THE EFFECT OF AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY ON THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF SCIENCE COURSE

Abstract

Nowadays, while the dimensions of technological tools and applications gradually decrease, the effects on people and the benefits they provide are increasing. With the advancing technology, mobile devices are no longer the places where embedded software is used, computer programs or similar applications for mobile devices has been developed. Augmented reality technology, implemented with the reduction of virtual materials onto the real world, is one of the most recent and most important examples of the use of technology in education. In this study "Solar System and Beyond" chapter was taught using Augmented Reality technology and its impact on students' academic achievement was investigated. The quasi-experimental design with pre-test-posttest control group was used in the study. The study group consisted of 60 students in 7th grade in a secondary school in Ankara in 2017-2018 academic year. The subject ‘Earth and the Universe’ was described in the experimental group Space 4D+, mobile Augmented Reality application. In the control group, the course was explained with constructivist approach and in the form of questions and answers. In the study, “Achievement Test” developed by the researcher were applied as data collection tool. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 22 statistical program. According to the research findings, there was a significant difference between the achievement test results of the experimental and control group students (p <.05). This difference is in favor of the experimental group. With the use of Augmented Reality material, a significant increase was observed in the academic achievement of the students in the experimental group compared to the academic achievement of the students in the control group. The application of Augmented Reality enabled the students to get to know the space and the universe better, to learn the solar system, to know the general characteristics of the planets, to know the spacecraft and to see the diversity of the spacecraft and to gain the skills of sorting the planets according to their proximity to the Sun.