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Volume 7 / Issue 14 / 2020 
 
 

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Augmented Reality and Education Sciences 

 

Cristian PAMPARĂU 

Ștefan cel Mare University, Suceava, România 

pamparaucristian0@gmail.com 

 

Abstract 

The present paper reviews the field of Augmented Reality, starting from the current research and 

publications of this specialization, starting from the premise that augmenting reality implies an 

extension of virtual reality. Thus, types of implementations of augmented reality will be presented, 

emphasizing the HMD type, referring to an application of this kind, made by the author. Based on 

the application, the observations from a public presentation of it and, taking into account the way 

in which RA flirts with education, the educational perspectives of and how they can be 

implemented in the educational system will be presented. Also, in this paper will be presented the 

limitations of this technology, given that not every educational subject can be presented and taught 

in an immersive environment.For the implementation of the application under discussion, the 

technology was used Microsoft HoloLens 1 that combines an untethered device with apps and 

solutions that help people across your business learn, communicate, and collaborate more 

effectively. 

 

Keywords: augmented reality; head mounted display; education; hololensl 

 

Augmented Reality - definition and technology 

 

If we want to define exactly the field of Augmented Reality (AR), it cannot be said that there is a 

generally accepted definition that no longer requires further additions. If we were to compare, 

initially this concept with that of Virtual Reality, which introduces the user to another reality 

where, for his "functioning" in the physical world, his senses are no longer useful (virtual reality 

is replaced by the physical one), the augmentation of reality is only a supplement to the physical 

one (Kesim and Osarzlam, 2012). In this sense, it can be stated that the use of Augmented Reality 

mailto:pamparaucristian0@gmail.com


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technology is justified because it extends the user's perception of the real world. (Swensen, 2016). 

However, in 2001 a definition was given (Azuma et al) described by three characteristics: (a) the 

combination of real and virtual objects in a physical reality, a real environment (b) Augmented 

Reality applications run interactively, requesting gestures or voice commands from the user; (c) 

the overlap of real and virtual objects, by their mutual alignment. Thus, it can be stated that AR 

allows the use of a tangible interface for manipulating objects, either real or virtual (Singhla et al, 

2012). 

In order to display the digital content superimposed on the physical content, three types of devices 

were highlighted: (a) mobile, portable devices; (b) stationary units;  (c) head-mounted display 

(Azuma et al, 2001). Given that many researchers haveaddressed the influences of mobile devices 

in education, in  this paper we will focus on head-mounted devices (HMDs), even though these, 

though expensive and considered immature, are rarely used in education( Nielsen et al, 2016). One 

such technology that I interacted with is Microsoft Hololens 1, the first version of the device. 

According to Microsoft, Hololens is the first device that can be viewed as a holographic computer 

that displays images in the visible spectrum, in the user's field of view. 

As mentioned above, augmented reality is considered an extension of virtual reality, but also an 

extension of the preception about the real world, running in an interactive environment. In this 

regard, pressing, buttoning or other similar operations in a 2D environment have been replaced 

with the user's gaze, gestures and voice, thus ensuring the launch of augmented reality applications, 

but also running them based on theinput of to the user. Thus, the most important operation for this 

device, performed by the user, is the look. This is the equivalent of positioning the mouse on a 2D 

desktop, so virtual objects can "respond" to gestures or voice, when it is detected. Obviously, we 

are talking about augmented reality applications that have defined certain behaviors at the time of 

gesture or voice detection. The HoloLens paradigm foresees two fundamental gestures, that of 

accessing virtual objects (AirTap) but also of returning to the previous menu, or home menu 

(Bloom). With these gestures you can create and generate a multitude of gestures, respecting the 

requirements of the application. In the figures below you can see the two basic gestures. 

 

 

 



International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

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Figure 2. https://arvrjourney.com/research-mr-content-types-interactions-gestures-

interfaces-spacing-it-out-98c7ae752b3e 

 

Educational observations on a personal application of AR 

 

The application I developed is a new approach in terms of viewing, accessing and manipulating 

digital content in Augmented Reality. The feature of the approach is that the user, introduced to 

this reality, will be able to follow a completely organized approach to information, in the sense 

that the classic elements of a 2D Desktop (buttons, menus, toolbar, windows, folders and files, 

etc.) will be missing. they are completely replaced by elements of semi-transparent geometry 

(similar to the idea of a folder containing other folders or files inside it) that will contain various 

https://arvrjourney.com/research-mr-content-types-interactions-gestures-interfaces-spacing-it-out-98c7ae752b3e
https://arvrjourney.com/research-mr-content-types-interactions-gestures-interfaces-spacing-it-out-98c7ae752b3e


International Journal of Social and Educational Innovation (IJSEIro) 

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virtual objects, such as fruits, machines or boxes (like files in a folder).Therefore, the information 

is organized on hierarchical levels, accessing them is possible through recognition of sight and 

gestures. Thus, it can be stated that AR allows the use of a tangible interface for manipulating 

objects, either realor virtual (Singhla et al, 2012). The figure below shows a screenshot of the 

application running. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Screenshot from the personal running application 

Following a public exhibition through which the RA application was presented, a number of user 

difficulties were identified and identified. The first reaction, most commonly encountered, was 

that most users were blocked in terms of the definition of the "desktop" concept. For these people, 

"desktop" meant the display of windows, buttons, menus, etc., and a desktop in Augmented Reality 

meant transposing these elements into the new reality, this has been implemented for about 20 

years. (Regenbrecht et al, 2001). Therefore, the users in question could not deduce that the 

application presented an elementary, immature model of 3D Desktop. However, once they had 

learned the name of the concept, many of them were still not convinced of how such a holographic 

interface could look like a desktop of a mobile device that they owned. Thus, HMD Augmented 

Reality applications are still at the stage of immaturity (Nielsen et al, 2016), but if we think of the 

concept previously defined as belonging to science and, based on the difficulties mentioned, the 

idea is validated that students perceive science (or, one side of it) as abstract, which makes it 

difficult to understand. To overcome this impediment, Gilbert stated (2004) that some special skills 



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are needed. In order to improve the visualization and comprehension skills of the visualized 

content, it is recommended to present a multitude of abstract visual images and allow them to 

access, manipulate and explore them (Kozhevnikov et al,2007). 

Another observation regarding the difficulties of the users, considering the adaptation to the new 

concept or even the requirement for this software implemented for the industry, was that the current 

hardware device for which the application was programmed, is expensive for anordinary user, the 

device being purchased in within a research laboratory. However, as time goes by, devices will 

also improve, prices will decrease, and augmented reality applications will also improve, adapting 

to human needs and solving them. Thus, if we think about the first difficulty, it can be stated that 

the latter will have a natural solution, as time goes by. 

 

Conclusion and educational perspectives 

 

As it is easy to see in educational systems, one of the negative aspects of these is the lack 

ofmotivation among the students, perhaps because, over time, the familiarity with the teaching 

methods and techniques of teaching-learninghas intervened. To this problem, AR comes up with 

the solution of the idea again. The idea has always attracted the attention of students. In other 

words, augmented reality, immersive virtual environments can contribute to increasing the 

motivation of the students, bringing an additional possibility of increasing the performance in the 

instructional-educational process (Pantelidis, 1995, Roussos et al, 1999, Winn,1993). On the other 

hand, itshould not be neglected that the technology used, the application that will be developed, 

must meet the educational needs, be consistent with the objectives of the learning process and, last 

but not least, be adapted to the target audience (Kaufmann, 2002). It is useless an application that 

presents, for example, the sections of the human body, to children in the primary learning cycle, 

how, in the same way, the presentation of an application designed to help students learn, say, the 

alphabet, the high school students will have no impact positive. Moreover, the direct and 

immediate consequence will be the appearance of disinterest in the students, that is exactly the 

problem from which we started.  

It should also be mentioned that educational goals are not without importance. In this way, not 

every educational subject, not every teaching lesson can be taught using this medium. From here 



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comes the role of the modern teacher to prove his creativity and originality in adapting his scientific 

content to be taught, to the new technology, in this new educational environment. Current research, 

however, has shown that Augmented Reality has been applied at an experimental level in schools 

over the past 20 years, obviously receiving the classical methods and procedures of teaching and 

learning (Lee, 2002). Probably, given the fact that the field is immature, governmentsprovide very 

low financial support (Shelton, 2002), so that the costs of technology, its introduction into schools, 

are difficult to cover. 

 

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