Learning programming and electronics with augmented reality

Abstract

Digital native generations have been technology consumers all their life. Our children should be educated to be capable to contribute, as active producers, to the digital framework with a maturity and critical attitude. To do that children should learn to program from very early stage at school and combine this with electronics can be the right way to motivate them to develop skills such as reasoning, problems resolution, logic, creativity, perseverance and team work. This paper describes the development of an augmented reality book that can be used by children to learn programming and electronics. Students alone, in groups, at home or in the classroom can use mobile devices (smartphones or tablets) and augmented reality to help them in the electronics assembly. We believe that the use of augmented reality will change significantly the teaching activities by enabling the addition of supplementary information that is seen on a mobile device.