Lowering the Barriers for Designing Immersive Learning Environments: ImmersityXR Framework

Abstract

Immersive environments have been shown to unlock unique and valuable learning experiences; however, the amount of expertise currently needed with extended reality (XR) technologies to create engaging immersive learning environments is a limiting factor in their wider implementation. These technological and knowledge barriers are magnified when the learning environments are utilized for research, due to the additional requirements of data management, security, and privacy.  This article identifies numerous barriers to the wider uptake of custom immersive learning environments and proposes a framework for the development of content management systems (CMS) for hosting XR software applications that would streamline the adaptation process between educators/researchers and XR technologies in applications for research, teaching, and learning. As part of the growing Edu-Metaverse ecosystem, our ImmersityXR Framework aims to lower barriers to immersive environment design by leveraging existing cyberinfrastructure in higher education, allowing educators and researchers to focus more on the learning goals of their environments and less on the technological expertise needed to achieve them. We use a case study to illustrate the value of a pilot CMS platform implementation. Using a pilot XR CMS platform allowed a small research and development team to reach their design and research goals with limited resources and short timeline. The goal of this work is to define and advance XR CMS platform design as an accessible catalyst to support future immersive learning environments.