Introduction

With the monumental expansion, of immersive media and their multitude of applications across a variety of industries, the potential of this technology within education and training hasn’t gone unnoticed. A variety of studies, from academia to industry, have increasingly begun exploring and critically evaluating the technological and pedagogical capabilities of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR). Case studies showcasing different implementations of immersive technology within education exist, however, there is still a significant gap within the literature in regards to effectively designing and using immersive virtual learning environments. It is also important to consider that a hands-on experience of using technology does not have to be the only way to incorporate immersive media into curricula. Exploring how immersive media are used in your discipline or profession, finding ways that you can link to the immersive economy in Brighton, and incorporating easy-to-use technologies which give an introduction to immersive experiences, are all useful learning opportunities for students. Some first steps could be to:

1. Find out how your profession or discipline uses VR, MR, and AR. A google search is a good starting point, and online resources such as the BBC’s Click program showcase lots of examples of immersive environments.
2. Explore further online resources such as on LinkedIn Learning to become more confident about talking about, and developing learning activities based around and within immersive environments.
3. Try out easy-to-use tools such as 360 environments in Nearpod and ThingLink with students. Start thinking about how you could use existing environments, and environments that you could develop or capture yourself in teaching, both for ‘content’ teaching, but also in inductions and reflective activities where exploring environments can be a start point for talking about issues such as discovery, confidence, and participation.
4. Use resources that are already available at the University
5. Plan a series of learning activities based around the easy-to-use immersive environment. Students could plan the activity and help capture useful data in preparation, then undertake the experience, then reflect on its success afterward. Students are then more invested and the learning is more profound.
6. When making the next step to using immersive technologies, even easy-to-use tools such as Nearpod or ThingLink, get in touch with your Learning Technologies Adviser and the CLT who can give support and help you develop your learning plan.