Instilling computational thinking through making augmented reality application

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2020-12

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Abstract

It is widely recognized that instilling and inculcating computational thinking skills (CTS) such as problem formulation, effective representation of big data, and identifying, analyzing and implementing possible solutions are essential for succeeding in STEM disciplines. There is also a recognition that technology and human behavior are tightly interrelated and leveraging computational thinking to understand complex human-computer interactions is vital to foster systemic sustainable developments. Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that expands the physical world with additional digital information. The central value of AR is that the components of the digital world blend into a person's perception of the real world. It is not just simply showing the data but through the integration of immersive sensations, which are perceived as natural parts of an environment. Traditional approaches for making AR applications are heavily dependent on a programming language in which the syntax of programming is not easy to master, especially for non-computer science users. Recent research has produced some insights that describe how to lessen the issue of mastering a certain programming language for young learners and enthusiasts by using Block-based programming where instructions are mainly represented as blocks (or visual cues) and users drag and drop the cues to form a set of instructions. This programming paradigm enables developers to focus on logical programming rather than memorizing the syntax of coding. However, in the existing studies, the interactions between 3D objects are limited. Block-based programming is well-known to foster computational thinking skills in the literature Motivated by the Block-based visual programming paradigm and AR for the web, this dissertation aims to bridge the gap between these two technologies. Its intention is to provide a generic web environment and let users to freely create and manipulate AR applications. To the best of my knowledge, there is no tool in the literature that offers these features, which makes this research a unique contribution. To address this gap, this dissertation introduces BlocklyAR, a novel visual programming interface for creating and generating a web-based AR application.

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Keywords

Augmented reality, Computational thinking, A-frame, Blockly, Generalized structured component analysis, Technology acceptance model

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