Irtual reality (VR), as an informative medium, possesses the potential to engage students with immersive, interactive, and informative experiences. When presented in VR, immersive virtual environments (IVEs) can provide three-dimensional visual simulations that can be used to inform students about concepts in specific contexts that would be near impossible to achieve with more traditional teaching methodologies. It is proposed that existing learning frameworks can benefit from exploring the modalities of interaction that are presently afforded via VR from the experiential perspectives of the students. An evaluation is presented that focused on the appraisal of student experiences of immersive technologies as applied in a higher education context, specifically in the use of VR for the exploration of geomorphology theory by physical geography students. This research supports further development of the immersive learning discipline from three different perspectives. First, an empathy mapping method was applied to visualize student experiences and externalize our observed knowledge of student users for creating a shared understanding of their needs and to aid in lesson planning decision making when using VR in the classroom. Second, student experiences were captured using a technology-focused user experience questionnaire to obtain student attitudes immediately post-task. Finally, to assist teachers with the creation of a student-centered lesson plans that incorporate VR in the classroom, eight heuristic guidelines (focus, provocation, stimulation, collaboration, control, digital life, learner skills, multimodal experience) were developed. It is proposed that these findings can be used to provide support for the use of mixed reality and immersive virtual environments in learning that encompass the challenges faced by students and the interdisciplinary education community at large.

(2019). Planning, Land and Housing in the Digital Data Revolution/The Politics of Digital Transformations of Housing/Digital Innovations, PropTech and Housing – the View from Melbourne/Digital Housing and Renters: Disrupting the Australian Rental Bond System and Tenant Advocacy/Prospects for an Intelligent Planning System/What are the Prospects for a Politically Intelligent Planning System?. Planning Theory & Practice. Ahead of Print.

Virtual reality (VR) technology presents users with virtual environments to experience various interactive, immersive, and imaginary experiences. While traditional perspective-taking exercises rely on the participant to imagine a self-other merging process to feel connected with other people (typically using second and third-person narrative perspectives), VR can allow an individual to embody an other through first-person narratives delivered via multimodal – visual, aural, haptic – technology-mediated experiences. This process enables users to perceptually and effectively portal into somebody else's body, where they can potentially see, hear, and feel from the point of view of the protagonist and control choices on their behalf in real-time. This article explores the use of VR as an ‘empathy-making machine’ by facilitating perspective-taking and allowing users to experience another person's circumstances. An experiment was performed to compare two different types of perspective-taking VR applications. Levels of empathy, oneness, and attitudes towards a protagonist or focus group within VR materials were captured. Participants then identified the elements of the VR content that contributed to a quality experience. These measures were used to discuss methodologies and techniques for creating quality empathy-building techniques. The findings of this research will be used to inform future creative technology projects presented in VR.

Cross-reality technologies are quickly establishing themselves as commonplace platforms for presenting objects of historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural interest to the public. In this space, augmented reality (AR) is notably successful in delivering cultural heritage applications, including architectural and environmental heritage reconstruction, exhibition data management and representation, storytelling, and exhibition curation. Generally, it has been observed that the nature of information delivery in applications created for narrating exhibitions tends to be informative and formal. Here we report on the assessment of a pilot scene for a prototype AR application that attempts to break this mold by employing a humorous and playful mode of communication. This bespoke AR experience harnessed the cutting-edge live-action capture technique of volumetric video to create a digital tour guide that playfully embellished the museological experience of the museum visitors. This applied research article consists of measuring, presenting, and discussing the appeal, interest, and ease of use of this ludic AR storytelling strategy mediated via AR technology in a cultural heritage context.

Technology-enhanced education can potentially enhance teaching and learning outcomes for rural educators since they face limited educational resources and low job satisfaction. Recently, there has been a surge in extended reality (XR) as an immersive learning technology to improve teaching and learning in rural areas, but without focusing on rural educators’ perspectives. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating rural educators’ interactions with XR educational applications and exhibiting their insights on using XR education to improve education quality in rural areas. After educators’ hands-on experiences in a pre-designed XR education workshop, qualitative data was collected from their discussions in focus groups. As a result, educators believed that XR could transform traditional educational practices and create opportunities for new patterns of rural education (e.g., public engagement with rurality and rural vocational education). Limitations include a lack of school infrastructure to apply XR and an absence of well-structured curriculum design to use XR in the classroom setting. We suggest that future studies explore the integration of effective XR practices into primary and elementary education in those areas with limited educational resources.