Abstract:

Digital technologies and augmented reality are a natural part of the children of postmodern society. Bookstores offer children's books with augmented reality, for instance the Pokemon Go app is very popular these days. Augmented reality can also be used in after school clubs through individual thematic areas of education (such as natural science, technical, aesthetic). These educational areas are connected with the concept of STEAM Education. The use of augmented reality in the after school club contributes to a more meaningful use of smartphones and tablets by children. As part of the Preschool and Elementary Pedagogy study program at the Faculty of Education at Comenius University in Bratislava, in the field of Teaching and Pedagogical Sciences, we prepare, in addition to teachers of pre-primary education, also future educators in the after school club as part of primary education. The authors of the article have been working on the issue of using augmented reality in pre-primary and primary education for several years. In this research, they focused on the connection of teaching and learning and education in the after school club within the framework of the implemented action research. It was carried out with students of teaching within subjects aimed at individual components of STEAM. It is about developing children's digital technologies with regard to pre-primary and primary education, which is part of the pre-primary and primary curriculum. In individual courses, we introduced students of teaching to how to use applications with augmented reality in pre-primary and primary education (such as Quiver, Animals D4, etc.). Based on this, the students had to propose a way of using the given applications with augmented reality as part of activities in individual thematic areas of education in the after school club. The students' outputs were activity proposals for children aged 6 to 11, which they presented in the form of videos. We subjected the research material to a qualitative analysis with the support of Atlas-ti software assistance for organizing and analyzing research data. We also used the mechanical processing of research data, while applying the method of constant comparison. In this paper, we present a set of activities with the use of augmented reality aimed at learning and teaching and educational activities in the after school club. The research study also includes the results of the conducted research. Based on the research findings, we can point out that according to the students of teaching, augmented reality has a perspective in the learning and teaching and educational process in the after school club. According to the research subjects, the use of augmented reality in the after school club is motivating, attractive and develops children's competences within the STEAM concept.

Keywords:

Augmented Reality, After School Club, Education, Learning and Teaching, Applications for Augmented Reality.