5. Immersive AR, VR, and XR Environments: Facilitating Context-Based Learning and Education

 

Innovative Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Extended Reality (XR) immersive technologies provide unparalleled opportunities to develop insightful context-based knowledge and skills when integrated into personal digital learning hubs. Available to the public since the 1980s and 1990s (Elmqaddem, 2019), these are Web2.0 era technologies that provide simulated real-world interactive scenarios and engaging immersive practice environments. Among adults, immersive technologies are increasingly being adopted and used for learning and work, and by 2030, 23 million jobs are projected to require their utilization (Wong & Humayoun, 2022). The appeal of these technologies originates with their ability to integrate both physical and virtual immersive interactive environments.  Employing approaches aligned with both constructivist (Vygotsky, 1978) and experiential learning (Dewey, 1938), users experience a sense of context awareness (Shoikova et al., 2017) as they experiment, manipulate objects, and make discoveries that construct knowledge and aid their understanding.

 

With the availability of Web3.0, these immersive technologies allow learners to be absorbed in self-contained artificial or simulated practice environments while experiencing them as real. Supported by integrated systems of devices that engage a user’s senses, immersive environments can present both learners and workers with rich, varied, and complex learning content while also assisting them in sharpening their technical, creative, and problem-solving skills. However, the types of virtual learning environments differ regarding the degree of immersion provided or the number and form of technical features needed (Rauschnabel et al., 2022).

 

Web2.5 Virtual Reality (VR)

Web2.0, virtual reality (VR) is like the experience of exploring the wonders of the ocean with others by visiting aquarium exhibitions siloed in Plexiglas-encased ocean environments. The outside world is shut out as you view a world under the sea with assorted varieties of fish, whales, sharks, stingrays, etc.  In contrast, VR systems integrated with Web3.0 technologies provide an interactive, more personalized, and dynamically changing viewing arrangement. In these environments, the spectators can interact with the creatures of the sea, creating a more optimized, immersive, and engaging experience. However, lacking the securities of blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other Web3.0 technologies, most VR educational and learning experiences today are akin to Web2.5.

 

Web2.5 VR systems require several integrated technologies to experience realistic images, sounds, and other sensations while fully immersed in a digital environment (Fernandes et al., 2023). Head-mounted displays (HMDs), like the Meta Quest 2, are needed to access a computer. A variety of sensors are available to experience touch (e.g., sensor gloves), track body movements (e.g., Omni One), or capture hand movements (e.g., Leap Motion). Therefore, the Web2.5 version of Virtual Reality is like a deep-sea diving expedition. Through software-generated realistic images, sounds, and other sensations, users are fully submerged in an ocean environment as they interact with whales, sharks, stingrays, porpoises, plants, currents, and other features. These contextualized interactive features appeal to training and education in diverse practice fields such as the military, medicine, and architecture.

 

Educational and training organizations are leveraging the benefits of VR for instructing learners in new, complex topics, and/or dangerous and unusual contexts:

1. Specialized virtual education and training environments have been designed to mimic high-risk and complicated practice settings, e.g., airplane cockpits, assorted military battlefields, chemical laboratories, and so on. After gaining theoretical knowledge, these context-based environments can be used to assist learners in sharpening their technical, creative, and problem-solving skills by applying their acquired knowledge to complete challenging tasks (Kamińska et al., 2019). Learners can safely simulate practice in highly complex, stressful, and potentially dangerous virtual environments, such as aviation flight training scenarios, military training exercises, and clinical practice interventions (Rizzo, 2013).
2. Mobile immersive classroom equipment allows educators and trainers to bring affordable, innovative virtual reality lessons into conventional classroom settings. For example, the mobile ClassVR unit connects to a portal (containing curriculum-linked 3-D virtual content, activities, and lessons) to teach practical skills following previously acquired knowledge (Kamińska et al., 2019). The unit provides standalone portable storage, sets of virtual reality headsets, wired hand-held controllers, and a portable charging station.
3. Specialized smart immersive classrooms use a Learning Management System of Virtual Context (LMSVC) to generate 3-D artificial virtual classroom displays of contemporary knowledge in a particular field and support the acquisition of theoretical knowledge such as terminology, dates, and scientific theories (Kamińska et al., 2019). Touch interactions allow learners to immerse themselves in virtual content using wireless sensors, haptics, and wearables (Memos et al., 2020). Augmented Reality learning opportunities are also viable options for educators and trainers.

 

Web2.5 Augmented Reality (AR)

Educators and trainers primarily use Augmented Reality (AR) as supplementary tools to promote students’ interactive experiences with coursework, encourage collaboration between students, improve motivation, and increase learning gains (Loveless, 2023). Through Web2.5 technologies, AR applications bring the virtual world into our own. It is like having a personalized underwater aquatic experience wherever you go, with digital elements from the ocean seamlessly integrated into your real-world environment (e.g., a shark on a loan company logo, or a sting-ray on a car) providing real-time information and creating new layers of interaction. By overlaying computer-generated augmentations on top of the real world, AR enhances (but does not replace) reality.

 

Educators are increasingly providing access to AR simulations in classroom and training situations. Some examples include:

1. Commercially available AR apps like Snapchat, Google Lens, and Math Solver can be paired with smartphones. These applications can enhance learning by blending digital components into the real world to enhance one another but remain easily distinguishable. For example,  Mondly provides 3-D language learning through a virtual teacher. It assists learners to practice their language skills seamlessly and interactively in various context-based settings such as coffee shops, and vacation travel.  
2. Smartphones can be paired with VR headsets (such as Oculus Quest 2) to access app-based 3-D immersive content (such as Unimersiv and Google Earth VR) (Bookwidgets Blog, 2021). 
3. Digital knowledge-sharing platforms (such as JigSpace) are centralized hubs for creating, storing, and sharing information via AR smartphone applications, which can be accessed by students, participants, and trainees.

 

While AR applications can be highly creative and insightful, the immersive learning experiences they provide pales in comparison to the promise of learning in the Metaverse.

Web3.0 Extended Reality (XR) and the Metaverse

Still under construction, the Metaverse offers a futuristic vision for Web3.0 immersive Extended Reality (XR) learning and training applications, which will increasingly shape the way people teach and learn in the modern world (Sutikno & Aisyahrani, 2023). Extended Reality applications allow learners to explore virtual environments, manipulate digital objects, collaborate with peers in remote locations, and engage in hands-on simulations that enhance understanding and retention of complex concepts. Learning in the Metaverse is like being submerged within a constantly evolving and interactive deep-sea experience where the physical and digital worlds seamlessly blend, allowing for deeper engagement, real-time collaboration, and experiential learning that breaks boundaries between traditional and digital spaces.

 

The emergent metaverse contains many self-sustaining synthetic digital worlds. Like a digital Oklahoma land rush, individuals and organizations aggressively use cryptocurrencies and blockchain transactions to purchase and secure ownership of expensive, commercially available tracts of digital space to create specialized worlds. Each world is comprised of user-controlled avatars, digital things, and 3D immersive virtual environments (e.g., university campuses, classrooms, conferences, workshops, libraries, and other computer-generated elements (Wang et al., 2022). For example, VictoryXR partners with over 20 higher education institutions to develop digital twin replicas of their campuses and provide various interactive courses in the Metaverse. Similarly, education and training investments in the metaverse can secure the provision of interactive, collaborative, personalized, safe, and adaptive learning experiences for high-risk training scenarios across geographical barriers (Srivastava, 2023). Using mixed reality Head-Mounted Display (HMD) devices, such as Microsoft's HoloLens or Apple Vision Pro in real time, adult learners (represented by avatars) can see and interact with virtual objects integrated into the real world while also being aware of, and interacting with, the physical environment as they tour campuses, take classes, attend conferences, participate in workshops, complete assignments, collaborate, and socialize with each other (Wang et al., 2022).

 

Selecting Immersive Learning Experiences

My reading of the digital tea leaves suggests your future as an adult learner will likely involve knowing how to use immersive technologies for education and training. Each application discussed in this Blog provides distinct advantages you should consider adding to your digital learning hub. However, creating functional applications can be expensive, and some people may experience discomfort when using connective devices. Also, creating digital twins of yourself in the Metaverse could create identity theft concerns as your digital twin includes your personal information. You should experiment with different immersive learning applications to ensure they are safe, secure, affordable, maintainable, and easy to use.

 

Up Next: The Internet of Things and Wearables

In my next blog post, I will analyze the contributions the Internet of Things and Wearables are making to learning and which of these should be considered for adult learners’ digital toolkits. 

 

Larry G. Martin, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, UWM
Follow me on X (formerly twitter) https://twitter.com/larry_martin29 and LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/larry-martin-142b528/

 

 

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