AR-Classroom Usability: Implications for UX Research on AR-Enabled Educational Technologies for 3D Matrix Algebra Learning

This research full paper describes the augmented reality (AR) application AR-Classroom that combines a physical and virtual environment to teach 3D geometric rotations in an engaging and simplified manner. The AR-Classroom contains a virtual workshop where users can perform rotations by manipulating the application's X, Y, and Z-axis sliders to rotate a virtual LEGO model and a physical workshop where users perform rotations using a physical LEGO model. Guided by previous findings and an iterative approach to usability, the present usability study focused on assessing the usability of the AR-Classroom in its most recent version using a new physical LEGO model (i.e., airplane) and reflecting on how discoverability and usability can be assessed using different types of user experience measures and qualitative analysis. Participants were 22 undergraduate students who completed a pre-test with demographic information, watched a video on geometric transformations, and were randomly assigned to interact with either workshop. While interacting with the AR app, participants were instructed to provide feedback and a single ease-of-use question score. Participants then completed a post-test with two measures of usability. Descriptive statistics of the UX measures were explored, and a thematic analysis was conducted to identify and code themes in human-computer interaction. Findings suggest that the AR-Classroom has reached satisfactory usability, and users can navigate the app's features effectively. Discussion includes insight into which aspects of the app need improvement, how to promote self-directed support in the app, the development of future app efficacy experiments, and how to evaluate the usability of AR technology for learning.