Location and Place: Two Design Dimensions of Augmented Reality in Mobile Technologies

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) integrates virtual objects in real environments in real time. It is becoming widely adopted in education, entertainment, and beyond. In this chapter, authors introduce “location” and “place” as two key design dimensions for designing AR-based mobile technologies for learning. “Location” is defined as the user’s physical location, and “place” is defined as the user’s engagement with the physical location she/he is in. Authors further operationalize “location” and “place” as independent constructs and map out their intersection using a quadrant-based framework. In each quadrant, a mobile application is presented to illustrate how this framework informs and contextualizes designs and developments in mobile technologies. The framework introduced in this work aims to highlight the importance of “location” and “place” when designing AR-based educational technologies.