The first report sought to identify what educational activities lend themselves to the use of XR technologies, along with the most effective XR technologies for various learning goals.
This report builds on the first, and aims to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of XR technologies for achieving various learning goals.
Key findings include:
XR technologies are being used to achieve learning goals across domains. The report finds that XR technologies contribute to learning gains and produce changes in all domains, though not necessarily all equally.
Effective pedagogical uses of XR technologies fall into one of three large categories: (1) Supporting skills-based and competency-based teaching and learning, such as nursing education; (2) Expanding the range of activities with which a learner can gain hands-on experience; (3) Experimenting by providing new functionality and enabling new forms of interaction.
Integration of XR into curricula faces two major challenges: time and skills.
XR is moving into higher-ed classrooms
The adoption of XR in teaching has two major requirements: the technology must fit into instructors’ existing practices, and the cost cannot be significantly higher than that of the alternatives already in use.
The effectiveness of XR technologies for achieving learning goals is influenced by several factors: fidelity, ease of use, novelty, time-on-task, and the spirit of experimentation.
The report offers a number of recommendations for different stakeholders.
For instructors:
1. Provide time for students to engage with XR and the subject matter.
2. Integrate XR into courses that fulfill the institution’s general education requirements.
3. Provide support to students.
4. Let students experiment.
For institutions:
1. Provide support to the campus community.
2. Provide space for users to engage with XR technology.
3. Encourage capacity-building.
4. Participate in community-building.