The educational landscape is an environment prone to change due to the volatile and ever-changing nature of the digital society in which we all live. Although the world moves at different speeds and any generalization is bound to have some exceptions, there is evidence from research conducted in different places and contexts that educational methods are becoming increasingly digitized and driven by technological innovation. Among the technological trends fueled in many cases by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to stay at home but online, augmented reality solutions received an additional boost as a valid and versatile educational technology worth exploring and eventually integrating into several teaching methods already in use. Although the technology still faces problems related to affordability, accessibility, and the technical skills required of users, some ongoing projects have already provided evidence that using augmented reality solutions as teaching and learning tools can improve teacher and student learning outcomes by increasing engagement and interactivity. The same issues arose when personal computers, tablets, and smartphones were first discussed as valuable tools for education and have now found their way into most classrooms. This paper reviews some of the key concepts related to augmented reality, as well as some current trends, benefits, and concerns related to its integration into educational contexts in areas such as life sciences, engineering, and health. The work conducted and presented in this paper provides an interesting insight into a technology that has given rise to global phenomena such as Pokémon Go, and continues to improve in terms of portability, usability, and overall user experience. Throughout the paper and in the conclusion section, we discuss the relevance of using the best features of augmented reality and how they can contribute to positive educational outcomes.

The widespread use of Web 2.0 applications and the increasing number of social media applications are producing radical changes in tourism destination promotion. Destination Management Organizations (DMO) must be able to adapt and meet the challenges placed by new interaction and communication paradigms in the tourism sector. This paper describes a study done in which we analysed a set of national DMO and outlined and compared the use of social media applications in their communication activities. Shared practices and trends were identified and deconstructed according to a set of indicators and results enabled us to believe that, despite the differences in size and structure, there are some trends and shared practices worth adopting and exploring when designing social media communication strategies.

This paper presents and concludes the ATOMIC project, which was to create an XR-based educational environment that enables students to meet the challenges of a natural business environment such as planning and organizing, staffing and control, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and teamwork. Four different approaches were taken utilizing different XR technologies (projector-based AR, mobile-based AR, HMD AR, and HMD VR), and their efficacy and educational value were juxtaposed. A universal 34-question usability questionnaire was proposed that can be applied in future XR usability studies. Four versions of the application were tested among 20 students to identify the advantages and disadvantages of each approach in an educational context.

Without a cure for dementia, researchers are focusing on reminiscence therapy, which effectively improves patients' quality of life. The use of virtual reality as a complement to this non-pharmacological therapy could help mitigate the loss of oral communication competencies in people with dementia. This systematic literature review aimed to investigate the effect of virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy in people with cognitive impairment or dementia and to understand how the reminiscence program should be designed. The literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases and included results through 31 March 2022. A total of seven articles were included. Overall, the results support the use of virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy in people with cognitive impairment or dementia. In general, virtual reality was found to be pleasant and safe to use, with potential to stimulate communication competencies and lead people to recall positive memories without threatening side effects. However, no changes were observed in behavioral, psychological, or quality of life indicators. In addition, the reminiscence programs were too heterogeneous to trace a clear pattern. The findings of this systematic literature review suggest that virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy for these groups is scarce in literature. It is vital to conduct further research in this area, given that seven articles do neither represent the severity of the conditions nor the possible potential of virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy.

In recent years, virtual production has seen its largest growth in popularity in the film industry. The demand for faster and cheaper productions, the continuous innovations in hardware and real-time rendering, the globalization of virtual and augmented reality and the most recent need for remote collaboration are all driving factors for its consolidation in the film production lifecycle. Although the benefits of a virtual production approach have an impact on many departments, the compositing and visual effects department is one of the most affected. This paper explores the evolution of compositing technologies and describes why virtual production is a natural fit. We also explore how compositing workflows today are being influenced by virtual production and discuss the prospects of compositing techniques.

The education landscape is an environment prone to change due to the volatile and ever-changing nature of the digital society in which we all live. Although the world moves at a different pace and any generalization is bound to have several exceptions, there is evidence from research conducted in different places and contexts that educational methods are becoming increasingly digitized and driven by technological innovation. Among technological trends fuelled in many cases by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to stay at home but online, augmented reality solutions received an additional push as a valid and versatile educational technology worth exploring and eventually integrating into several teaching methods already in use. Although the technology still faces problems related to its affordability, accessibility, and the technical skills required of users, some ongoing projects have already provided evidence that using augmented reality solutions as teaching and learning tools can improve teachers’ and students’ learning outcomes by increasing their engagement and interactivity. The same issues arose when personal computers, tablets, and smartphones were first discussed as valuable tools for education and have now found their way into most classrooms. This paper reviews some of the key concepts related to augmented reality, as well as some current trends, benefits, and concerns related to its inclusion in educational contexts in areas such as life sciences, engineering, and health. The work carried out and presented in this paper provides an interesting insight into a technology that has led to global phenomena, such as Pokémon Go, and is constantly improving in terms of portability, usability, and overall user experience. Throughout the paper and in the conclusions section, we discuss the relevance of using the best features of augmented reality and how they can contribute to positive educational outcomes.