XR4Pe -

In the education systems of most European countries, e-learning does not yet have a long tradition. Many educational institutions have either no or insufficient strategic digitisation concepts and action plans to address this issue. Pedagogical professionals do not have sufficient theoretical knowledge and methodological competence in this area, and there is no nationwide provision of basic infrastructure and devices (broadband internet, smartphones, tablets, etc.) to support the digitisation of education. At the same time, learners' IT skills are increasing rapidly - often much faster than those of their teachers or lecturers.
Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and XR immersive technologies enable the simulation of almost any environment and process that takes place in the physical world and are increasingly becoming part of our lives. Yet educators know little or nothing about these helpful digital learning opportunities because they were never made aware of them during their own educational studies. To quickly address this problem, the XR 4Ped project aims to promote digitisation in higher education in general and XR-based immersive learning in particular.  

The main objectives and outcomes of the project are as follows:

• A survey within 20 best practice EU projects engaged in immersive learning to understand the pedagogical approaches that promote XR learning.
• An online questionnaire survey with 200 European educational professionals at all levels to get a comprehensive picture of their awareness, experiences, requirements and needs in relation to digital and immersive learning. Also collected are experiences and developments during the Covid 19 lockdown.
• Publish a Green Paper with a detailed analysis of the survey results, including clear guidance on the structure and content of the XR 4Ped Study Course and recommendations to EU policy makers on how to promote digital and immersive learning in the short and long term.
• Development of the XR 4Ped Study Course for teachers and students of pedagogy with 8 modules on immersive learning and 2 modules on the creation and implementation of webinars (total 4 ECTS).
• Development of the XR 4Ped Study Course, an immersive learning environment in which the entire course can be delivered.
• The project will train 140 lecturers and students through an XR 4Ped Study Course pilot and a further 500 participants per year.

Project duration: 01.06.2021 - 31.12.2022
Project volume: 210,787 €