About AR Cité

What is AR Cité?

The AR Cité Project is an app developed by students and faculty of Dawson College. AR Cité has an educational purpose, to teach its users about the history of the neighbourhood and of Dawson College. The user explores this neighbourhood and unlocks information and augmented reality content. Twenty-two locations are available so far! The app also includes a game, with the objective of exploring and unlocking stories and information. Some of the topics included are: the indigenous presence on our land, important landmarks of Montreal’s history, the LGBTQIA+ community, the religious history of the Dawson building, neocolonialism and the changing community of the area.

 

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality is a technology which incorporates digital elements into the user’s current surrounding environment. It can be used on a mobile device, and it “augments” the user’s surroundings by overlaying digital images, texts, videos or other types of media, seen on the screen. 

 

AR Cité makes use of Augmented Reality by overlaying educational and historical content in your real-time surroundings.

 

Objectives

AR Cité promotes place-based learning, a teaching method which encourages students to get on their feet, leave the classroom and explore the space around them. In this case, place-based learning is conveyed through an innovative new method: AR storytelling. AR Cité encourages its users to analyze space and the history of our surroundings. 

 

Contributors

Over 50 students of Dawson College and several faculty members of many programs collaborated on the creation of this project. 

 

  • Members of the Cinema Communications program collaborated on the creative conception of the project and design. 
  • Members of the Interactive Media Arts program worked together on the software development of the app. 
  • Members of the History department researched the locations explored in AR Cité and provided the information that can be unlocked by the users.
  • SPACE students have also been involved in the production and programming of the app.

Students involved in creating the app have learned a wide range of valuable cutting-edge skills including: research, design, media production and app development. Many more students are now using the AR Cité app to learn about our local heritage and the diverse peoples who inhabit the spaces around us.

 

A valuable contributor to the project was the creative team of KngFu Numerik, a digital media production company. Their support was vital in software development and artistic design.



The project has been presented in...

May 2023

SALTISE (Supporting Active Learning & Technological Innovation in Studies of Education)

June 2023

 L’Association québécoise de pédagogie collégiale (AQPC)

September 2023 

Visible Evidence XXIX

organized in partnership with FilmForum 2023 – XXX International Film and Media Studies Conference

The app was funded by ECQ L’Entente Canada-Québec.