Unit 1:Introduction to Extended Reality(XR)

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Unit 1 Intended Learning Outcomes:

In this unit, we will Learn about the type of immersive technologies that fall under the umbrella term "Extended reality (XR)": virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and explore some applications of these XR technologies in everyday life, training and education. The unit is broken down into two lessons. Reflection and self-assessment activities are embedded in the lessons and at the end of the unit.

At the end of this unit, learners should be able to:

Describe and differentiate between the various types of XR technologies
Apply the learning to identify the most suitable XR for a particular teaching scenario in education.
Download an XR application (examples below) and use it in some way in their teaching.

Lesson 1.1: What is Extended Reality (XR)?

Lesson 1.2: Why should we care about XR in education?

Augmented (AR) or Mixed Reality (MR)

In an Augmented Reality (AR) environment, some real-world context is dynamically overlaid with virtual information that is location or context dependent. This virtual multimedia information -which is usually videos, audio, text- is overlaid using some mobile device, smart glasses such as Google Glass or Oculus, or the computer, thus "augmenting" the real environment by means of virtual (computer graphic) objects.

There are two types of AR interfaces:

a. Image-based AR, relying on image recognition: the user points a camera (e.g., mobile device) directly at an object or a marker placed on an object (e.g., a QR code), which triggers multimedia content (Figure 2), such as images and sounds, to appear on the device screen. A fascinating example of this is the “A Spirit of Electricity” art display at the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art.

AR enhanced art at the MAM, Paris. Source: https://www.mam.paris.fr/en/spirit-electricity

This room sized painting, shows the history and work of 108 inventors of various facets of electricity. Visitors can learn about each inventor or the invention that they are interested in by pointing a mobile device to the area of the painting that is of interest.

A more down to earth example is a real estate app called Street Peek that lets you get information about the houses on the street and neighborhood that you are considering, by just pointing your phone to the image of the property or object.

The Visible Body app, used to teach biology and the human body, is another example of marker based AR.

b. Location-based AR and called Geo AR. This uses the GPS and a camera to embed digital information on the real world based on the user’s current location. The highly successful video game Pokémon GO is based on Geo AR. Players from all over the world use the app to discover digital Pokémons attached to specific points of interest as they explore the world around them.

You can download the Google translate app from Google Play or the Apple store to try it out!

What makes these experiences Augmented Reality? What is the real content and what is the digital augmentation?

Here is a video showing Google Translate with Google Glasses

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Test your Understanding

Take this short online Quiz to test how well you understand the concepts and applications of XR that we have discussed so far.

TAKE QUIZ 1 ( 10 points): Fundamentals of XR

Explore and Reflect:
- Now that we have explored so many examples and applications, search the web or use the links provided to research whether and how XR is being used in teaching topics in your discipline. Consider one of your lessons that could benefit from the use of XR. Which one would you use: AR or VR? Why?
- What are your concerns about using XR in your teaching? Is it the relevance to your discipline, cost, time, learning curve, student interest, inertia with new technology, or something else?

NEXT Unit 2: All About Extended Reality (XR)

References & Resources

Additional Resources:

Augmented Reality in Education: Interactive Classrooms (University of Maryland)

Beyond AR vs. VR: What is the Difference between AR vs. MR vs. VR vs. XR?

Using Augmented Reality for Hands on Training

Makowski D, Sperduti M, Nicolas S, Piolino P. ‘Being there’ and remembering it: Presence improves memory encoding. Conscious Cogn 2017;53:194–202.

Levin A. Fewer crashes caused by pilots. USA Today 2004. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-03-01-crash_x.htm [Accessed 12 April 2019].

Bric JD, Lumbard DC, Frelich MJ, et al. Current state of virtual reality simulation in robotic surgery training: a review. Surg Endosc 2016;30:2169

Hsin-Kai Wu, Silvia Wen-Yu Lee, Hsin-Yi Chang, Jyh-Chong Liang, Current status, opportunities and challenges of augmented reality in education, Computers & Education, Volume 62, 2013, Pages 41-49,

Fan, M., Antle, A. N., & Warren, J. L. (2020). Augmented reality for early language learning: A systematic review of augmented reality application design, instructional strategies, and evaluation outcomes. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 58(6), 1059–1100.

Milgram, P., & Kishino, F. (1994). A taxonomy of mixed reality visual displays. IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Information and Systems, 77(12), 1321–1329.

“Extended Reality (XR) Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026).” GlobeNewswire News Room, 15 June 2022.