Augmented Reality Applications in Education and Examining Key Factors Affecting the Users’ Behaviors

Abstract

Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly influential in education. AR technology allows users to learn and practice in a simulated environment that enables repetition, correction, and failure without risk. The present study evaluated users’ attitudes towards using AR for learning complex tasks. The users are asked to interact with an AR Piling (ARP) application that shows various steps of a construction process. A set of selected practitioners and students used the application, and the evaluation involved various participants of different genders and backgrounds. A questionnaire was designed and data was collected through an online survey based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The model is modified considering education practices and adjusted to an AR app for learning purposes. The novelty of the model lies in various constructs such as technical quality, social influence, perceived immersion, learning, and perceived enjoyment. 200 responses were obtained and used for evaluating the proposed model. The attitude toward using AR and the perceived usefulness of AR were the two factors that determined the participants’ behavioral intention to use ARP. Respondents showed a high level of acceptance for AR. In education and higher learning contexts, the findings of this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how AR is accepted in complex learning environments. The study allows us to extend the TAM by examining how AR technology can be applied to teaching in universities and unpack the ways in which gender influences learning through AR application.