Towards Measuring Learning Effectiveness considering Presence, Engagement and Immersion in a Mixed and Augmented Reality Learning Environment

Abstract

The current era of advanced display technologies, such as a head mounted displays, smart glasses and handheld devices, have supported the usage of mixed-reality and augmented reality concepts in smart educational classrooms. These advanced technologies have enabled enhanced collaboration and an interactive communication between distance learners and local learners. Being ‘present’ is a key factor in both worlds (real and virtual) as it plays an important role in increasing the students’ collaborative engagement during the learning activity. However, few studies have considered how much using such immersive interfaces with various learning scenarios may ultimately affect learning outcomes, and whether students feel fully engaged or not in such environments. This work-in-progress paper will demonstrate a MiRTLE+ prototype of how remote students can collaborate within mixed-reality environments by using an augmented reality approach. Secondly, it will explore the learning effectiveness based on the following factors: students’ presence, engagement, and immersion in smart environments. With regard to the learning task, we will consider a card game task to measure the learners’ progress as they progress from novice to expert player. To evaluate these factors, we utilise several existing frameworks which have been applied to our mixed-reality worlds that help us to examine the learning outcomes from using these environments.