Abstract:

Preparing for a labwork experiment in a hands-on course usually comes with reading the written material in advance which should enable the students to prepare the tasks in the lab. We created an Augmented Reality App to project the actual lab setup for a labwork experiment in advanced optics together with a virtual lecturer onto the kitchen table of the students. The students have thus a much better connection to the real experiment. While doing the experiment, AR provides additional information such as simulated diffraction data which enrich the learning experience.

The app comes with two different modes. The preparation mode is intended to be used at home on an empty table. The experimental setup together with a virtual lecturer are displayed. They guide the user through all aspects of the experiment, from the historic background through the mathematical methodology to the applications. This gives the user a much better connection to the actual experiment they will find later. Information is provided in a multimodal form, equations can be read or explanations are given by narration and simulations.

When they then come to the lab, students can directly relate with the setup they have already seen before. In lab companion mode, the app augments the actual setup with information that is helpful to understand the experiment like the beam paths. Students can augment background information directly onto the setup.

The App is made available as Open Educational Ressource for anyone using an Android or iOS device.

Keywords:

Augmented Reality, Laboratory Training, Open Educational Resource.