The Role of UX Designers in Shaping VR/AR Experiences in Education

Virtual and augmented reality is well suited for education and there are successful instances of this immersive technology being introduced in classrooms. Simulations demonstrating real-world environments, phenomena and experiments can help students visualise complex concepts that might be too dangerous, expensive, or impractical to conduct in a traditional classroom. Whether it's the bottom of the Mariana Trench or the surface of Mars, immersive technology can help bridge the gap to unreachable spaces. Hands-on interactions facilitated by VR/AR are coming with pronounced benefits for students including increased engagement and memory retention. However, while the technology is on the rise, it hasn’t met the initial predictions of widespread adoption that technology enthusiasts were predicting between 5 and 10 years ago.

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There are several barriers to this technology becoming commonplace in schools including cost, scepticism from academics, and complexity of integration. UX Designers can help companies that design virtual experiences for students to overcome some of the barriers and increase adoption. The fundamental UX process of research, build, test, and repeat is still the best approach for building intuitive AR/VR experiences. Still, some key stages of the process look different when applying it to this modality.

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Learning curves:

Designing interactions in a 3D space can be challenging as people must use gestures, gaze, or head movements to interact with virtual objects. Ensuring that these interactions feel natural and are easy to learn is crucial for user adoption. For example, using familiar gestures that mimic real-world actions can help reduce the learning curve and make the technology more accessible to students. This combined with feedback mechanisms that provide clear and immediate feedback for user actions is essential to help users avoid confusion and enhance their sense of presence in the virtual or augmented world.

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Curriculum:

Comprehensive curriculum integration and regular updates to meet curriculum changes will be key to maximising the usefulness of this technology in the classroom. This involves creating content that aligns with educational standards and can be easily adapted as those standards evolve. Collaboration with educators during the research and testing process is crucial to ensure that VR/AR tools are developed in a way that makes them relevant and practical for everyday teaching.

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Risk of injury:

It is important to understand the physical environment that these immersive technologies will be used in as well as the proximity to other users. Students are more likely to be active in these spaces when interacting with digital surroundings which can lead to a higher likelihood of injury or damage to surroundings. User testing should be carefully conducted in a natural environment, whether that is in classrooms with lots of desks and chairs or chemistry labs where there could be hazardous equipment. By testing in these environments and adjusting the interactions to accommodate obstacles and other users, the experience can be designed in a way that reduces the risk of accidents.

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Discomfort barriers:

Interacting with immersive technologies is often a more physical experience than interaction on a phone or computer. These physical interactions should be considered when designing the experience to reduce physical discomfort. Interactions, where users must hold their heads and necks in unusual positions for too long, can cause pain and discomfort. UX designers can help design interactions that would be less likely to cause this by running user tests to see the posture and angles the users are adopting to interact with the reality and in turn design experiences that help users maintain more comfortable postures.

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Motion sickness and disorientation are common side effects of using VR/AR; this occurs for several reasons and age and gender play a role in susceptibility. Latency, the delay between the physical movement made by the user and the registering of that movement in the digital reality, is a prominent cause of disorientation. If a digital environment is moving at a different speed to the surrounding environment or the lag between movement and reaction is too great, it can send distress signals to the brain resulting in nausea, headaches and dizziness. UX designers can help design experiences that mitigate this. Making sure the latency is minimal and designing to ensure virtual objects aren’t moving too much in any given scene is key. The length of time using immersive technology increases the chances of experiencing side effects, and so designing interactions in short bursts where breaks can be taken regularly can help people from becoming fatigued by the technology.

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Isolation:

Immersive environments can isolate users from the people in their physical environment. With many young people in classrooms today having likely been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and faced long periods of isolation through online and at-home learning, introducing a technology that can isolate a student in the classroom can be a worry. Designing systems that allow for effective communication and social interaction within VR/AR environments, and ensuring users feel present and connected is an important consideration. Allowing the presence of others in the digital space is important so as not to diminish the benefits of social activity and collaboration that a class can provide.

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Onboarding:

How the technology is introduced into a classroom will have a significant impact on whether the adoption of the technology is successful, and designing an optimal onboarding process is as critical as designing the product itself. An onboarding process that requires minimal time from educators and seamlessly merges with the needs of the curriculum, to not increase educator workload is key. This process should start with small amounts of time using the headsets that gradually increase. This approach can help increase receptivity and reduce side effects in the long run, making the products more palatable.

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Heavy hitters:

There are several noteworthy companies in the immersive reality space shaping the future of education. CleverBooks has launched a series of interactive and multisensory apps for primary school children to help them ‘see, hear and touch knowledge’ by helping bring textbooks and other learning material to life. Merge EDU is on a mission to teach children science and STEM by combining physical objects and augmented reality to foster a tactile and engaging learning experience that can be used in the classroom and at home. For graduating students, Bodyswaps has developed a soft skill building experience to help young people transition into professional environments through virtual interactions with hypothetical colleagues.

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Conclusion:

While VR/AR technology holds potential for education by providing immersive and engaging learning experiences, several barriers need to be addressed to achieve widespread adoption. The complexity of integration, physical discomfort, disorientation, and the risk of isolation are significant challenges that need careful consideration. However, with thoughtful design and user-centric approaches that keep in mind and cater to both students and teachers, these obstacles can be mitigated. UX designers play an instrumental role in this process, ensuring that VR/AR experiences are intuitive, comfortable, and seamlessly integrated into educational settings. As technology continues to evolve, the collaboration between educators, designers, and technologists will be key to unlocking the full potential of VR/AR in the classroom, ultimately transforming the way students learn and interact with the world around them.