DEVELOPING HANDS-ON MODEL-MAKING SKILLS REMOTELY THROUGH AUGMENTED REALITY IN ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM

Abstract

Innovative technologies are transforming human society in unprecedented ways, creating a digital network that impacts human activities. One of these groundbreaking technological advancements is immersive technology. Although immersive technology, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), provides some degree of a virtual experience for users, in the education sector, learning hands-on skills virtually and remotely remains challenging. The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry is at the forefront of adopting immersive technology in their practice. However, experiments with hands-on skills in distance learning are still in their early period. With distance education becoming a norm in modern society, especially after COVID-19’s emergence, learning hands-on skills remotely is an urgent matter to solve. Drawing from my own teaching practice in the AEC higher education field, I explored how immersive technology may assist in developing hands-on skills remotely. In particular, I explored learning architectural model-making skills remotely through augmented reality in this study. I followed the principles of Morris’ Experiential Learning theory to design the intervention, which was composed of two technologies available in the commercial and educational markets. Subsequently, I evaluated the iterative experiment processes through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and a portion of the SECTIONS (Students, Ease of use, Costs, Teaching functions, Interaction, Organizational issues, Networking, Security and Privacy) framework based on my practical situation. Data collected from this study included answers to three questionnaires and 15 progress reports contributed by five research participants who were learners in the architectural technician and technology program at Centennial College, as well as information gathered from my past teaching experience. Findings obtained from the mixed methods approach indicated that using a specific AR tool within a well-designed intervention could assist students in developing hands-on model-making skills remotely. The quality and inclusiveness of the adopted AR tool significantly impacted participants’ learning experiences. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the possible ways of conducting remote hands-on skills learning in AEC higher education. Most importantly, this research created a prototype of teaching hands-on skills that other educators can follow if they want to adopt specific AR tools to teach hands-on skills remotely.