Extended reality for extending education

Extended reality, or XR, is a term used to describe virtual-, augmented- and mixed-reality environments, sometimes referred to collectively as the metaverse. There is debate about how best to use these new digital technologies in HE and many institutions around the world are starting to establish a diverse range of XR facilities.

As XR spaces become more widely available in higher education, now is a good time to reflect on the opportunities for using these technologies to enhance teaching and student engagement.

Architect educators have started to incorporate XR into the design studios of architecture departments. The University of Portsmouth was an early adopter of digital technologies, providing architecture students with access to computer-aided design (CAD) software from the early 1990s onwards. More recently, facilities such as the Media Hub and the Centre for Creative & Immersive Extended Reality (CCi-XR) have helped students and staff to consider new ways of using digital technologies to enable a range of experiences relating to research, multimedia production and education.

Here we will describe what has been experienced so far and draw lessons for a range of creative and design-focused disciplines.