Can AR help students learn better? Current and future outlook on AR in education

Start Date

Wed, 2023-12-06 12:00

A pressing need for innovation in pedagogy has led educators to explore the use of emerging technologies in the classroom. One such technology is augmented reality (AR) – a powerful tool that is emerging into the spotlight due to its immersive possibilities and functional versatility. In this workshop, we will share our latest efforts to harness AR to enhance engineering education at HKUST. First, we will describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of our in-house AR application “AR Tunnel”, which is now used by around 100 undergraduate and postgraduate students every year to help prepare them for a wind tunnel laboratory project undertaken in courses on aerodynamics. We will then showcase the power of combining AR and gamification by introducing our ongoing project “Aerodynamics GO” and discussing the synergy that can be achieved by gamifying AR. Lastly, we will share our vision of what educational AR experiences might look like in the future, one in which new hardware capabilities will unlock unprecedented immersivity. This workshop aims to provide educators with insights into the current and future trends of AR, empowering them to reimagine education in their own contexts.

Speakers:

	Dr. Larry Li Associate Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Dr. Larry Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He received his BASc and MASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia (Canada), where he was a Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council Scholar in the Applied Fluid Mechanics Laboratory. He then went on to study for a PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK), where he was a Bill & Melinda Gates Scholar. After graduating, he stayed on at Cambridge as a Research Associate before joining HKUST in 2014. His research focuses on fluid mechanics, thermoacoustics and nonlinear dynamics, with applications ranging from aircraft propulsion to spray painting. He has investigated a variety of thermofluid phenomena, including global instabilities in open shear flows, non-Newtonian atomization in crossflows, and forced/mutual synchronization of thermoacoustic modes. His industrial experience includes time spent at Rolls-Royce (UK), LB Foster (Canada) and Coanda Research & Development (Canada).
	Jungjin Park PhD Student Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Jungjin is a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST. He first came to the university in 2014 as an undergraduate student, receiving his BEng and MPhil in Mechanical Engineering in 2019 and 2022 respectively. Jungjin has been an active member of the university, taking part in various experiential learning opportunities. His diverse set of experiences as a student has helped him serve as an unofficial mentor to other students. For his contributions to the university community, Jungjin received the Stephen Kam-Chuen Cheong Outstanding Student Award in 2023. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Jungjin has helped develop and implement a comprehensive wind tunnel course project for undergraduate and MSc aerodynamics courses, develop gamified Augmented Reality (AR) learning tools for teaching, and conduct studies to assess the pedagogical benefits of AR learning materials in engineering teaching. Jungjin’s passion for teaching is well-acknowledged; He won the Best TA Award from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering for three consecutive years (2020-21/2021-22/2022-23).

Dr. Larry Li
Associate Professor
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Dr. Larry Li is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He received his BASc and MASc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia (Canada), where he was a Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council Scholar in the Applied Fluid Mechanics Laboratory. He then went on to study for a PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK), where he was a Bill & Melinda Gates Scholar. After graduating, he stayed on at Cambridge as a Research Associate before joining HKUST in 2014. His research focuses on fluid mechanics, thermoacoustics and nonlinear dynamics, with applications ranging from aircraft propulsion to spray painting. He has investigated a variety of thermofluid phenomena, including global instabilities in open shear flows, non-Newtonian atomization in crossflows, and forced/mutual synchronization of thermoacoustic modes. His industrial experience includes time spent at Rolls-Royce (UK), LB Foster (Canada) and Coanda Research & Development (Canada).

Jungjin Park
PhD Student
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Jungjin is a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST. He first came to the university in 2014 as an undergraduate student, receiving his BEng and MPhil in Mechanical Engineering in 2019 and 2022 respectively. Jungjin has been an active member of the university, taking part in various experiential learning opportunities. His diverse set of experiences as a student has helped him serve as an unofficial mentor to other students. For his contributions to the university community, Jungjin received the Stephen Kam-Chuen Cheong Outstanding Student Award in 2023. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant, Jungjin has helped develop and implement a comprehensive wind tunnel course project for undergraduate and MSc aerodynamics courses, develop gamified Augmented Reality (AR) learning tools for teaching, and conduct studies to assess the pedagogical benefits of AR learning materials in engineering teaching. Jungjin’s passion for teaching is well-acknowledged; He won the Best TA Award from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering for three consecutive years (2020-21/2021-22/2022-23).