Efficiency of using AR-assistant for teaching drawing skills

Abstract

Introduction. In connection with the steady growth in the world of the number of implementation of various kinds of educational applications based on augmented reality (AR) and publications on their effectiveness in relation to student performance, the need for experimental research in this area is growing. The pedagogical examination of AR-textbooks is complicated by the lack of empirical data to assess the actual effectiveness of the use of innovative tools in teaching. The aim of this study was to study how effective the use of augmented reality aids for the formation of draw skills is. Materials and methods. The study was organized as a pilot experiment: the control group learned to draw a sketch of a tiger's figure by copying a step-by-step guide (step-by-step table) printed on paper, and the experimental group performed it using the author's AR marker application. The quality of sketches performed (actual and delayed for a week), levels of subjectively perceived fatigue and cognitive load were considered as learning outcomes. The quality of the sketches was assessed by an expert with an art education. The levels of fatigue and cognitive load were assessed using self-rating scales. Primary results were analyzed using the Student's t-test and the paired Student's t-test. The reliability of self-rating scales was assessed using the Cronbach alpha coefficient. 38 students of the pedagogical bachelor degree took part in the experiment. Research results. The results obtained showed the equivalence of the sketches of the figure of the animal made using the AR-manual and the paper guide. It was also found that the levels of subjectively perceived fatigue, internal and external cognitive load were comparable in both groups, but the relevant load was higher in the AR-aid group (p=0,004). Conclusions. The results obtained in the study contribute to the development of expert criteria for evaluating teaching aids using augmented reality technology. These criteria already now include the presence of equivalence, and even better - an increase in the educational success of students in comparison with other means and methods of teaching, as well as a decrease in extraneous and an increase in relevant cognitive loads.