Application of Augmented Reality in Education: A Scoping Review

Background. There is a lack of generalized information on the application of augmented reality (AR) in various fields of education. Therefore, the objective of this scoping review is to summarize the literature on the topic of augmented reality application in educational settings, identify the main areas of education in which this technology is applied, describe the aspects and outcomes of AR application in each of them, and assess the general effectiveness of AR technology in education. Methods. The Scopus academic database was searched from September 17th to November 25th of 2022. Eligible studies were those published in English from 2019 to 2022, that discuss the use of AR technology in education. Titles and abstracts of records obtained were screened. The characteristics describing the specifics of AR implementation and the fields of education as well as the outcomes of the use of AR were extracted from the chosen records. These characteristics were then categorized and thematically grouped. Results. 65 records were obtained from the search. 32 of these records met the inclusion criteria. The majority of these records took the form of articles, and only 2 records were conference papers. 12 characteristics were extracted from the 32 studies and subsequently grouped into three categories: study characteristics, AR application, and educational setting. Conclusion. This work identified the main areas of augmented reality application in education, described the specifics and outcomes of its implementation in each of them, and assessed the overall effectiveness of such technology for educational purposes. Limitations of the work include time constraints, which put a limit on the amount of literature taken into consideration.