MARHVL

Augmented reality and hypervideo combined: Interactive technologies to support procedural learning in initial vocational education and training – (MARHVL – Mixing AR and HV for Learning)

This four-year project (Mar. 2021-Feb. 2025), funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI), is carried out by the Swiss Federal University for Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET) together with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI).

This research project investigates the design of different scenarios of use of hypervideo (HV) and handheld and wearable marker less Augmented Reality (AR) for skills development in vocational education and training (VET). Specifically, the aim is to compare and discover the unique contributions of HV and AR, and their best combination, for student motivation and procedural knowledge development.

A design-based approach is organised in five stages:

1. A technical review and feasibility analysis;
2. Identification through interviews of the (two) most suitable professions and best content for the HV/AR prototypes;
3. Collaboration between teachers and designers for developing and pilot testing the prototypes in each profession;
4. A lab experiment to investigate the influence of motivation on procedural knowledge development;
5. Final assessment through two cycles of in-field experiments on scenarios of HV and AR combined use.

The impact on learning of several key variables is studied, such as the effect on cognitive load, the effect of immersion, the motivation. The results will be disseminated within the selected professions. Some design guidelines are expected to be valuable for similar designs for HV and AR usage in wider professional domains.

SUPSI is mainly involved in the AR software development of the prototypes on HoloLens 2 and other handheld devices (e.g., smartphones) and in the usability evaluation.