Abstract:

When teaching Chemistry, the difficulty of abstraction to understand concepts pertaining to this science may be attributed to the need to articulate among the three dimensions that involve knowledge of chemistry: submicroscopic, symbolic and macroscopic dimensions. Some applications (Apps) for smartphones and tablets allow interactions with representations of these three dimensions of chemical knowledge that would not be available without the support of digital technologies (DT), helping understand the chemical phenomena through a dynamic and three-dimensional visualization that they provide. In order to identify and evaluate augmented reality Apps available to be utilized in the teaching and learning processes in Chemistry, Apps were investigated and selected by means of searches in the ‘Play Store’ and ‘App Store’ virtual stores. The Apps that emerged in the search were selected based on the cost to download the App (identifying those that did not have any cost, considering the importance of adopting free Apps to implement practices using DT in the context of public schools), and on the contents discussed (selecting the Apps that were related to Chemistry contents). Twelve Apps were chosen: only 5 of them were multiplatform – ie., Apps that are compatible with Android and iOS operational systems. After this preliminary identification, each of the 5 Apps was characterized, tested and evaluated regarding its scientific content, images, functionality, and ease, checking the potential of each of them for teaching and learning Chemistry. Based on the evaluation, it was found that the most of the Apps have a content aimed at viewing molecular structures, which provide interaction with representations of submicroscopic structures in a macroscopic context.

Acknowledgements:
IFRS/CNPq/PIBITI

Keywords:

Augmented reality, Chemistry, teaching and learning.