NSF awards USF researchers funding to study how augmented reality can support young learners

What if children could help shape the future of augmented reality? That's the idea behind a new interdisciplinary project at the USF College of Education and Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing.

With a new $500,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the three-year project will investigate how augmented reality, which combines virtual objects with the natural environment, can be optimized as an adaptive learning system for children. The goal is to determine children's reflective thinking while interacting with AR headset systems to provide personalized learning.

"My research lab has been exploring how to create more child-friendly and child-appropriate augmented reality experiences, as the devices hold a lot of potential for learning and engagement but are not designed with children in mind," said Julia Woodward, principal investigator and assistant professor in the Bellini College.

The project, HCC: Children's Learning Enhanced with AR and Individualized Responses (CLEARIR), will utilize child participatory research and co-design, allowing children to see how their ideas can contribute toward innovation, and offering an educational experience through the process. This research will result in AR headset learning experiences that are specifically designed for children.

"Children bring remarkable creativity, curiosity and insight to the research process," said Ilene Berson, professor at the College of Education. "By engaging them as partners in co-design, we are not only creating more meaningful technologies, but we are empowering children to see themselves as innovators whose ideas can make a real difference."

Children often bring new outlooks and ideas to emerging technologies that adults may not consider. The research will use geospatial learning tasks as the testbed for the AR headset learning system, focusing on spatial and abstract thinking skills. The tasks that students will be focused on are community planning in hurricane-prone areas, where students can explore concepts such as rainfall distribution, hurricane swaths, wind patterns and flood zones.

"When educators and computer scientists collaborate, technology becomes more than a tool," said Michael Berson, professor in the College of Education. "It becomes a way for children to explore authentic community challenges, strengthen their decision-making skills and develop the knowledge and confidence to contribute to the world around them."

This work is a collaborative effort between the Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing and the College of Education with assistant professor Julia Woodward serving as principal investigator from Bellini College along with Shaun Canavan, associate professor and co-principal investigator as well as College of Education professors Michael Berson and Ilene Berson serving as co-principal investigators.