Abstract:

This paper deals with the implementation and experimental evaluation of two AR (augmented reality) tools for improving an academic software engineering course at example of two major course contents: software design and process models.

Ever since augmented reality became broadly available, research evaluating use-cases for this technology has been on the rise. Existing literature shows that AR has been recognized as a promising technology with the potential to improve the quality of education [1], [2]. In particular, different researchers found AR to have positive effects on learner’s academic performance, sociability, engagement and motivation to further explore the topic at hand [2]. Our thesis is that these effects are partly due to the increased motivation and simplified usability inherent to AR.

Motivated by these findings, we intent to verify the existence of positive effects of academic performance and motivational aspects in software engineering education. Software engineering was found to be particularly boring and complicated for learners and therefore chosen as subject for this endeavour [3]. The course in question is targeted towards electrical engineering majors. At the given moment, it is unclear whether this impacts our research.

Two augmented reality applications to support the students of this particular course are in development. One of these tries to integrate Kanban as a project management tool. Its purposes include help with managing software projects and teaching self-management. The other application deals with the teaching of software design using the UML (Unified Modelling Language). The latter has already been tested for usability with students of the targeted course in two experiments. First results indicate weaknesses in the application regarding ease of use. Ongoing development takes these results into consideration. We present concepts for the experiments intended to verify the aforementioned benefits for both applications.

We contribute with first prototypes of augmented reality applications. The evaluation concepts are described and first results are presented. In general, the tools are and were tested in control-group experiments (N=14) with non-major computer scientists. Besides usability evaluation, performance and motivation is our focus. Up to now, we thereby did a mixed methods approach using interviews, questionnaire and scoring.

Ultimately, the goal of this research project is to find ways to create a more motivating and engaging curriculum, which also provides students with the tools they need to be part of a real software development project.

References:
[1] J. Bacca, S. Baldiris, R. Fabregat, and S. Graf, “A Systematic Review of Research and Augmented Reality Trends in Education: A Systematic Review of Research and Applications,” Journal of Educational Technology & Society, vol. 17, no. 174, pp. 133–149, 2014. [Online]. Available: http://¬www.jstor.org/¬stable/-jeductechsoci.17.4.133 http://¬about.jstor.org/¬terms/¬
[2] M. Akcayir and G. Akcayir, “Advantages and challenges associated with augmented reality for education: A systematic review of the literature,” Educational Research Review, vol. 20, pp. 1–11, 2016.
[3] A. Soska, R. Reuter, F. Hauser, M. Reiß, and J. Mottok, “Scaffolding in der Lehre von Design Pattern.”

Keywords:

Augmented Reality, Software Engineering, Higher Education, UML, Kanban.