Gamification and augmented reality in educational research.

Augmented Reality (AR) represents an almost completely unexplored territory involving all technology and knowledge fields and only in recent years has seen a widespread diffusion, thanks to the development of new technologies in the digital world such as smartphone, webcam and GPS. Virtual reality is entirely built on computer while augmented reality consists in adding content and information to the real environment created with software, through which the user can interact via computer devices. According to Lara Jongedijk's definition “Augmented Reality is an environment where real life is enhanced by virtual elements in real time. The purpose of AR is to enhance the information we naturally receive through our five senses, by adding superimposed, constructed virtual elements to bring complementary information and meaning that may not be possible to see by natural means.” This technology arised in the early nineties in the military field, thanks to the pioneering “Virtual Fixtures” platform, developed in 1992 by Louis Rosenberg at the Air Force Research Laboratory. In the field of the Air force we can also find Augmented Reality applications of heads-up display (HUD) – installed on fighter aircraft, provides pilots with flight data (airspeed, altitude, a horizon line) and allows the user to see displayed data without looking away from the “guide” to control their flight instruments. As stated, the technological development of augmented reality in the last few years (AR) can be used on ordinary smartphones with applications (Apps) in many formal and informal learning environments. Simultaneously, gamification has become increasingly popular in the teaching field, providing famous examples, such as Duolingo (for the acquisition of foreign languages) or Codecademy (for learning programming languages). Many articles have already highlighted the beneficial aspects of gamification and AR for education and teaching. Gamification works by increasing learners’ motivation and engagement, AR can be applied to teach them operational skills in a simple and effective way. This offers numerous possibilities and forms to combine these two aspects (AR and gamification) in different school contexts. However, gamification and AR in education are still a growing phenomenon, focusing on how gamification and AR can be combined in a useful manner to keep up students’ initial motivation aroused through novelty effects of AR learning environments. This article will outline research paths concerning the effects of the combination of augmented reality and gamification in teaching and learning processes with references to the outcome of some case studies.