Aid-augmented reality for reinforced concrete class: students’ perception

Abstract

For the structural engineer, spatial visualization ability is especially important for understanding the correct positioning of structural elements in a design. In order to improve the student's spatial visualization ability, in this investigation the development of activities was proposed using an application for mobile devices with the resources of Augmented Reality (AR). The activities were planned for the Reinforced Concrete subject in the eighth semester of the Civil Engineering course of the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Eighteen students enrolled in that subject in the first semester of 2019 did the proposed activities. Four activities were developed using the RA resources for the Sketchfab application. The instrument chosen for the evaluation of student perception was a questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), which was adapted in this study. By the students' answers about the usefulness and ease and intention of using the resources, it was concluded that the RA is an important resource to improve their spatial visualization ability because they facilitate the visualization of the details of the structures and make the learning more fun.