Immerse Students in Learning with AR/VR/XR and AI!

Purpose & objective

Students have become more engaged in learning by using these tools in our classroom for STEAM as well as foreign language classes. The success was also in having Spanish 2 students create a story using a few of these AR/VR tools, which lead to a more creative and authentic learning product and more meaningful learning for students. We shared projects and explored, in doing so, students practiced their vocabulary and verbs by interacting in the environment and reading/listening to the story. Students also built digital citizenship skills and their collaborative skills, working in small groups, being mindful of social-emotional learning skills and working as part of a team, and reflecting
The benefit is that it promotes more independent learning through the exploration using these tools, and leads to more curiosity in learning and student creations, which will engage and motivate students more. It benefits problem-solving and critical thinking, when exploring as well as creating their own environments, and promotes creativity and innovation in the designs. Students have learned a lot about this area and have retained the content material more because of the authentic learning, have started to advocate for the use of these tools in other classes, and also have taught peers about some of them. The transfer of learning and enhanced student engagement has continued to increase through the use of these tools.
For anyone looking to start using these tools in the classroom, I am excited to share our steps and hope that it can help make the implementation easier for others, and I look forward to learning more about the topic as well, from shared experiences during the session. Students have created amazing interactive AR and VR experiences and become more confident in working with their peers and teaching their classmates as well.

Outline

A survey will be used at the start of the session to gather information as to role in education, level of knowledge for AI, AR, and VR concerns, questions, and other information that will be obtained to help drive the session. We will focus on ChatGPT and other emerging trends as they evolve.
The session will begin with a brief overview and explanation of AI and how to teach about AI with some resources to explore. Focus on the uses of Artificial Intelligence, with some explanation of how these tools can be used in any classroom, as ways for students to explore and design their own chatbots, for example. We will talk about ChatGPT and dive into the uses of it, concerns, and explore how it is evolving and the implications for education and the future of work. (20-25 minutes) Resources will be shared and attendees will have time to explore and discuss the resources shared.
Following the AI discussion, we will explore the differences between Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality with examples provided and highlights of how students are creating with these tools and the benefits (15-20 minutes)

Focus on the uses of Augmented and virtual reality, the different apps, tools to learn features, and time to interact (depending on the length of session) with some apps such as CoSpaces, 3DBear, and other AR/VR apps and web-based VR tools. Ideas for how to demonstrate these tools and use them as a lesson, then promote student creations. (10-15 minutes)
Attendees will see examples of some of the student creations made using CoSpaces, Thyng, Nearpod, and others.
The remaining time during the session will be adjusted based on the interests of those in attendance, and as much time as possible will be provided to explore and interact with the tools. Many resources will be shared during the session and available for attendees.

Supporting research

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2023/03/31/chatgpt-explained/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2022/12/16/education-is-about-to-radically-change-ai-for-the-masses/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2021/11/12/ai-in-the-world-how-can-we-prepare-our-students/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2021/07/22/the-growing-need-for-skills-in-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/07/02/the-increasing-role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-our-lives/

Teaching AI by Michelle Zimmerman
Learning Transported and the Immersive Classroom by Jaime Donally
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/ai-technology-research-history-science/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X21000199
https://hechingerreport.org/researchers-say-ai-will-greatly-impact-the-future-of-education/
https://en.unesco.org/artificial-intelligence/education
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348136839_Virtual_reality_in_education_The_promise_progress_and_challenge

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2021/07/22/the-growing-need-for-skills-in-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/artificial-intelligence-sustainable-development-goals
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/10/15/8-ways-to-bring-augmented-and-virtual-reality-into-the-classroom/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/02/17/how-to-teach-artificial-intelligence/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2019/04/02/augmented-reality-in-kindergarten/

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2019/08/08/students-use-virtual-reality-to-contribute-to-their-communities/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2018/08/10/32-ways-ai-is-improving-education/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/07/the-metaverse-paradox-why-we-need-standardization/https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/08/16/augmented-reality-benefits-us-all/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2021/01/26/smart-review-lenovo-vr-classroom-2/
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https://www.newstrail.com/virtual-reality/

https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/08/why-sel-is-more-important-than-ever-meeting-sel-needs-virtually/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/04/15-ar-and-vr-immersive-learning-tools/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/03/choosing-the-right-tools-for-remote-learning/
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2020/03/fostering-connectedness-during-remote-learning/

https://www.edtechupdate.com/edition/daily-gamification-differentiated-instruction-2019-08-08?open-article-id=11092817&article-title=top-10-reasons-to-take-immersive-learning-into-your-classroom&blog-domain=neolms.com&blog-title=neo-lms
https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2019/08/early-adopters-pioneer-virtual-reality-use-higher-education

https://programminginsider.com/5-real-uses-of-virtual-reality-in-education/
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2019/08/arvr-k-12-schools-use-immersive-technology-assistive-learning-perfcon

AR VR market 66 bill by 2027 https://thefacts.com/ap/business/article_5c833e84-e2d3-5182-b32f-5bb1291f0f01.html

https://centricdigital.com/blog/augmented-reality/5-reasons-education-needs-to-invest-in-augmented-reality/