The training of future teachers to use augmented reality technologies: Approaches and implementation experience

The article presents the experience of teaching students — future teachers to use augmented reality (AR) technologies in lessons on various subjects of the school curriculum. The analysis of two main approaches to the creation of augmented reality (marker-based and markerless), AR applications for mobile devices, software solutions for creating AR content, as well as the experience accumulated by teachers-researchers in the use of AR technologies in the educational process allowed us to draw conclusions about what methodological techniques for studying theoretical approaches to defining the concept of “augmented reality” and technologies for implementing augmented reality are appropriate to use in educational practice. As a result, a methodology was proposed that includes two blocks of training future subject teachers to use augmented reality technologies in their future professional activities in the process of teaching academic subjects, according to two implementations of AR technologies: marker-based AR based on the use of the domestic software platform ARGUMENT and markerless AR, involving the use of ready-made AR applications available on the software market. This methodology can be used not only in educational practice with students, but also in working with schoolchildren in the context of specialized informatics training. The developed methodology was tested at Murmansk Arctic University as part of the professional training of bachelors in the field of “Pedagogical education” in the process of teaching the discipline “Digital education technologies”, as well as during the educational (project-technological) practice of students. The proposed training options for the use of augmented reality technologies in teaching academic subjects at school can be included in the programs of professional training of students studying in the field of “Pedagogical education”, and also used in additional professional pedagogical education when working with subject teachers in retraining and advanced training courses to develop methodological knowledge and skills of teachers on the proposed issues.