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How could Augmented Reality change the learning experience on campus? Online Hybrid Lab welcomes its new member, Teresa Rizzi.

Published: 22.8.2023

Online Hybrid Lab is the place for the full life cycle of designing online learning, new discoveries, progressive research and developing expert views on Aalto University's digital educational strategy.
Today we are happy to have a new member on board: Teresa Rizzi is joining us as an intern student and master's thesis worker. Teresa is doing her internship and working on her master thesis about Augmented Reality from a User Experience designer point of view.

Welcome to the team, Teresa! Would you like to introduce yourself?

I am Teresa Rizzi, a master student in Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Trento, Italy. My main research interest lies in the field of User Experience from a human-centric perspective.

Starting from my bachelor degree in psychology from the University of Milan-Bicocca, I always wanted to explore the world of computer science, new technologies, and project management, with the aim of understanding the complexity of design and creating a safe environment for people.

What does online learning mean for you?

I think that online learning is an opportunity for anyone to learn something new and do it at their pace. It is closely related to the concept of lifelong learning, and what we do beyond working hours. It helps us to learn new skills every day, without being a full-time student. Aalto uses the interesting concept “Lifewide Learning” that emphasizes the role of learning in everything we do. Everything that is related to learning, especially online learning, is very inspiring, but also can be challenging. I think it helps many people to reach their goals and live an interesting life.

What are you working on in Aalto Online Hybrid Lab team?

I am a Master thesis writer. I will do research on AR (augmented reality) connected to learning and Aalto campus.

One more important task for me this fall is being one of the mentors for Online Hybrid Lab's challenge at DigiEduHack 2023, and working with the challenge participants this year. As a formal winner of the global award for DigiEduHack 2021, I understand challenges that participants and teams can face. One of my tasks there is to connect people together and help them listen to each other while working on the project together. I think that the hackathon process for the participant should start with the group formation and creating a safe environment for all. Only then we could start with the project itself, problem statement and further development.

of portrait photo of Teresa Rizzi_Online Hybrid Lab project worker_AR content

What inspired you to pick AR and its relation to learning as your master's thesis topic:

My interest in AR arose during working on my DigiEduHack 2021 challenge. For me AR is the way to enhance learning, and the experiences of learners who, for example, cannot be in a particular location, but still experience it in some way and feel an inclusion and relation to the space or certain event.

For me, AR is a way to connect my background in psychology with new technologies. It is hard to connect those fields of study, but I feel that researching new solutions with people is the best way for me to build my own understanding for future developments in these areas.

We wish Teresa an inspiring and insightful journey. Do not hesitate to get in touch if you would like to know more about the project!