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For most people who finished school or university even ten years ago, the idea of virtual reality in the classroom probably sounded like the stuff of science fiction. But technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality – all to marry the physical and digital worlds – are being used to enhance learning and learning.
Proponents argue that immersive technology can be especially useful in low-resource settings. No lab equipment at school? Can’t afford expensive field trips? No problem: mobile phones and tablets can take labs and libraries into schools and universities.
Opponents of the universal migration to such technology point out that the education sectors of poor countries have significant resource and infrastructure problems.
The lockdowns and university closures caused by the Covid pandemic have forced countries to shift to online learning. But it hasn’t miraculously improved infrastructure issues – if anything, it’s worsened. Still, some aspects of online education are likely to become standard in many parts of the world.
How can educational institutions in poor contexts adapt without leaving students behind? Our experience developing an immersive mobile phone app for university anatomy students provides some insights.
The Departments of Computer Science and Medical Biosciences at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa collaborated to develop Anat_Hub for two reasons. First, we want to reach students who are not on campus due to the pandemic and create a way for self-learning. Second, practical training in medical biosciences is hindered by a lack of resources and limited teaching staff. For example, there is a global shortage of cadavers in the body. This makes practical training difficult.
In a recent paper, we detailed how students experienced the app and the limitations and challenges they faced.
An immersive experience
Anat_Hub is a functional immersive AR technology for the musculoskeletal system. Teaches the names, connections and actions of the muscles of the human musculoskeletal system. The app provides detailed graphics of both upper and lower legs. The models can be seen in four different parts: shoulder and arm; arm and hand; hips and thighs; and feet and legs.
In AR mode, the animation function built into the app allows the student to view and interact with the model from different angles. Just like the 3D version, users can start by looking at the muscles of each leg and peel the layers down to the nervous system.
The application, based on the Android operating system, offers several useful features designed to promote active and self-directed learning. These include 3D mode, vocabulary and quizzes to test students’ comprehension skills on the material covered.
Anat_Hub is around 300MB in size and requires internet access to download and install. However, once downloaded it can be used offline. In the development process of the application, access to the Internet was a major consideration in the context of Africa. It is said that 82 percent of university students in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to the Internet. In South Africa, a survey by publishers Juta found that 32 percent of responding students had difficulty accessing the Internet.
We tested the system on a group of volunteer first-year undergraduate students in several anatomical disciplines. We then evaluated the app’s functionality and user experience. In the end there were 53 respondents. Only 13.2% used AR before viewing Anat_Hub. Most relied on lecture notes (96.2%), Internet resources (77.4%), videos (75.5%), and textbooks (56.5%) for physical study. A few turned to alternative sources such as mobile applications (24.5%), anatomy atlases (11.3%), and e-learning software (7.5%).
Students rated the app well. Nearly two-thirds of the volunteers scored a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1-5 (“poor” to “excellent”). 70% of respondents particularly liked the app’s 3D mode. Many found the glossary useful. And 96.2% told us they would recommend the app to others. All this points to the potential and opportunities of such technology.
The digital divide
Of course there were problems. These mostly focused on incorrect or missing features, user interface and navigation, 3D elements in the navigation bar and problems with AR mode. These issues may be related to the type of mobile device used that does not meet the necessary requirements of the application (Android API level 26 to 30 with a mobile screen aspect ratio of 16:9).
This is a reminder that not all mobile or smart phones and computer tablets are created equal. Not all are built the same and some students simply cannot afford high-end phones that can meet the application’s specifications. This highlights South Africa’s deep digital divide and high levels of poverty. Many students at our university and elsewhere in South Africa come from families that do not have basic infrastructure and parents who do not have the education or resources to support technology.
Read more: Digital equality: South Africa still has a long way to go.
Our work with anat_hub doesn’t end there. For one thing, future research could aim to determine whether students’ physical fitness tests and exams improve as a result of the app. Further efforts are planned to optimize and reduce the size of the application. The ultimate goal is to roll out the app as a learning tool for physical education at the University of the Western Cape and other institutions.
Applications like Anat_Hub show that homegrown technologies can be developed to meet local needs. But the availability of technology itself will not be a “cure” for the weaknesses in the education system or society.
Professor Okobi Ekpo and Marjorie Smith contributed to this article.
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