Immersive Learning with Augmented and Virtual Reality: Hands-On Workshop with ARTutor and VR Environments

Abstract

This hands-on workshop proposal aims to introduce participants to the exciting world of immersion technologies and to highlight their educational use. Through reference to virtual and augmented reality and the presentation of good practices, participants will become familiar with the applications of immersive technologies and their creative use in teaching and learning practices. The workshop will initially offer hands-on training in ARTutor, a free augmented reality software developed at the Advanced Educational Technologies and Mobile Applications (AETMA) Research Lab of the Democritus University of Thrace in Greece. ARTutor is freely available to educators of all educational levels to create teaching materials that address the needs of their students. It is globally available as its authoring tool has already been translated into 10 languages. The international workshop participants will have the opportunity to explore the potential of the technology in practice. Upon completion of the workshop, the participants will be invited to the IMT Virtual Reality Space to explore the affordances of immersive learning in Higher Education, interact with the immersive content, and discuss the usefulness of the technologies explored in alignment with their pedagogical implications.