A Portable Augmented Reality Lab

The importance of lab-based courses and its significant role in the science education is irrefutable. It has been universally accepted that it could enhance the understanding of science concept through hands-on experience. Several researchers have also asserted its strong impact on the students’ learning outcome. However, the economic constraints of creating and maintaining traditional science laboratories in schools have resulted in only a few labs allocated per school. Thus, large students number per school and large class sizes may result in students not fully benefiting from the effectiveness of laboratory education. The recent years have seen the transformation of laboratory education through the introduction of simulated lab concept using information technology as an alternative to the traditional lab. This paper provides a conceptual framework of a simulated but “portable” augmented reality lab which could be used in teaching of science in classrooms. Augmented reality is a promising technology which allows seamless user interaction between the real and virtual objects. The aim of the project is to enhance the teaching and learning of science by complementing the existing traditional lab with the use of a simulated augmented reality lab. The system architecture and the technical aspects of the proposed portable augmented reality will be described. Implementation issues and benefits of the proposed system will also be highlighted.