Extended Reality in Education

Extended Reality (XR) is a generic term that encompasses technologies in the spectrum of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) – promising technologies that are driving digital change.

-VR: Users are completely immersed in a computer-generated environment that can only be experienced using VR glasses.
-AR: A digital medium that superimposes an additional layer of audiovisual content on the real, physical environment.
-MR: Users experience a combination of real and digital environments that interactively merge in real time.
XR is said to have a very high potential to change teaching and learning as well as the interaction between students, teachers and others involved in the educational process in the long term, as it enables completely new experiences. These experiences do not compete with existing teaching methods, but enrich them – for example, when a visit to the Louvre in France can take place directly in the classroom. Close cooperation between teacher training institutions and XR companies is required to develop such offers. The participation of teachers – who know best what they need to implement XR effectively in the classroom – is also essential. They are key players in the development. The PAX (Pedagogic Alliance for XR in Teacher Education; see Research section) iPAX project therefore aims to strengthen the synergies between these actors by jointly creating a framework that enables experience-based and interactive classrooms – and thus brings innovation and sustainability to the education sector.

Our cross-sector and cross-national collaboration aims to bridge the gap between research, educational practice and the design of XR environments. To this end, new curricular elements are being developed for higher education and vocational training. The skills required in the XR context are to be promoted in line with the relevant European guidelines and instruments.