Using augmented reality for teaching Earth-Sun relationships to undergraduate geography students

In this application-based paper we describe an ongoing research project in which we utilize ARToolkit to help teach undergraduate geography students about Earth-Sun relationships. We carefully examined over thirty students who participated in an augmented reality exercise containing models designed to teach concepts of rotation/revolution, solstice/equinox, and seasonal variation of light and temperature. We found a significant overall improvement in student understanding after the AR exercise, as well as a reduction in student misunderstandings. Further analysis implies that learning complex spatial phenomena is closely linked to the way students control "when" and "how" they are able to manipulate virtual 3D objects. We present arguments for why it may be appropriate to use videotaped data gathering methods to accurately describe student understanding in future research.