Augmented Reality in Online Educational Contexts: The UOC Case Study

Abstract

The rapid growth of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) over the past decade has dramatically changed the ways in which people relate, communicate, and live. Technologies and applications that were hardly used some years ago (social networks, smartphones or tablets could be good examples) are already part of our daily lives. The educational field is not an exception in the 21st century trends, and ICTs have started to become common tools to support and guide the whole process of learning (Daly, Pachler, Mor & Mellar, 2010). Nowadays, learning environments are starting to integrate the use of computers, internet devices, multimedia materials, Web 2.0 authoring tools, simulations, games or, more recently, mobile phones and immersive technologies (Dror, 2008).