Abstract:

It is not yet possible to draw a complete picture of the changes that have occurred in our daily lives over the last two years due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19. On the one hand, we have suffered physically and psychologically due to distance; we are unable to meet others outside of a metrically or technologically defined physical distance. Simultaneously, the situation in which we have found ourselves has accelerated the integration of specific technologies into everyday life. For example, Qr-Codes, a technology developed in the 1980s, has evolved into a portal to a technological-narrative substrate for ethereal information. These transformations have also significantly impacted education provision, with DL (Distance Learning) serving as an outpost. In this case, design can provide a fresh perspective on the possibilities presented by the situation. The discipline's characteristic sideways glance enables it to view technology not as a hindrance but as an opportunity to innovate in ways and tools. The introduction of augmented reality into education, in particular, presents a dual opportunity.

On the one hand, it can be a tool for teachers and students to collaborate on new learning processes; on the other hand, when used as an output, it enables us to consider new implementation models that move toward a mixed reality. The first section of the paper provides an overview of augmented reality in the educational sector. The second section discusses the various applications of this technology (i.e. apps, webAR, social networks). Finally, it describes a case study conducted by the author for a workshop in collaboration with the Polish academy PJAIT - Polish Japanise Academy of Information Technology, which involved the use of augmented reality as an output to create Instagram filters to be used to improve the mental health of users living in stressful urban environments, to redefine the perception of social networks from a psychological standpoint.

Keywords:

Augmented reality, innovative teaching, mental wellbeing, urban interior design.