is expected to become further
developed by fusing with future learning
technologies such as personal customized learning,
ubiquitous learning, multi-game type learning and
intelligent learning.
In follow-up research, we intend to develop a
prototype of a digital textbook augmented reality
writing tool that will allow teachers to easily utilize
in the classrooms the development of augmented
reality-based contents. Moreover, we seek to
develop a more advance forms of educational
contents and verify them in the classrooms.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work (2010-0027654) was supported by Mid-
career Researcher Program through NRF grant
funded by the MEST.
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