NarrateAR: an augmented reality-based storytelling application for early childhood learning

In early childhood education, traditional storytelling techniques frequently fail to hold children's interest and satisfy their literacy and engagement requirements. To address this, NarrateAR, a mobile application based on augmented reality (AR), was created for kids ages 4 to 6 with the goal of improving literacy, comprehension, and engagement. The application turns traditional storytelling into an immersive experience that is in line with today's children' digital habits by incorporating 3D AR models, interactive matching and drag-and-drop games, and synchronized text and audio narration. NarrateAR was developed using the Rapid Application Development (RAD) methodology and integrates iterative design and user feedback to assist kindergarten teachers and children. By projecting augmented reality characters into the real world, it provides a means of enhancing storytelling sessions in the classroom, promoting engagement and enhancing memory. Six kindergarten teachers from a few kindergartens such as Tadika KEMAS Kampung Wakaf, PASTI Kampung Wakaf, Taska Umi Arina and Little Ones Eduworld participated in usability testing using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and the results showed that users were highly satisfied with the app's usability and integration. The majority of the kids at Tadika KEMAS Kampung Wakaf were able to use the NarrateAR on their own and stayed very interested during observation sessions, demonstrating the application usefulness in a real kindergarten environment. However, limitations include support only for ARCore-enabled Android devices, limited story content, and English-only availability. Future improvements will include features for teacher feedback, multilingual support, customizable game difficulty, culturally relevant content like Islamic stories, and iOS compatibility. Overall, the results indicate that NarrateAR is a useful tool for improving storytelling in early childhood education, especially in kindergarten settings where learning must be dynamic and interesting.