Bridging the Gap: Fostering Collaborative Sense-making in Computing Education with an Embodied AR Artbook

A key challenge in computing education is helping learners understand abstract and invisible computational processes. While Augmented Reality (AR) has been widely explored as a tool for visualizing such processes, most systems position AR as an individual "magic window," which can limit opportunities for collaborative learning and shared sense-making. To address this gap, we present TuringLens, a hybrid playful educational system designed to support co-located collaboration. The system integrates a mobile AR application with an embodied Artbook that serves as a shared artifact for learning. By anchoring dynamic algorithm visualizations to the Artbook’s pages and framing them through the biographical stories of computing pioneers, creates a shared epistemic space where pairs of learners can jointly engage with computational concepts. We conducted a pilot study with student dyads interacting with the system through a shared mobile phone. Our interaction analysis reveals that the physical book functions effectively as a boundary object, enabling participants to establish joint attention through deictic gestures directly on the device screen. Additionally, the visual feedback triggers conflict, prompting dyads to discuss algorithmic rules and naturally support one another. These findings illustrate how hybrid tangible–AR interfaces can support collaborative sense-making around abstract computational concepts.