The chemical reaction between different molecules is an important learning subject in a chemistry course. Especially for elementary school students, this can be an abstract concept and therefore difficult to understand. One way to facilitate this learning process is to use Augmented Reality (AR) technology, which is considered as an added value compared with classical learning materials such as textbooks, two-dimensional images, video, and so forth. Among the different advantages of using AR technology in the context of the educational domain is the fact that three-dimensional technology is offering a safe environment especially if the students have to perform critical tasks such as simulating chemical reactions. This work investigates students' attitude toward the use of a mobile AR application for learning atoms' and molecules' reactions. In particular, we focused on female students because, in general, female students show less interest in science and technology than male students. We were keen to investigate whether the use of AR technology could change this attitude. The students are able to interact with different AR components to explore the possible reactions in a three-dimensional interface, to understand the structure and shape of atoms and molecules, and to view related explanations in their native language, that is, the Arabic language. The mobile AR application was evaluated by a class of 12- to 13-year-old (7th grade) students in a Palestinian primary school. The number of participants was 50, all female students. After analyzing the results, we can conclude that these female students had a positive attitude toward the use of this AR application in their learning process.

Information about the paper titled "TPACK INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN MODEL IN VIRTUAL REALITY FOR DEEPER LEARNING IN SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION: FROM “APATHY” TO “EMPATHY”" at IATED Digital Library

The increasing complexity of healthcare delivery and the advancements in medical technology have highlighted the necessity for improved training in nursing education. While traditional training methods have their merits, they often encounter challenges such as limited access to clinical placements, static physical simulations, and performance anxiety during hands-on practice. Virtual reality (VR) has been increasingly adopted for immersive and interactive training environments, allowing nursing students to practice essential skills repeatedly in realistic, risk-free settings. This study presents NursingXR, a VR-based platform designed to help nursing students master essential clinical skills. With a scalable and flexible architecture, NursingXR is tailored to support a variety of nursing lessons and adapt to evolving curricula. The platform has a modular design and offers two interactive modes: Training Mode, which provides step-by-step guided instruction, and Evaluation Mode, which allows for independent performance assessment. This article details the development process of the platform, including key design principles, system architecture, and implementation strategies, while emphasizing its utility and scalability. A mixed-methods evaluation involving 78 participants—both novices and experts—was conducted to evaluate the platform’s usability and user satisfaction. The results underscore NursingXR’s effectiveness in fostering an effective and engaging learning environment as well as its potential as a supplementary resource for nursing training.

Use of mobile devices among nursing students is recently a widespread approach. Integrating mobile devices in education can improve the quality of nursing education by engaging students in learning experience. The present study aims at investigating theeffect of using Mobile Learning (M-learning) on students’ academicachievements and satisfaction. Therefore, quasi-experimental design was used. The study included 104 students who were enrolled in a critical care course at the faculty of Nursing. During the study, the participant were divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group 52 students were able to use a developed mobile application, which includes learning materials and multimedia resources, dedicated to critical care course. On the other hand, control group 52 students were able to explore the classical learning materials form the course. The study included students’ attitudes, students’ satisfaction, and students’ academic achievements. Differences between the two groups were considered significant as the result was p < 0.05. The obtained results showed significance difference between pre-post quizzes achievements between the experimental and control group (p<0.000). Additionally, 76% of the students were satisfied with using M-learning. The study revealed that there was improvement in the student academic achievements and satisfaction when integrating mobile learning into nursing education.

The use of 3D and Virtual Reality is gaining interest in the context of academic discussions on E-learning technologies. However, the use of 3D for learning environments also has drawbacks. One way to overcome these drawbacks is by having an adaptive learning environment, i.e., an environment that dynamically adapts to the learner and the activities that he performs in the environment. In this paper, the authors discuss adaptive 3D virtual leaning environments and explain how a course author can specify such an environment (i.e., authoring). The approach and tool that the authors present allow authors to create adaptive 3D virtual learning environments without the need to be an expert in 3D or using programming or scripting languages. The authors also conducted an evaluation to validate the approach and the usability and acceptability of the authoring tool. Based on the results, recommendations for authoring adaptive 3D virtual learning environments have been formulated.

Increasing attention is being paid to the open learning environments (i.e., Massive Open Online Courses MOOCs) which offer so many courses in different domains by a number of the top universities around the world. Furthermore, users with different background and experience are able to browse and follow different online courses. However, richness of such courses could be also a weakness point. For instance, giving opportunity to different learners to be able to explore a huge number of courses may run the risk of overwhelming them. Furthermore, they may not be able to get the required benefit out of some followed courses as the course level is not suitable for the learners or the courses' contents do not match intended learning outcomes (ILOs). This is considered as a motivation in academic discussions on e-learning domain to support learners with adaptive online MOOCs. This research work is aimed at supporting learners with suitable learning resources in MOOCs by investigating the possibility of providing suitable learning resources and arrange them in a way that match learner's profile. In particular, this work elaborates on the principles used for delivering adaptive courses based on intended learning outcomes and it proposes a conceptual framework to achieve adaptation process. As a future step, a pilot evaluation will be conducted to test and verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework in term of learner's satisfaction and dropout rate.