Abstract:

Nowadays, ICTs are increasingly present in classrooms, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, where students have discovered the benefits of distance education. However, they also know the advantages of face-to-face education and do not want to miss out on any of them. To solve this problem, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) is proposed. AR is made up of both three-dimensional elements and digital information, which value the student's theoretical knowledge in a new mixed environment made up of both dimensions. In addition, mention should be made of the fact that in order to use this methodology, it is necessary to use smartphones or tablets that allow real information to be captured instantly, as well as the use of devices that allow three-dimensional visualization of the mixed environment. For them, the use of software that allows the joining and production of both physical and virtual universes that can later be viewed on the aforementioned technological devices is a fundamental requirement.

With special emphasis on the necessary software to be able to carry out the mixed environment, it should be mentioned that there are many softwares that allow AR activities to be carried out. Among the most used are Metaverse, actionBound, Roar, Zapworks, Augmented Class, Augmentation Author, ARCrowd, LayAR, HP Reveal, Zappar, Blippar, Appy Pie and Vuforia. All of them have clear advantages and disadvantages, but the most remarkable thing is that they have been created for the design of very specific activities. This is due to the fact that within the environment of activities considered as AR there are different typologies such as AR software firing patterns, geolocation or interaction with the Internet.

More specifically, this study presents an example of AR activity based on the geolocation of companies. This is due to the need raised to value this methodology within the university business environment, given that there is little research that applies it in this field. In addition, this study allows the fact of carrying out a simple, accessible activity and capable of being applied to the educational methodology and evaluation systems of Degrees such as Business Administration and Management.

Said AR activity would be very useful within this context since it would allow the students to put into practice the knowledge acquired in a real way. For this, and despite the widespread use of the aforementioned software, Google My Map has been used in this case. With this, a map of all the companies, agents and institutions that make up Innovarcilla has been made to determine if it forms an industrial district or, on the contrary, they are only a group of companies that are located nearby. During the process of carrying out the activity, different elements of the software have been used, such as searching for the geolocation of companies, integration of digital information, videos or images, preparation of layers based on the type of three-dimensional element, demarcation of the perimeter of the companies that make up the industrial district, etc.

This work presents as a novelty the application of the AR technique to the knowledge of the business area such as Strategic Management and the use of new software to carry out the technique. Likewise, the use of AR within the university environment and the ease of being able to apply theoretical knowledge in a practical way through this type of methodology are valued.

Keywords:

Augmented Reality, New teaching methodologies, COVID-19.