Programming is at the heart of all computing technologies. Introducing students to basic programming can help them interact with these technologies in beneficial and meaningful ways and teach them valuable Computational Thinking (CT) skills. Augmented Reality (AR) offers new ways to interact with the digital world. Therefore, CodAR is an AR-based serious game to teach basic programming.
Our game CodAR was developed using Unity, which is a widely used platform for developing scalable AR applications, and Vuforia, which enables the addition of advanced computer vision (CV) functionalities to AR applications. CodAR uses marker-based AR technology to realize the AR effect. CodAR aims to integrate the benefits offered by Game-based learning (GBL), Augmented Reality (AR), and Game Learning Analytics (GLA) to improve students’ basic programming skills. The game introduces students to various programming concepts, such as functions and loops. We conducted a study to measure the learning effectiveness of CodAR and found that our game indeed helped participants improve their basic programming skills. We also found that real-time adaptive feedback, provided by our game to players based on their previous game moves, helped the learners identify their errors and improve their learning performance. You can access our publication here: doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2022.01.002
1. Viewing the play cards through the game application on the device brings the entire setup to life in AR, allowing players to visualize the code corresponding to their play card sequence. This provides an embodied, tangible learning experience.
2. AR provides interactivity that motivates students to engage in learning programming.
3. Using CodAR, the students can learn basic programming skills through online mode without any scaffolding.
In the next 2-3 years, we want to add more features and game levels to our game. In addition, we want to work with other developing countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Srilanka, and Malaysia to improve their students' programming skills.
Interested people can download the CodAR application, markers, and user manual from the below Google Drive link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1eSECQFmHZpHJOzkg5WUcNak04zx0T-lp?usp=share_link
Dr. Kaushal Kumar bhagat could be contacted for any information related to CodAR (kaushal.dgp@gmail.com)
