Studying the Effectiveness of the Social Presence Enabled Augmented Reality Tool in Academic Achievement and Motivation of Online Engineering Students

This study explores the effectiveness of the social presence enabled augmented reality (SPEAR) platform in online engineering education. This study utilized three research instruments: an academic achievement test, a questionnaire to evaluate social presence in the augmented reality (AR)-mediated environment, and the instructional materials motivation survey (IMMS) to assess motivation based on the attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model. The participants were divided into three groups: Control Group (CG), Experimental Group 1 (EG1), and Experimental Group 2 (EG2). The results showed that the AR platform, both with and without social presence features enabled, was effective in improving students’ academic performance when compared to the Control Group. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in several significant ways by: (1) providing empirical evidence of AR-based platforms’ effectiveness in enhancing academic performance in online engineering education; (2) highlighting the importance of social interaction features, such as voice chat, in facilitating peer learning within AR environments; (3) offering a comprehensive evaluation framework combining academic achievement, social presence, and motivation measures; and (4) presenting practical insights into challenges, such as technical difficulties and cost barriers, informing future AR technology deployments in education. These findings offer valuable guidance for educators and institutions aiming to implement AR-based solutions in online engineering education.