An Overview of Enhancing Distance Learning Through Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies
Amanuel Awoke, Hugo Burbelo, Elizabeth Childs, Ferzam Mohammad, Logan Stevens, Nicholas Rewkowski, Dinesh Manocha
AAn Overview of Enhancing Distance Learning Through Augmented andVirtual Reality Technologies
Amanuel Awoke o * Hugo Burbelo o † Elizabeth Childs o ‡ Ferzam Mohammad o § Logan Stevens o ¶ Nicholas Rewkowski || Dinesh Manocha ** University of Maryland o These authors contributed equally to this work A BSTRACT
Although distance learning presents a number of interesting edu-cational advantages as compared to in-person instruction, it is notwithout its downsides. We first assess the educational challengespresented by distance learning as a whole, and identify 4 mainchallenges that distance learning currently presents as compared toin-person instruction: the lack of social interaction, reduced studentengagement and focus, reduced comprehension and informationretention, and the lack of flexible and customizable instructor re-sources. After assessing each of these challenges in-depth, weexamine how AR/VR technologies might serve to address each chal-lenge along with their current shortcomings, and finally outline thefurther research that is required to fully understand the potential ofAR/VR technologies as they apply to distance learning.
Index Terms:
Human-centered computing—Ubiquitous and mo-bile computing—Ubiquitous and mobile computing design and eval-uation methods; Human-centered computing—Human computerinteraction (HCI)—Interaction paradigms—Mixed / augmented re-ality; Human-centered computing—Human computer interaction(HCI)—Interaction paradigms—Virtual reality
NTRODUCTION
Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging form of digital experiencein which the user’s visual perception of the world around them isaugmented using a computer-generated graphical overlay. This over-lay is superimposed onto the user’s view through a combination ofsensors and algorithms, enabling virtual components to be projectedonto the lens of a head-mounted display (HMD) that the user wears.In addition to AR, Virtual Reality (VR) is a related technology thatalso leverages computer technology in order to create an artificiallyrendered digital experience, but crucially differs from AR in thefact that the visual experience of VR is entirely computer-generated,while AR superimposes digital rendering on top of the real world.While the technical feasibility of AR and VR has existed fordecades, AR and VR have only recently become commercially ac-cessible due to the advent of mobile platforms (e.g. iOS and Android)combined with rapid advances in consumer grade hardware [57].Applications of AR and VR have the potential to benefit many fields,but one of the most exciting and vital applications for these tech-nologies is leveraging them in an educational context [7, 51]. * e-mail: [email protected] † e-mail:[email protected] ‡ e-mail:[email protected] § e-mail:[email protected] ¶ e-mail:[email protected] || e-mail:[email protected] ** e-mail:[email protected] Due to the fact that education as a whole has been disrupted re-cently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of evaluatinghow AR and VR technologies can improve the learning experiencecannot be overstated. Distance learning, a method of studying inwhich lectures are broadcast or classes are conducted by correspon-dence or over the internet, without the student’s needing to attend aschool or college, had also already become an integral part of manyschools around the globe prior to the pandemic [15]. Greenber de-fines contemporary distance learning as “a planned teaching/learningexperience that uses a wide spectrum of technologies to reach learn-ers at a distance and is designed to encourage learner interactionand certification of learning” [ ? ]. Distance learning is a particularlypromising educational application of AR and VR due to its uniquepedagogical structure and existing technological dependency. ARand VR have the potential to create unique learning opportunitiesthat allow course content to be taught and presented in ways thatmay have otherwise been extremely challenging if not impossible.This is of value in any form of education, but could vastly improvedistance education because of the issues students regularly face indistance learning environments.In this paper, we first assess the educational challenges presentedby distance learning as a whole, and identify 4 main challenges thatdistance learning currently presents as compared to in-person in-struction: the lack of social interaction, reduced student engagementand focus, reduced comprehension and information retention, andthe lack of flexible and customizable instructor resources. After as-sessing each of these challenges in-depth, we examine how AR/VRtechnologies might serve to address each challenge along with theircurrent shortcomings, and finally outline the further research that isrequired to fully understand the potential of AR/VR technologies asthey apply to distance learning. MMERSIVE E NVIRONMENTS
Immersive environments blend a digital, computer generated worldwith the real world. They augment, or fully replace a user’s per-ception of the spacial world around him or her, placing the userin an altered environment. The ratio of real objects to digital ob-jects in a user’s view effects the amount of digital augmentation,and was defined in Milgram’s Mixed Reality (MR) continuum [37].In the continuum, a real to digital ratio of 1:0 would be the realworld at the beginning of the spectrum. As digital content is added,computer generated images are superimposed onto the user’s view.The amount of digital content added to the users view determinesthe programs position on the MR continuum. For example, simplytext or 2D images that appear in the user’s view (such as whenGoogle Maps AR gives an arrow and street name for walking direc-tions [19]), would be at the lower end of the continuum. Increasingthe immersion, such as adding a realistic 3D couch in your livingroom before buying it [8] moves the application farther right on theMR spectrum. Environments that are entirely computer generated,but allow the user view of certain real elements, such as a hand orselect real objects, would be considered Augmented Virtually.When the user’s view is completely virtual (real to digital ratioigure 1:
Milgram’s MR Continuum . [37]of 0:1), the experience is considered VR. With VR, the user has noview of the real world, but can only see a computer generated wordthat exist in the same spacial area as the real world. For the purposeof this paper, AR will be considered all devices in the middle of theMR continuum, where both digital and real images are visible, withVR being entirely virtual environments.
In addition to the blend of digital content that defines immersiveenvironments, they can also be categorized by the way a user ex-periences the digital content. Immersive Devices have control overthe users entire point of view, whereas non-immerse devices onlyaugment part of the user’s view.
Immersive devices are typically headsets, or head mounted displays(HMDs). They may include earpieces to control the user’s auditoryfield through noise canceling headphones, and most HMDs incor-porate handheld controllers, increasing the methods of input for thevirtual or augmented experience. With VR, the user actually feelstransported into the new environment, and with AR, the digital in-formation is cohesive across all of the user’s visual field. In terms ofeducation, immersive displays have been shown to increase memoryrecall over non-immersive displays [49]. and help with informationretainment.However, immersive displaces do have limitations. While inex-pensive immersive displays exist, such as Google Cardboard [20],they do not have the graphics and computing ability to offer truly im-mersive enviroments. These devices, such as the Oculus or Hololens,have not yet fully mroliferated the consumer market, especially forthose currently pursuing education. Additionally, HMDs are notvery comfortable to wear and require further hardware and soft-ware research (discussed in section 3) before being widely used ineducation.
Non-Immersive devices include handheld displays, and typicallyuse a smartphone or tablet. The user can still move around in thevirtual or augmented world; however, all of the digital content isviewed through the device screen. AR and VR applications can alsotap into the devic’es camera, gyroscope, and/or accelerometer toenhance an immersive experience. As these dec These devices areused more prevalently for AR education, which is discussed furtherin the section below.Advantages of non-immersive devices stem mostly from theiraccessibility. While non-immersive devices may not have the sametechnical capability or depth of experience as immersive devices,over half of the world has a smartphone [1]. This makes non immer-sive devices ideal as educational tools because they are accessible,inexpensive, and relevant for current educational populations.For example, smartphones allow the user to experience MR byaltering the screen content based on the spacial location of the device.The MR content can then be viewed as a handheld device, by lookingthrough the phone, or as a head mounted display (HMD) by strappingthe phone to the face. Additionally, the device’s accelerometer,gyroscope, microphone, and speaker can provide additional levelsof immersion. (a) Non-Immersive AR Device [2](b) Immersive AR (top) [3] and VR (bottom) Headsets [13]
Figure 2:
Immersive and Non-Immersive Devices . Non-Immersive Device - See digital content through a mobile screen.
Immersive Device - View digital content through a headset.
XISTING F ORMS OF D ISTANCE E DUCATION
Online learning had become a critical tool utilized by close to 70%of higher education institutions prior to the COVID-19 pandemic[15]. Instructors were already making use of virtual educationalstrategies such as asynchronous course delivery, synchronous onlinecourse delivery, or a flipped classroom model that utilizes both. It isvaluable to understand these existing forms of online education andhow they work before discussing specific challenges within eachsystem and how AR or VR can help address these issues.
An asynchronous learning model involves students interacting withand responding to material at their own pace. Though students willstill have to meet deadlines, the timing of when they learn/submit thematerial is flexible. An example of this model is a teacher postingall lecture material and class assignments with their respective dead-lines at the beginning of a course. The students would then managetheir time however they see fit in order to get these tasks done by thedeadline. Asynchronous courses can use tools like video recordingsof lectures, digitally distributed typed/written material, discussionposts, or a combination of these tools. This delivery method givesstudents flexibility in regards to when they access material, whichcan be crucial to academic success for non-traditional students nav-igating other time commitments like a job or taking care of theirfamilies [26].
A synchronous model is what traditional face-to-face courses use,where students and their instructors meet regularly for teachingsessions, tests, and homework submissions. Synchronous onlinecourses may require a different set of resources as compared to theasynchronous model. Learning Management Systems (LMS’s) likeCanvas or Blackboard have also been adopted by the majority ofuniversities as supplementary resources intended to support teachingand learning activities [39]. Certain LMS’s offer tools that allowfor synchronous course delivery, like Blackboard’s “BlackboardCollaborate” (formally Elluminate Live! [25]). Universities havealso adopted other third party options to conduct online classes suchas video conferencing software e.g. Zoom [4]. Tools commonlyfound within such platforms include video and text chat features,a participant list, polling/surveying tools, a raise hand tool, andhe ability to record a session [5]. Synchronous courses can alsomake use of “screen-share” features that allow students to see whatis on an instructor’s computer screen, and these can be used inconjunction with digital content like PowerPoint slides to help relaycourse material.
A “flipped classroom” is a teaching model where “that which istraditionally done in class is now done at home, and that which istraditionally done as homework is now completed in class” [10].This typically involves students viewing “lecture” material, or thematerial related to the introduction of concepts, at home as opposedto in the classroom. Class time is then spent on “more enrichingactivities” [43] that allow students to deeply explore concepts theylearned from the lecture material. In an all-online environment, aflipped classroom could be implemented using asynchronous meth-ods to distribute course material prior to synchronous sessions. Thesynchronous sessions would then focus on student application ofknowledge learned from their material. This would involve theresources required of both asynchronous and synchronous teaching.
There are clear benefits in regards to existing distance learningeducation models, but several noteworthy drawbacks have beenbrought to attention as well. Distance learning in any form appearsto decrease opportunities for social interaction and discourse ascompared to traditional, in-person courses [15]. The current digitalformat has also been seen to disengage students from their coursesdue to technical issues or unsatisfactory experiences with the onlineclass setting [35]. Schools that only offer online courses have alsoseen higher dropout rates than those which are in-person [47].These issues indicate that the way we currently deliver distanceeducation could be damaging students’ learning opportunities, how-ever, they also give motivation for why we should work towardsintegrating AR and VR into distance education. The immersive na-ture and virtual components of AR and VR can create opportunitiesto address current drawbacks of distance education. We explore thedifferent ways AR and VR address these issues throughout section4.
HALLENGES IN D ISTANCE L EARNING
In this section we explore the specific issues faced by studentsutilizing current distance education methods. After describing theissue, we explore existing work in how AR and VR are being usedto address the issue being faced. Finally, we consider what workremains to totally resolve the issue through the use of AR or VR.
While distance learning methods give students more flexibility inaccessing course content, studies have shown that students can feel”disconnected”, or struggle to interact with others in these onlineenvironments [26, 35]. Traditional face-to-face education is shownto be “more likely to promote collaborative learning, student-facultyinteraction, effective teaching practices, quality of interactions, anddiscussion with diverse others” when compared to an online alter-native [15]. Quality social interactions have previously been beenclaimed as a way for young children to develop cognitively [9, 12],so the absence of these interaction can prevent this cognitive learn-ing. The social ”distance” felt by students as a result of decreasednon-verbal communication or technical issues also can damage thelearning experience [35]. This means students in current distancelearning models are losing aspects of their education due to the lackof social engagement.
Since distance learning can decrease social interaction, research hasused AR to facilitate social collaboration when users are separated.Initially, attempts to use computer vision to recreate user movementsinto remote avatars were investigated [42]. This can be done usinghigh depth cameras to capture a user’s 3D image and then project thatimage remotely for other users. However, as this method requirescamera images from multiple perspectives, it is not practical for theaverage learning environment. As a result, most recent researchershave turned to projecting 2D images to enhance collaboration. Forexample, Billinghust et al. used HMDs and AR marker cards toproject images of participants for video conferencing of physicalcards [11]. The participants would wear the HMD, and they couldcarry a card which projected their partner’s video feed. Billinghustcompared the AR conferencing method to audio only conferencingand traditional video conferencing when discussing art for sale. Inthe AR conference, participants could move freely around the roomwith their cards and see their partner. In contrast, the traditionalvideo conferencing took place over a desktop computer, while theaudio conference was a phone call. Participants were then asked torank their sense of presence as well as the conference’s similarity toin person meetings. Notably, the AR conference scored significantlyhigher (p value < .05) than audio or traditional video conferencing.However, the HMD obscured participants faces and field of view,and conversely made communication much harder during the ARconference.Pejoska et al. used AR to aid social interaction while teachingconstruction workers [40]. They designed Social AR, which helpedthe workers communicate over large distances while on the job.Social AR allowed users to send voice and text messages throughtheir mobile phone, as well as augment their video for others to view.For example, a user at one end of a construction site would be ableto show their video feed in real time, annotate it, and the annotationswould also appear to other users during creation. This allows workersto be able to see what their coworkers are seeing. Additionally, textfeatures allow participants to discuss the annotations and videofeed as if they were interacting in person. While this research isnot used to teach construction, in indicates the potential of ARto increase social interaction during information sharing, as wellas suggests methods for social interaction to be incorporated intodistance learning via AR. The ability to socialize despite being physically separate is a criticalaspect of the efficacy of virtual reality experiences. A primaryreason VR is viewed as a unique alternative to common virtualcommunication tools like text or voice chat is due to its ability toemulate human interaction, which cannot be fully achieved overa video conference call (such as Zoom). By inducing a sense oftelepresence with remote peers, virtual reality solutions garner animproved sense of social interaction [15].Furthermore, socialization and interaction with VR has beenproven to match that of in person interaction. In a study that focusedon social interaction quality in VR, researchers examined how thereduced social information and behavioral channels in immersivevirtual environments compared to that of the real world, and whethervirtual reality environments as a whole were a viable alternative interms of task completion and socialization [44]. After comparingthe effectiveness in communication, socialization, and overall taskcompletion across two different environments, one virtual reality-based and one in the real world, the researchers were able to confirmthat ”differences in effectiveness in the communicative role playwere not present”, and that in aggregate the VR experience wasequally as effective in terms of enabling participants to adequatelysocialize and communicate while attempting to complete a task. .1.3 Future Research in Social Interaction
While current AR/VR research has made steps to combat socialinteraction in distance learning, there are still limitations to the state-of-the-art. HMDs have a limited field of view, and obstruct the user’sface. As a result, it is harder to make eye contact and experiencea social connection when both users have a headset [11]. Futureresearch into facial communication with HMDs (such as less obtru-sive hardware, or another way to communicate non-verbally) canenhance social communication with AR/VR. In VR, more educa-tional tools are becoming publicly available as well [38]. It could bevaluable to evaluate these tools and how effective they are in bothencouraging discourse as well as facilitating lessons. Understandingwhat makes these environments effective or ineffective could helpus build better VR or AR educational platforms. This informationcould also help us see how to modify traditional distance learningeducation methods so that they are more effective in encouragingdiscourse.
Asynchronous and synchronous courses have both faced criticismin regards to how engaging they are for students. In asynchronousclassrooms, students entirely lose the non-verbal communicationpresent in face-to-face communication, which can damage students’sense of social presence and make it harder to stay engaged in aclass [26]. In a study by McBrien et al. on how synchronous onlinecourses affect student engagement, 9% of students in the study felt“disconnected“ as a result of the digital course format. Similar to theprevious section, one of the reasons for feeling ”disconnected” isthe minimal non-verbal communication available. Technical issues(i.e. poor internet connection or trouble with joining into a class)can have a huge detrimental effect on how ”connected” students feelwith a course, as well. The negative responses from students in thestudy by McBrien et al. included comments like ”sometimes it washard to keep up with the messages, listening to commentators, andreading over the lessons,” ”lack of visual stimulation during lecture,””frustration signing on and getting kicked off,” and ”microphonetroubles.” It seems like certain students would have preferred coursesto have fewer stimuli going on during courses. Conversely, there wasa claim that there was too little visual stimulation, indicating thatthe relevant material being focused by the teacher may have beentoo bland given the online setting. The last couple of claims indicatethe significance of technical issues in the educational experience;any trouble with getting the class to work as it is expected to seemsto greatly take away from the learning experience. John Keller’sARCS model for motivation claims that motivation stems from fourmajor components: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfac-tion [27]. Looking at the students’ claims from the perspectiveof Keller’s ARCS model, it seems like the different issues behindthe complaints could have made it harder for students to maintainuninterrupted attention or feel satisfied with the online course. De-creased satisfaction or attention has a negative effect on a person’smotivation according to Keller, and decreased motivation may havedamaged students’ abilities to engage with the class.
Researchers have already turned to AR to investigate its effect onengagement and focus. Ferrer-Torregrosa et al. utilized AR to teachanatomy students in a flipped classroom distance learning model [17].Participants were given AR books, traditional notes with pictures,and videos to learn anatomy content. They were then assessed bywhich tool (book, notes, or video) kept the students more engagedand focused. Notably, the AR books were the superior method forholding a student’s attention and focus without the teacher present.Mahadzir et al. took AR motivation research a step further by de-signing AR books specifically to try to increase motivation in English language learning [34]. Using the Keller model for motivationaldesign [27], Mahadzir et al. created AR books for primary studentsin Malaysia that do not require teacher assistance using the ARCSevaluation of motivation. All students were considered engaged andhad a motivated interest in using the AR books, determined both byobservation and first person interviews. While the study had veryfew participants (n=5), it represents the potential for AR to increasestudent participation in remote learning environments.Additionally, consumer mobile augmented reality applicationshave been assessed for their usage in increasing student motivation.Anatomy 4D, which is meant to supplement anatomy learning, isa free mobile AR application for teaching students anatomy. Thesoftware shows a 3D human body, with annotations labling thedifferent body parts. This software can be downloaded and usedwithout a teacher present, and offers a great example of AR remotelearning tools. Through preusage and postusage tests, Khan et al.determined a significant increase in student motivation from usingAnatomy 4D [29].Figure 3:
Preview of Anatomy4D Application [29]
The advantages of using VR to teach educational objectives andimprove student engagement are similar in many ways to the advan-tages of using a computer or interactive simulation, particularly a 3Dcomputer simulation. Computer-based simulations have been usedfor many years in computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Zacharianotes how “researchers attribute success of simulations to the em-powerment of students, the unique instructional capabilities, [and]the support for new instructional approaches...”, among other advan-tages [58]. In a similar manner, Steinberg asserts that “simulationsmake it possible to explore new domains, make predictions, designexperiments, and interpret results” [48]. Although VR experiencesdiffer from traditional computer simulations in the fact that theyare 3-dimensional, they maintain many of the same qualities andadvantages, such as the ability to provide unique pedagogical oppor-tunities through graphical visualization and display. Overall, virtualreality experiences have demonstrated a unique ability to improveuser engagement and focus due to the novelty of the interactiondevice and unique characteristics of the experience. .2.3 Future Research in Student Engagement and Focus
VR or AR has already proven itself as an engaging supplementalresource for different subjects whenever it is available. There havealso been reports that VR learning environments have shown anincrease in positive emotions along with a decrease in negativeemotion compared to both video and textbook options [6].Going back to the study by McBrien et al., one of the issuesmentioned was the lack of visual stimuli in the traditional onlinelearning environment. Both AR and VR do a phenomenal job increating engaging, informative environments, which should resolvethis issue. However, another similar noteworthy comment madewas the potential for too much stimuli in these virtual environments.VR or AR could easily involve more stimuli that the traditionaldistance education methods, so this seems like a factor to watchout for. Understanding when there is too much going on at once inexisting distance education platforms could provide a basic idea ofwhat a focused, effective teaching environment might look like inVR or AR. Research into what factors add to the educational valueof a distance learning environment and which factors are excessivewill help with removing unnecessary stimuli in these environments.That information could then be considered when designing VR orAR educational environments.
Schools that rely entirely on distance learning have previously heldhigher dropout rates than those which are in-person, but these statis-tics have also been tied to ineffective online teaching practices [47].Simpson writes that ”institutions have focused too much on theprovision of teaching materials, especially online, and too little onmotivating students to learn.” Using VR in education has led toimproved knowledge acquisition and understanding of material com-pared to those learning via video, and has shown better performanceremembering than those learning via textbook or video. AR technol-ogy has also been demonstrated to increase knowledge acquisitionrate among a variety of educational subjects [57], and AR has alsomade abstract or complex concepts easier for students to visualizeand understand [53].
AR technology has been demonstrated to increase knowledge acqui-sition rate among a variety of educational subjects [57]. due to AR’sability to help visualize abstract and 3D objects. This is especiallyhelpful for mechanical psycho-motor tasks, as AR overlays canshow intuitive instructions for user activity without switching to anexternal screen. This was demonstrated with HMDs in Hendersonet. al. by using AR displays to facilitate assembly alignment [22].Henderson tested the time and accuracy for users to determine thelocation of parts, position them, and then align the parts togethercorrectly. Participants aligned the mechanical parts almost twice asfast as compared to a traditional screen, with with about 50% moreaccuracy. Additionally, subsequent studies showed an AR instruc-tion to not be significantly different from labeling each and everypart. However, as it is sometimes infeasible to label are assemblyparts, AR applications can be used as a valid learning substitute.Additionally, non-immersive devices have assisted in educationwhen a teacher cannot be physcally present. Schoop et al. usedAR to teach construction for do-it-yourself projects [45]. Commonhousehold tools were converted to help with allignment and drillingholes, measuring wood, and etching details. The enhance dynamicfeedback demonstrated the ability for AR to work as an assistedteacher, as laypeople were able to use skilled machine tools andaccomplish traditional skilled machining tasks.While the previous examples ustilized AR for teaching, AR hasalso been research in the academic teaching relm. In addition tostudying motivation, Ferrer-Torregosa et al. analyzed how AR can increase students’ abilities to self learn, as well as their informationcomprehension [17]. When compared to traditional notes and videos,students felt more comfortable performing learning activities outsideof class, and increased their comprehension of the specified material.While Ferrer-Torregosa et al. did not perform pre and post test inorder to confirm students increased comprehension of the material,the student’s perceived increase in comprehension (from metacogna-tive survey analysis) can contribute to their actual understanding ofmaterial.To increase information retention, Duesner et al. included hapticsin their study of AR books [14]. Using a handheld device, partici-pants were given books that introduced magnetism and electromag-netism through traditional or AR formats. All participants studiedtheir respective materials for the same amount of time. Throughpre-tests, post-tests, and retention tests (four weeks after the study),participants were evaluated both on their memory recall and com-prehension of the physics concepts. The participants using the ARinteractive book scored slightly higher in the post test, especially forquestions that required visualization (such as the left hand rule ordrawing magnetic lines). However, both groups fell approximatelythe same amount in the retention test.AR can also increase information retention by supplementingdistance education. K¨uc¸ ¨uk et al. created an mobile AR app toprovide extra instruction for anatomy students in addition to inlectures [31]. With the app, students can scan images of anatomybody parts, and then view 3D animations and sounds to assist inlearning. In this way, students were able to retain more informationusing the AR mobile application, while also using less cognitiveload than traditional studying. This represents AR’s ability to aidin the difficulties of learning through distance education withoutinterrupting the traditional distance education format.
VR learning environments consistently show benefits in areas suchas comprehension, memory, and information retention. For example,a study at the University of Warwick in 2018 observed such improve-ments. Study participants who learned in VR settings demonstratedimproved knowledge acquisition and understanding of material com-pared to those learning via video, and showed better performance interms of information recollection than those learning via textbookor video. Additionally, participants reported a heightened sense ofnovelty and interest toward the VR learning medium as a whole,along with a decrease in negative emotion compared to both videoand textbook-based options for instruction [6]. Furthermore, anothermajor advantage of using virtual reality to achieve learning objec-tives is that it is highly motivating. An investigation by Mikropouloset al. of the attitude of education students towards virtual reality as atool in the educational process found that students had a favourableattitude towards VR in the educational process [36].Furthermore, VR presents novel opportunities to not only im-prove overall information retention and engagement, but provideopportunities for learning that cannot be achieved in person. Forexample, VR is capable of emulating field trip locations for field re-ports in ways impossible from a distance, or even in person. In 2019,a field trip-like study by the Pennsylvania State University was usedto test information retained while in the field. There were 3 groups:a “normal“ field trip in person, a basic virtual field trip, and anenhanced virtual field trip. Those in the basic virtual field trip wereprovided a 10 by 10 area using an HTC Vive Head-Mounted Display.Those in the enhanced virtual field trip used the same setup, andwere provided the option to view locations at an elevated level (27feet high). Those in the basic virtual field trip reported higher meanlevels of enjoyment with the field trip, and those in the enhancedfield trip performed better than the actual field trip. All studentsthen undertook the trip from 35-45 minutes. A Spatial Situationodel (SSM) is “a mental representation that comes into play whenusers attempt to retrieve spatial information from memory. [59].”Given a questionnaire in the style of an SSM, those in the basicvirtual field trip performed better than those in the actual field trip,and the enhanced virtual reality performed better than both. Thisshows another example that not only using VR as a means to emu-late a classroom, but doing what could not be done in an in personclassroom and taking advantage of VR tools reaps benefits [59].Figure 4:
An Immersive Memory Palace: Supporting the Method ofLoci with Virtual Reality . 2017. Memory Palace simulation used fortesting. [24].Figure 5:
Scale - Unexplored Opportunities for Immersive Technolo-gies in Place-based Learning . 2019. From left to right: Models usedin Zhao study with increasing levels of realism [59].
Within augmented reality, not much research has been conductedon information retention for distance learning. While Duenser etal. did test retention for physics education, there were not enoughparticipants to determine conclusively AR’s effect on retention [14].One concern voiced by students in the same study by McBrien etal. mentioned in section 3.2 was, ”Sometimes it was hard to keepup with the messages, listening to commentators, and reading thelesson,” [35] indicating that too much stimuli could harm students’learning experiences. Doing more research on how different amountsof visual stimuli in an AR or VR experience affect informationcomprehension would give us a better idea of how to design lessonsusing VR or AR.
NSTRUCTOR R ESOURCES IN
AR/VR D
ISTANCE E DUCA - TION
As mentioned previously, education AR or VR resources were far toorigid to be utilized by teachers without a lot of coding experience inthe past. While many studies have explored the viability of using ARand VR for educational purposes, these studies used pre-developedcontent for instructors. Developing content requires advanced skillsin both AR and VR technology [32], and is typically created byindividuals far removed from the educational subject matter, such asa contracted developer. This makes it very difficult for instructors tocustomize content for students, as well as adapt and change lessonsplans as fluidly as with traditional learning materials [28]. This issuealmost entirely prevents teachers from adopting AR or VR resourcesin education, as this stops educators from designing virtual learningenvironments that actually cover their material.
There has been a large push within AR research to facilitate thecreation of AR development resources for teachers and laypeoplewithout coding experience. Using the Equator Component Toolkit,a system used to integrate digital device [16], Hampshire et al.was able to create an AR developer application [21]. It featuresa drag and drop user interface, where developers can use AR contentpre-created for general applications. While this has not yet beenused in an educational context, it demonstrates the desire for ARcreation software, as well as the need for user-specific developmenttools [21]. Additionally, Hampshire’s group created ComposeAR[46]. ComposeAR requires python for added functionality such asinteraction or application plugins, but implements a graphic userinterface to compile and view code as it is being created.Specifically for distance education, Ying Li created AR environ-ment for remote education (ARERE) [55]. Students are able to seeand interact with the same virtual object from different locations.Additionally, the digital objects track physical objects that are dis-tributed to students in advance, so they can tangibly interact with thephysical object and observe as it changes digitally. While this hasnot yet been tested on students for feasibility in an actual educationenvironment, it represent promising potential for AR to give a senseof presence for remote education.Figure 6:
AR Environment for Remote Education (ARERE) Structure .[55]While digital overlays can be extremely useful, it is sometimesnecessary for students to be able to physically touch and interactwith their learning resources. To provide haptic feedback, instructionmaterials have utilized real objects with AR markers - easily recog-nizable 2D symbols such as pictures to designate where to displayAR objects - for augmentation through computer vision trackingtechniques. This allows students to physically rotate and discoverthe augmented object, adding sensory feedback to the educationalexperience [18]. In this way, the same mechanical hardware canbe used for a variety of teaching levels, reducing hardware costand increasing content variability. These technologies can greatlyaid understanding in areas such as biology, astronomy, mechanics,and other fields where digital overlays can be used to help describetypically unobservable physical structures. Additionally, commer-cial head mounted displays such as the HoloLens allow users tointeract with digital overlays by touching digital buttons [54]. This,combined with physical objects, can allow for haptic and digitalfeedback, further aiding the learning process.Many consumer-available AR tools also exist to aid instructors ineducation. Wondershare develops interactive AR mobile storybooksfor children to learn literacy while exploring creatively [52]. It fea-tures traditional story books such as Little Red Riding Hood, andeaches children how to read, and as they read the words, they canwatch Red Riding Hood perform the actions. ARTutor allows teach-ers to quickly and easily augment textbooks with AR content [33].Teachers can upload a book pdf, and scroll through the images inthe book, adding 2D overlays, sound, and videos for students. Then,as students read the physical book through the ARTutor smartphoneapplication, they will be able to view the augmented content. Asteachers can easily upload any sound, video, or image files, ARTutorprovides immense customizability for teachers. Teachers can addaudio of themselves explaining a formula in a textbook, or video ofa particular battle in a history book. Quiver is another commerciallyavailable software that allows users to download education coloringpages, to teach students about science and mathematics [41]. Thecoloring page will then become a 3D image, allowing the student tosee their creation come to life by adding a new dimension as well asanimations. As the content is not customizable, this application ismore suitable for simple subjects with younger children.Figure 7:
Demonstration of QuiverEducation for learning aboutvolcanoes.
Students can color image of a volcanoe (left) and thenwatch the volcano erupt through the Quiver smartphone app (right).[41]
While many studies have explored the viability of using VR foreducational purposes, these studies generally used pre-developedcontent for instructors. Developing content requires advanced skillsin VR technology [32], and is typically created by individual farremoved from the educational subject matter, such as a contracteddeveloper. This makes it very difficult for instructors to customizecontent for students, as well as adapt and change lessons plans asfluidly as with traditional learning materials [28]. For this reason,further research into content creation and the ability to customizecontent for instructors would be helpful in advancing VR educationalapplications, especially for distance learning. This can include soft-ware that allow for creating customized content without intensecoding knowledge, as well as dynamic programs, where the teachercan easily adapt current content into a VR learning environment. Fordistance learning, this could be environments where the teacher canteach normally, and the students will simply experience the contentin an immersive way. Youngblut conducted an extensive survey ofresearch and educational uses of virtual reality during the 1990s, andattempted to answer questions about the use and effectiveness ofvirtual reality in kindergarten through grade 12 education [56]. Theyfound that there are unique capabilities of virtual reality, and themajority of uses included aspects of constructivist learning, which isa theory that that recognizes the learners’ understanding and knowl-edge based on their own experiences prior to entering school. Hegenerally concluded that VR holds potential educational effective-ness for special needs students [56]. However, he also made note ofthe contexts in which VR is not a suitable option for educational use,and where its downsides are most prevalent, noting that the chiefinhibitor of widespread implementation is the lack of customizablecontent: teachers commonly reported frustration with the lack ofability to customize educational content for a lesson, both beforeand during the lesson.
More and more AR/VR resources are becoming available to thepublic, but one of the greatest challenges faced when trying toadopt VR or AR as an educational resource is the inability to easilycreate virtual environments without programming knowledge. VRand AR are advancing rapidly, so a survey of what resources arecurrently available, their strengths and weaknesses, and what isneeded for them to be ideal for education could be valuable in tryingto understand how these platforms can be made more accessiblefor education. Updated research on how effective new AR/VReducational resources are would give us a direction in how to moveforward with creating an AR or VR content creation platform foreducators. In order to consider AR or VR as a viable option for anyform of education, teachers will need to be able to easily manipulatethe virtual environments so that they can work with curricula orlesson plans.
UMMARY F UTURE R ESEARCH D IRECTIONS
AR and VR have proven to be valuable educational resources wherethey fit in, but we’ve found several issues that need to be overcomein order to make these technologies more widely available to educa-tors. In regards to social interaction, critiques of traditional distanceeducation include the decreased amount of social interaction, lackof discourse, and absence of non-verbal cues within these environ-ments [15, 26, 35]. VR and AR help patch these issues, as they havebeen seen to encourage communication more effectively that tradi-tional audio or video methods. However, they could still benefit fromfurther advancements. AR HMD’s came in the way when two userswere trying to communicate and make eye contact [11], so researchin how communication is affected with varying types of HMD’swould be valuable. VR can effectively facilitate opportunities tosocialize, but understanding how well VR encourages discourse ineducation environments or how successful existing VR educationalenvironments are in supporting discourse is still an area that shouldbe explored. In terms of engagement and focus, more research intodetermining how much visual stimuli is needed to engage and focusthe student, without being too distracting.Distance learning environments have faced criticism for causingdisengagement between students and their courses for reasons liketechnical issues or improper amounts of visual stimulation relatedto the lesson [35]. Traditional distance educational environmentsand VR or AR environments will have different requirements ofits users, and these will likely act as a limitation for widespreadadoption of AR and VR. Those limitations will be discussed furtherin sections 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. Other factors that negatively impactedstudent engagement in traditional distance learning environmentswere related to having too much or too little stimuli during thelesson. AR and VR are capable of creating extremely engagingenvironments due to their immersive nature, so virtual lessons shouldbe engaging for students. Too much stimuli could become an issuein these environments, though. Understanding what factors arenecessary or unnecessary for students to have in traditional distanceeducation might give us an idea of how we should be designingvirtual environments for students. Additionally, more research is stillneeded how virtual lessons affect long-term information retention.The last major challenge preventing educators from adopting VRor AR into their classrooms is the inflexibility of the technologywhen it comes to designing lessons. Teachers need to be able toeasily create virtual environments related to their curricula withoutprogramming knowledge. There have been recent advancementsin what resources are available as educational VR or AR tools, soresearch into what resources are available now, as well as how ef-fective these resources are would be valuable. While investigationinto content creation in AR and VR has been attempted, there is stillroom for future research. Current methods are either not customiz-able, or require much time and patience to create. While ARTutoroes provide both of these features, it only provides 2D content, andtherefore does not take advantage of AR’s immersive 3D potential.Work in creating platforms that allow users to create virtual expe-riences easily would be extremely valuable in pushing VR and ARinto education.
AR and VR hardware are integral to providing an immersive ex-perience for users. Current AR headsets include the HoloLensand digital overlay glasses. However, due to the high cost of theHoloLens and technical limitation of AR glasses, VR headsets withcameras have also been used to augmented user experience. Theseheadsets, along with the HoloLens, are relatively large and quiteheavy, which can be uncomfortable, especially for younger students.For this reason, further research into increasing computing power ordecreasing headset size can be helpful in enhancing user experiencefor AR and VR technology.
Currently, certain technological aspects of AR and VR hinder theireducational advancement. For classrooms, AR and VR technologymust become more user friendly from a teacher’s perspective [28],where they can teach and present the AR/VR content with similareffort as teaching in traditional methods. This could include devel-oping a more user friendly teaching interface, or automating someof the AR/VR content so the teacher can focus on instruction.Alternate forms of input are also helpful [23]. While this has ofcourse been implemented through controllers for VR HMDs andHoloLens, mobile VR and most AR applications do not utilize handtracking for interaction. This increases the interactablility of dis-plays, further engaging students. The HoloLens has the ability forhand and eye tracking [30] and touch interaction [54], and mobiledevices can utilize hand tracking to incorporate touch feedback.However, these have not yet been realized or evaluated in an educa-tional context. Utilizing the sense of touch will be very helpful toincrease interactivity and engage kinetic learners.Furthermore, educational solutions that leverage AR and VRtechnologies as a whole must evolve, both in terms of technicalfeasibility and in acceptance by educators. Like many educationalinnovations in the past, the use of AR in classrooms could encounterconstraints from schools and resistance among teachers. The learn-ing activities associated with AR and VR usually involve innovativeapproaches such as participatory simulations and studio-based ped-agogy [28]. The nature of these instructional approaches howeveris quite different from the teacher-centered, delivery-based focusin conventional teaching methods, where the teacher is the focalpoint of the student body and student participation is less frequent.Institutional constraints such as covering a certain amount of contentwithin a given time frame also cause difficulties in implementingnovel educational initiatives like this [28]. Thus, there may be a gapbetween the teaching and learning methods currently used in class-rooms and the students-centered and exploratory nature of learningengendered by AR and VR systems. Designers of AR and VR learn-ing environments need to be aware of this gap and provide support tohelp teachers and students bridge it, ideally in the form of tutorials,listening sessions, and working closely with educators in order toensure the technology is suitable for the unique challenges educationpresents.
VR and AR do have technical demands that may be impracticalfor the average student at the moment. We have seen traditionalsynchronous distance education courses run into connectivity issuesin the university setting where the number of users are large. AR orVR educational settings should make internet connection require-ments more demanding than video conferencing software due to the additional information related to the virtual environment beingtransferred. This means that students will likely need much strongerinternet connections to run these devices without interruption, andrunning a university-like VR lecture hall with over a hundred stu-dents might be impossible at the moment because of the internetbandwidth required. However, the development of 5G connectiontechnology could make this possible. 5G promises internet speeds ofgreater than one gigabit per second [50], which would make stream-ing large amounts of data much more feasible. Drawbacks to 5G,like possible issues with wall-penetration do exist, but the bandwidthoffered by 5G connectivity should expand on online capabilities forAR or VR.
ONCLUSION
In this paper, we first assessed the educational challenges presentedby distance learning as a whole, and identified 4 main challengesthat distance learning currently presents as compared to in-person in-struction: the lack of social interaction, reduced student engagementand focus, reduced comprehension and information retention, andthe lack of flexible and customizable instructor resources. After as-sessing each of these challenges in-depth, we examined how AR/VRtechnologies might serve to address each challenge along with theircurrent shortcomings, and finally outlined the further research thatis required to fully understand the potential of AR/VR technologiesas they apply to distance learning.AR and VR are prime candidates for addressing the various edu-cational challenges presented by distance learning, especially duringthe COVID-19 pandemic, but we find they are currently inadequatefor widespread adoption in the educational community and requirefurther technological developments to take place. The COVID-19pandemic has heightened the need for interactive and engaging edu-cational environments, as the forced transition to distance learninghas resulted in instruction being generally limited to discussions andlectures presented via video conferencing tools such as Zoom. Thiswidespread implementation of distance learning has led to decreasedstudent motivation and information retention, primarily due to thefact most students are unfamiliar with the format of distance learningand the instruction styles are often less engaging than if the contentwas delivered in-person.At first glance, and especially in terms of individual features, ARand VR educational solutions appear to be ideal choices to helpcombat these challenges with student motivation, engagement, andinformation retention. Due to the fact they closely mimic learn-ing in-person through a 3-dimensional environment, the use of ARand VR technologies as educational tools has been demonstratedto improve knowledge acquisition among a variety of educationalsubjects. Furthermore, AR and VR have also been shown to improvestudent engagement and motivation in the classroom, as immersivelectures are much more interesting and comprehensive than lecturespresented on a 2-dimensional screen. AR and VR educational solu-tions were already being used before the pandemic for these reasons,in contexts such as supplementing in-person instruction through anAR-based anatomy lesson.Despite presenting numerous advantages over both in-person in-struction and distance learning, AR and VR educational solutionsare still not technically mature enough yet to be implemented in awidespread fashion as a direct solution to many of the challengespresented by distance learning. In this paper, we note how a chiefinhibitor of widespread adoption by the educational community isthe lack of customizable content: teachers commonly reported frus-tration with the lack of ability to customize educational content fora lesson, both before and during the lesson. Additionally, furtherresearch to reduce motion sickness and eye strain for AR and VRis necessary before incorporating these devices into a required cur-riculum, as students must feel comfortable learning for long periodsof time without fear of negatively impacting their health. Finally,he cost of high-end versions of AR and VR devices is also a majorinhibitor of their widespread use: educators must be able to buythese devices in bulk for affordable prices. Additionally, furtherapplied research can help educators and institutions realize the fullpotential of AR and VR for a variety of subjects. Thus, we hope thatthis paper brings to light these limitations and aids researchers inassessing the current state of immersive technologies as educationalresources. We suggest areas of improvement to promote adoption ofAR and VR in educational environments for distance learning, withthe goal that AR and VR may soon be able to supplement or evencompletely replace the entire in-person classroom experience. R EFERENCES [1] How many smartphones are in the world. , October 2020.[2] Mobile augmented reality in 2019. https://medium.com/@the m ani f est / mobile − augmented − reality − in − − a f f , . [3] Oculus rift s - 3d virtual reality system. , 2020.[4] Zoom: Video conferencing, web conferencing, webinars, screen shar-ing. ”https://zoom.us/” , 2020.[5] E. Acosta-Tello. Enhancing the online class: Effective use of syn-chronous interactive online instruction. Journal of Instructional Peda-gogies , 17, 2015.[6] https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2140D. Allcoat and A. vonM¨uhlenen. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2140Learning invirtual reality: Effects on performance, emotion and en-gagement. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2140
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