Enhancing 21st Century Skills with AR:Using the Gradual Immersion Method to develop Collaborative Creativity

As 21st century skills (e.g., creativity and collaboration) are informally developed by tech-savvy learners in the Digital Age, technology-based strategies to develop such skills in non-formal and formal contexts are necessary to reduce the gap between academic and business organizations on the one hand, and the revolutionary wave of self-taught networked learners on the other. In light of this, the Gradual Immersion Method (GIM) was designed to enhance collaborative creativity using interactive devices and augmented reality (AR), to support creativity-based learning, such as in the integrated study of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM). The GIM consists of three intuitive modules wherein learners collaboratively achieve learning object goals through interaction with images and 3D models, in a sequential transition from 2D to 3D and then to AR. In this paper, the process is illustrated through the deployment of the GIM in the study of Surrealist art features, using the Art Movement Learning App (AMLA), an area-specific technological solution based on the GIM, designed as foundation architecture for the investigation of a wide range of topics in an interactive manner.