October 31, 2021
Maya Tayake

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A trend of entities shifting to incorporate augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) into their business practices is not so uncommon anymore. Technology sectors like NASA use VR to study drone air traffic control (NASA Video, 2020). IKEA, a furniture retail company, uses an AR catalog to help consumers visualize their space with IKEA goods (IKEA, 2013). Gaming companies such as Niantic, with collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, launched Pokémon Go, an AR mobile app game, in 2016, which brought a sensational experience for many players worldwide. 

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Facebook, a social media giant, recently rebranded its company name and logo to Meta, shortened for Metaverse, a virtual world where people come together to work, learn, play, etc. Over the years, the company has been expanding its cross-platform capabilities to enable teleporting a VR world to another as smoothly as possible to heighten immersive experience (Meta, 2021).

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When it comes to educational institutions, Knox Grammar School in Australia enriches students' minds by fully incorporating immersive experiences using AR and VR technologies, helping to expand the learners' perspectives (Immersive Learning Research Network, 2021). When applied in an educational setting, one of the advantages AR and VR technologies have is that they can be experienced together—meaning AR technology embedded in the VR technology by applying AR information into a VR world. For example, at Knox, kindergarteners experiment using AR to understand how the forces impact the world around us by first applying AR into the real world using the camera feature of a mobile device, i.e., bouncing ball. Then apply that experience into an underwater simulation setting using VR to see the differences in force, such as gravity. This integration of AR and VR is clever, helping learners connect prior knowledge to working knowledge.

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AR and VR technologies have advantages and disadvantages. AR is often used with mobile devices to access the camera feature to augment the real world. No AR headset is required, but the virtual objects can only be viewed using the device's app. On the other hand, VR uses a VR headset, and the users can fully immerse themselves into the entirely fictional worlds. However, since both technologies heavily rely on the visual sense, the technology may not be for everyone.

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While all the technologies are not perfect, used appropriately can bring new learning experiences to the learners, i.e., applying gamification into AR or VR for instructional design purposes. Aoyama and Tse (2017) highlighted the AR's flexibility to the learning experience by embedding digital information into the real-world setting, allowing learners to interact with the content and stay engaged. Using GPS location-based AR app, their research explored the effectiveness of applying the technology during the historical tours and emotional engagements the learners had during the gamification in practice. Aoyama and Tse recommended mixing the familiar with a novel in the learning experience by using unique yet straightforward graphics or short videos. In addition, to incorporate problem-based activities.  

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Knox Grammar School incorporated VR for the learners to curate a virtual tour of Canberra, Australia, during the pandemic since physical field trip was not permitted (Immersive Learning Research Network, 2021). Their approach offered freedom for the learners to explore and experiment using their creativity. Having the learners create their virtual world within the virtual space using avatars, already rendered 3D graphic assets in the program allowed this learning experience success. This affordance of technology where the learners do not need to code to create the VR experience is still relatively new yet powerful. 

When thinking about the mobile app that integrates AR technology, Museum Alive AR with David Attenborough by Alchemy Immersive offers excellent information about the prehistoric world (see figure 1).

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Figure 1

Museum Alive AR with David Attenborough

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