Social Presence Enabled Augmented Reality (SPEAR) tool for online engineering education

Traditional online engineering education often faces challenges such as student disengagement, lack of hands-on learning, and limited interaction, which can negatively affect motivation and comprehension. Emerging technologies, particularly Augmented Reality (AR), have shown promise in enhancing learning experiences by providing immersive, interactive environments. However, the integration of AR with social presence features to foster collaboration and improve motivation in online engineering education has not been thoroughly explored. This dissertation addresses this gap by introducing and evaluating the Social Presence Enabled Augmented Reality (SPEAR) tool, a novel AR-based application designed to improve student engagement, comprehension, and performance in online engineering education. SPEAR leverages the AR Foundation framework within the Unity game engine to create an interactive learning experience focused on structural beam-bending mechanics. The tool enables users to manipulate 3D virtual beams in real-world environments, offering real-time simulations of beam deformation using a custom C# script based on the Finite Element Method. Visualizations of moment/shear diagrams and bending stresses enhance the learning process. A key feature of SPEAR is the integration of a cloud-based voice chat powered by Photon Unity Networking (PUN) 2, which fosters social presence, enabling collaborative learning among users. The effectiveness of SPEAR was assessed through a combination of academic achievement tests, surveys on social presence, and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS), based on the ARCS model. The results demonstrated that the inclusion of social presence features in AR tool significantly improved students’ academic performance, motivation, and peer interaction compared to the control group. Focus group discussions further revealed that the integration of voice chat reduced feelings of isolation and improved comprehension of complex engineering concepts, fostering enhanced collaboration. This dissertation highlights the potential of SPEAR to transform online engineering education by providing an immersive, collaborative learning environment. It contributes to the pedagogical applications of AR in education and offers insights into future research on interactive and engaging online learning technologies.