3 - Guide: Implementing VR/XR in Team-Based Education

Collaborative Learning Experiences in Virtual Environments

Introduction

This guide supports teachers who would like to learn how to use XR technologies in distance learning lessons. It will give you an understanding of why to use VR as well as guide you in the onboarding process and in choosing what software and hardware to use. We provide our recommendation of how to use these technologies for educational purposes.The guide has been done in the Erasmus+ project Augmented Agile Teamwork for Hybrid Learning at Schools (Agile XR). By reading you will learn how to connect with and engage students in online teaching using the combined power of agile rituals and web/XR technology. We focus on supporting teachers and students from upper secondary schools in Europe.Our task is to provide teachers and students with digital tools and skills for distance learning. The COVID-19 pandemic made the social challenges of distance learning visible and students, especially those in a vulnerable position, were left without support.The study presented in this guidebook focuses on the potential of virtual learning environments: and how they can perform and support collaboration. The study is based on knowledge gained during the Agile XR project and was conducted by Metropolia UAS. Students and staff from the XR Design study program collaborated with Helsinki XR Center.A big part of the study was a testing phase of hardware and software, which we present here. The testing part of the project has been greatly beneficial. Thus we encourage teachers and students to have an open mind towards new equipment and start learning about it by using and testing it while developing their digital skills. Manual: Spatial.io for VR -Enhanced Teamworks includes step-by-step instructions on how to get started with XR hardware and software.

Why use VR?

Distance learning has led to a state of polarisation where students of all ages are facing difficulties in learning due to a lack of support from teachers and fellow students. Communication in distance learning is missing elements that exist in physical interaction and our mission was to find out whether we can create a sense of community with the aid of technology and to strengthen students' capacity to learn.

VR is a good tool to add value to and enrich school lessons. It is not a substitute for normal classroom teaching but more of an extra tool to support and improve learning engagement with the help of three-dimensional environments.

Our experience and several studies show that 3D engagement in a distance learning improves students' motivation. These studies show that students can have a better understanding and ability to utilise the knowledge learned in a 3D environment. Utilisation of 3D models and objects and special virtual environments can support learning. As a learning experience, learning in VR is also more entertaining, and more complex tasks are noticeably easier to understand.

Advantages of using VR in education

• immersive experience and focus, especially when using a headset

• improvement of digital skills

• global accessibility

• ecological realisation

• ability to create environments to fit needs and purposes

• verbal and non-verbal communication

Disadvantages of using VR in education

• relying on virtual connections rather than real-life social interactions

• harder to recognise empathy

• lack of emotional and facial expressions

• high price of devices

• motion sickness (VR can create a loss of spatial awareness, nausea, dizziness, disorientation, and nausea. This is also known as simulator sickness.)

• time consuming onboarding process

• slower execution of tasks, i.e. sharing ideas by placing sticky notes

• simultaneous use of sight and headset needed when installing programs

Imprint

We suggest citing this report as follows: Lassenius, P., Torkkel, A., Fraile, J., Orgaz-Rincón, D., Esteban-Manrique, P., Van Cauwenberghe, J., Carrillo, L., & Katrini, C. (2023). Implementing VR/XR in Team-Based Education. Augmented Agile teamwork for hybrid learning at Schools (AgileXR). https://agilexr.eu/

Editors/Partners: Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (FI), Fundación Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (SP), RHIZO School (BE), CollectiveUP (BE).

Authors: Petra Lassenius (Metropolia University), Ale Torkkel (Metropolia University), Juan Fraile (UFV), Daniel Orgaz-Rincón (UFV), Paula Esteban-Manrique (UFV), Joos Van Cauwenberghe (RHIZO), Liliana Carrillo (CollectiveUP), Chrysanthi Katrini (CollectiveUP).

Translation: Dutch version by Joos Van Cauwenberghe (RHIZO), Finnish version by Petra Lassenius (Metropolia University), and Spanish version by Juan Fraile (UFV), Daniel Orgaz-Rincón (UFV) & Paula Esteban-Manrique (UFV).

This publication (in English, Finnish, Dutch and Spanish) and other publications and tools produced by the project can be downloaded free of charge from: https://agilexr.eu/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The project "Augmented Agile teamwork for hybrid learning at Schools” (2021-1-BE02-KA220-SCH-000027889) is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. The views expressed in the working papers, deliverables and reports are those of the project consortium partners. These views have not been adopted or approved by the Commission and should not be relied upon as a statement of the Commission’s or its services’ views. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in the working papers and reports, nor does it accept responsibility for any use made thereof.