Learning with tablets in a church - Experiences of augmented reality in religious education

Abstract

The research of AR –technology in learning has indicated promising results, such as increased content understanding and student motivation. However, difficulties are reported as well, for example attention tunneling and usability difficulties. (for a review, see Radu 2014) Religious buildings offer a rich and authentic environment for learning about religion and understanding the surrounding culture. In an experiment with elementary school pupils (age 11-12) we wanted to explore the possibilities of augmented reality in creating a holistic learning environment in a church. Augmented reality proved a versatile tool for learning about church, biblical texts and doctrinal contents as well as learning of 21st century skills. The experiment also pinpointed challenges that need to be taken into account when designing augmented reality learning environments in a church.