What do you think is the main finding of this study? [AR games in Language Learning]

The creation of an innovative and transformational educational experience beyond the constraints of a physical place (classroom) that engaged and motivated students to get immersed in their learning process is what I found more striking. However, video games (in general) have this effect on students (and even adults!...like me). A good video game can provide rich opportunities for students (players) to experience problem-solving and goal-pursuing processes.

As an educator I’m prone to learn how to implement new technologies in my practices. But, wait... Do all teachers (on top of EVERYTHING they do on a daily basis) have to become programmers now? Well, NO! ARIS is an online platform that allows teachers (without programming background) to create Augmented Reality games for educational purposes from scratch.

Having this support in mind, for me the main finding of this study is the considerations teachers must have when using these online tools which most of the time are overshadow because of the novelty of the technology…

Support for teachers – AR games researched in this study required research team members to help teachers throughout the gameplay sessions in order to distribute and collect all hardware, keep groups together, answer content and handheld interface questions, and provide alternative handhelds to students whose machines had crashed (hardware and software problems). All these factors directly impact the feasibility of scalability.

Students safety - While playing a game teachers and researchers had to corralled students who were so immersed in the game that ignored the physical space around them to focus exclusively on the data being presented via the handheld which incorporates a safety issue to be considered.

Blurry novelty - students can become so engrossed in beaming information to each other that they run out of time to complete important activities

GPS failures - due to software instability or handheld device wrong configuration

Students cognitive load - students may report feeling overwhelmed and confused with complex tasks and large amounts of material.

Outside use - some devices are not designed to be used outside due to their screens that are difficult to read on bright sunny days or because their audio tends to wash out and become difficult to hear in large open areas.