Students' perceptions of augmented reality integrated into a mobile learning environment

Purpose This study was based on situated learning, by combining mobile learning and augmented reality, so that students could not only access information content in a real environment but also obtain such information via augmented reality, to support mobile learning. Design/methodology/approach The research included development of an augmented reality system combined with situational learning, used by students to learn about campus plants as part of the college life technology curriculum. Students took part in mobile learning, and an investigation was conducted into the computer learning behaviour of notebook users. College students were used as the experimental subjects. Data were collected using questionnaire surveys and were evaluated in order to identify the behavioural intentions of learners in outdoor learning activities. Findings The questionnaire survey covered environmental interactivity, system quality and textbook content. It was found that learners who used mobile learning augmented reality (MLAR) generally managed to browse all the contents of the textbook at each learning location, without spending too much time looking for information, and learners could quickly integrate this into the learning situation. Learners who used MLAR had a strong motivation to study plants at the learning site because they wanted to use the augmented reality technology to observe virtual plant models. Learners who used MLAR in their field learning liked using augmented reality for further learning, for example, using a magic wand to interact with the technology. Originality/value This study adopted a new approach to deliver elements of the life technology curriculum, integrating augmented reality into mobile learning. All participating students gave positive reviews of six aspects of the proposed system: their behavioural intentions, cognitive usefulness, cognitive ease of use, environmental interactivity, system quality and textbook content.