Most people want to reach their maximum potential; and the use of tools are no different. Some say power is influence. If this is true, then virtual reality has “superpowers” because of its ability to make the unreal viscerally real, engaging and immersive. Thanks to these powers VR can influence and affect education in ways that no technology tool has in the past. This book will help people understand the power and true potential of virtual reality (or VR). The prime directive of this book is to provide educators with a way of thinking about how to use virtual reality in education in order to reveal its true superpowers. And, to arm educators with several hands-on lessons to get them started on implementing VR as a tool to enhance learning outcomes. Ultimately, the book aims to have educators clearly understand VR’s role in transforming education, thus reaching its maximum potential.

The potential to integrate augmented reality into educational settings has led to the development of myriad programs for implementing these transformative technologies into education. However, the transformative learning processes possible for learners can best be developed through integration in immersive virtual learning environments. The integration of augmented reality (AR) technologies into education involves matching the potential of AR with the most effective instructional model for immersing learners in the learning process. With current research focused heavily on blended or online learning, augmented reality fits right into the new technologies and trends that are being developed and utilized on a consistent basis. There is a need for research that provides detailed curriculum guides, templates for designing virtual worlds, evaluation processes, and immersive learning procedures that can be utilized to provide the best educational environment for student success. Implementing Augmented Reality Into Immersive Virtual Learning Environments provides current research for the integration of transformative new technologies into multiple educational settings. Examining the why, what, and how of integrating augmented reality into immersive virtual learning technologies, this book covers various educational settings, such as nursing education, sports coaching, language education, and more. While highlighting the benefits for virtual reality, its role in remote learning, the logistics of simulation, and branches of it such as gamification, this book is ideally intended for teachers, school administrators, teacher educators, practitioners, IT specialists, educational software developers, researchers, academicians, and students interested in integrating augmented reality in educational programs.

This book focuses on designing and being a designer of immersive education. It introduces readers to the human experiences within immersive learning environments and contributes research evidence on the effectiveness of immersive technologies in K-12 and post-secondary contexts. Through the chapters, illustrative contextual examples and vignettes demonstrate immersive learning in real-world educational practice. Readers will be equipped to design engaging and culturally relevant immersive experiences for learning in a post-COVID world. Immersive Education: Designing for Learning brings researchers, designers, and educators together to offer pedagogical strategies and design guidelines. The originality lies in integrating theoretical and practical knowledge to design meaningful immersive experiences, with attention to sustainability, community, and creativity. Valuable insights are provided to support students and teachers as immersive learning designers and storytellers.

Immersive technology as an umbrella concept consists of multiple emerging technologies including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gaming, simulation, and 3D printing. Research has shown immersive technology provides unique learning opportunities for experiential learning, multiple perspectives, and knowledge transfer. Due to its role in influencing learners’ cognitive and affective processes, it is shown to have great potential in changing the educational landscape in the decades to come. However, there is a lack of general cognitive and affective theoretical framework to guide the diverse aspects of immersive technology research. In fact, lacking the cognitive and affective theoretical framework has begun to hamper the design and application of immersive technology in schools and related professional training. Cognitive and Affective Perspectives on Immersive Technology in Education is an essential research book that explores methods and implications for the design and implementation of upcoming immersive technologies in pedagogical and professional development settings. The book includes case studies that highlight the cognitive and affective processes in immersive technology as well as the successful applications of immersive technology in education. Featuring a wide range of topics such as curriculum design, K-12 education, and mobile learning, this book is ideal for academicians, educators, policymakers, curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrators, researchers, and students.

3D technology is not new; research on 3D started back in early 1960s. But unlike in previous times, 3D technology has now rapidly entered our daily life from cinema to office to home. Using 3D for education is a new yet challenging task. This book will present several innovative efforts using 3D for immersive and interactive learning covering a wide spectrum of education including gifted program, normal (technical) stream, and special needs education. The book will also share experience on curriculum-based 3D learning in classroom setting and co-curriculum-based 3D student research projects. The book is organized as follows. Chapter 1 introduces the fundamentals of 3D educational technology and their applications in immersive and interactive learning. Chapter 2 discusses the use of virtual reality in teaching and learning of Molecular Biology. Chapter 3 presents the daVinci Lab @ River Valley High School. Chapter 4 describes the 3D education development process. Chapter 5 studies the adaption 3D system for learning gains in lower secondary normal (technical) stream. Chapter 6 investigates the effects of virtual reality technology on spatial visualization skills. Chapter 7 showcases a sabbatical program for students to use 3D for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning. Chapter 8 shares the use of 3D virtual pink dolphin to assist special education. The foreword of this book is written by Dr Cheah Horn Mun, Director, Education Technology Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th European Immersive Education Summit, EiED 2014, held in Vienna, Austria, in November 2014. The 11 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 30 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on innovation and technological advancements in e-learning; immersive and emerging technologies for cultural and digital heritage.

Within bilingual education, more and more programs are adopting the option of immersion education, in which a second language is used as the medium of instruction. This volume illustrates the implementation immersion education in North America, Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa, showing its use in programs ranging from preprimary to tertiary level and demonstrating how it can function in foreign language teaching, for teaching a minority language to members of the language majority, for reviving or supporting languages at risk of extinction, and for helping learners acquire a language needed for wider communication or career advancement. A final section reviews lessons learned from experiences with immersion and explores new directions the approach is taking. This text will be of interest to teachers, teacher educators, and others involved in bilingual education.