ABSTRACT. During lockdown, we piloted a variety of augmented reality (AR) experiences in collaboration with subject matter experts from different fields aiming at creating remote teaching and training experiences. In this paper, we present a case study on how AR can be used as a teaching aid for medical education with pertinent focus on remote and social distanced learning. We describe the process of creating an AR experience that can enhance the knowledge and understanding of anatomy for medical students. The Anatomy Experience is an AR enhanced learning experience developed in collaboration with the Medical School of the University of Edinburgh aiming to assist medical students understand the complex geometry of different parts of the human body. After conducting a focus group study with medical students, trainees, and trainers, we received very positive feedback on the Anatomy Experience and its effects on understanding anatomy, enriching the learning process, and using it as a tool for anatomy teaching.

ABSTRACT. Immersive learning designers and developers constantly need help balancing pedagogical requirements, and user experience needs against available technical resources. A good framework, guidelines, and pipelines help ensure those requirements are met, facilitating the design and development process towards a more agile and faster process where pitfalls can be identified earlier. The proposed workshop and panel will: (a) Initiate a discussion addressing the areas that require immediate consideration for the provision of a knowledge base to support the design and development of immersive learning applications to meet the pedagogical needs while facilitating a more agile and faster approach; (b) propose methodologies, technical considerations and best practices to achieve this goal, and (c) facilitate teams building to work in this direction, extending iLRN available resources and collaboration opportunities.

ABSTRACT. Immersive augmented reality, in practical terms, is a real-time, immersive processing experience which bind together elements of real life with the images presented. The study is a Systematic Literature Review, which aimed to analyze throughout literature the main methods and projects for the development of virtual learning environments, especially STEM disciplines, with immersive scenarios in the field of distance higher education. The analyzed scientific productions underwent revision on the search strings, which presented a high growth in the application of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Extended Reality in education. The studies revealed that the use of Immersive Augmented Reality in education is able to increase students' motivation and interest in studies, mainly due to the teaching and learning environment becoming more dynamic. Additionally, it enables students in the immersive environment to interact and achieve effective learning.

ABSTRACT. Digital twins (DT) technology has advanced and is gaining momentum of applicability in different contexts. The metaverse enables immersive experiences that integrate the real world with the digital. Given the importance of DT in the metaverse, this article seeks to review the literature (between 2018-2022) on the articulation of DT, metaverse, and learning, and propose a conceptual framework towards Education 5.0. The review indicates few works in this regard and specifically in Latin American countries the research and application in educational contexts is insufficient. There is an interest in defining frameworks and articulating with other extended reality technologies. The possibilities offered by DT and the metaverse are wide, and that is why it is necessary to reduce the gap in this regard, with more research, projects, dissemination, and agreements. This study contributes to the investigation and projection of the DT, metaverse in learning scenarios, as well as to continue delving into frameworks or models under the Industry/Society 5.0 approach.

ABSTRACT. Virtual Reality environments have been used to build empathy in different contexts. However, research on empathy-driven VR experiences for building empathy with migrants is still in its infancy. In this paper, we present the results of a comparative study between two VR environments that show stories about migrants in Colombia (South America). In total, 47 university students participated in this study and a self-reported instrument was used to collect information about emotional empathy, cognitive empathy, enjoyment and perceived ease of use. The results suggest that VR improves emotional empathy but not cognitive empathy. In particular, students of psychology show higher levels of emotional empathy than students of engineering. Moreover, enjoyment and ease of use are higher in immersive VR environments to build empathy when compared to less immersive VR environments.

ABSTRACT. This practitioner paper describes an institutional initiative on extended reality (XR) education, which took place at a higher education institution in southern Brazil. The XR Center project involved the creation of specialized learning environments, the formation of a development team, and the selection and development of XR educational proposals from faculty members. The ongoing project's results and features are presented, and several challenges are discussed.

ABSTRACT. "Mujer Aumentada" is an initiative that seeks to encourage the creation of augmented reality experiences, through the use of frameworks, to promote learning, creativity, and innovation. The initiative has emerged as a response to the decrease in attention span and intellectual quotient of society, which has been shown to be related to the excessive use of new digital media. The goal of "Mujer Aumentada" is to promote the inclusion of more women in leadership roles in the technology field, considering that less than 20% of women hold leadership roles in these areas currently.

ABSTRACT. Adaptation to new devices and interfaces is actively studied by user experience and human-computer interaction specialists but is typically neglected by organizers and researchers of corporate training with virtual reality. The study tests how the adaptation phase to technology affects the educational outcome and cognitive load. For the study, 102 people (35.3 ± 11.2 years old), including students and working managers, were trained to give feedback to a colleague. They were divided into three groups: general adaptation, specialized adaptation for communication training, and no adaptation. EEG was used to measure cognitive load score. As a result, it was found that both groups with pre-adaptation showed higher educational outcomes and experienced less cognitive load during the main training. No difference was found between the types of adaptation.

ABSTRACT. For a sustainable living, it is everyone's responsibility to do our best at recycling. However, waste classification can be complex. The existing resources may not have sufficient information or dynamic feedback to resolve our everyday garbage disposal. In this work, we design an interactive mobile Augmented Reality (AR) application, Educational Recycling Assistant (ERA), to educate people in doing sound day-to-day waste management. ERA utilizes dynamic object detection and provides in-situ guidance for proper garbage disposal. A user study was designed and conducted to investigate the effects and the user experiences. We found that the users achieved significantly higher garbage binning accuracy with the ERA app. The participants also improved their recycling and garbage disposal knowledge after using the app, particularly in complex items.