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1. Framework for the Use of Extended Reality Modalities in AEC Education

   https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122169  

   Spitzer, Barbara Oliveira; Ma, Jae Hoon; Erdogmus, Ece; Kreimer, Ben; Ryherd, Erica; Diefes-Dux, Heidi (December 2022, Buildings)

   The educational applications of extended reality (XR) modalities, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), have increased significantly over the last ten years. Many educators within the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) related degree programs see student benefits that could be derived from bringing these modalities into classrooms, which include but are not limited to: a better understanding of each of the subdisciplines and the coordination necessary between them, visualizing oneself as a professional in AEC, and visualization of difficult concepts to increase engagement, self-efficacy, and learning. These benefits, in turn, help recruitment and retention efforts for these degree programs. However, given the number of technologies available and the fact that they quickly become outdated, there is confusion about the definitions of the different XR modalities and their unique capabilities. This lack of knowledge, combined with limited faculty time and lack of financial resources, can make it overwhelming for educators to choose the right XR modality to accomplish particular educational objectives. There is a lack of guidance in the literature for AEC educators to consider various factors that affect the success of an XR intervention. Grounded in a comprehensive literature review and the educational framework of the Model of Domain Learning, this paper proposes a decision-making framework to help AEC educators select the appropriate technologies, platforms, and devices to use for various educational outcomes (e.g., learning, interest generation, engagement) considering factors such as budget, scalability, space/equipment needs, and the potential benefits and limitations of each XR modality. To this end, a comprehensive review of the literature was performed to decipher various definitions of XR modalities and how they have been previously utilized in AEC Education. The framework was then successfully validated at a summer camp in the School of Building Construction at Georgia Institute of Technology, highlighting the importance of using appropriate XR technologies depending on the educational context. 

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2. Barriers Toward the Implementation of Extended Reality (XR) Technologies to Support Education and Training in Workforce Development Programs

   https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813241275080  

   Upadhyay, Bhargav; Chalil_Madathil, Kapil; Hegde, Sudeep; Anderson, David; Wooldridge, Eric; Presley, David; Perez, Luis; Reid, Ben (August 2024, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting)

   Advancements in computer technology have revolutionized extended reality (XR) experiences, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and 360° photography and videography. These technologies have found widespread adoption in various educational contexts, from K-12 schools to universities. However, community and technical colleges in the United States have been slower to adopt these innovative instructional modalities. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the adoption of XR technologies at 2-year institutions, guided by the consolidated framework for implementation research (CFIR). A qualitative research approach was applied by interviewing 13 educators from 2-year colleges to identify their perception and the challenges faced while implementing XR-enabled instruction. Limited availability of XR educational content, restricted development opportunities of XR content, limited integration of these technologies with existing learning management systems, resource constraints and training needs of educators are some of the factors that hinder implementation of these technologies at 2-year colleges. 

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3. Advancing Career Aspirations in STEM Fields through Co-Design and XR-Enabled Educational Delivery Models

   Renner, Alex; Winer, Eliot; Zarecor, Kimberly; Baran, Evrim; Aleman, Ezequiel; Salazar_Morales, Anasilvia (November 2023, 2023 Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC))

   By 2028, the U.S. will have the largest percentage of foreign-born individuals since 1850 with non-Hispanic whites in the 18-29 age group in the minority. These changing demographics require a major shift in education practices that will affect these residents' ability to continue their education, recruit for civilian careers, enlist in the military, and simply navigate in a digital society. These residents have a range of challenges from language barriers to lack of access to the Internet and mobile devices that must be addressed. Extended Reality (XR) technologies, interwoven with learning theories, offer solutions to these challenges. This paper presents a study of XR-enabled educational delivery models with the community of Storm Lake to enhance students’ aspirations for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers. Storm Lake is a rural Iowa community with a large low-skilled workforce employed in the agroindustrial sector and a K-12 student population that is 64% English Language Learners and 85% students of color. The research began with co-design activities (formal process actively involving all stakeholders) with teachers, students, and families in the community without technology use. Analyzed study data showed that traditional technology development and deployment practices would not effectively educate or inspire students on their own. For example, providing teachers with XR devices creates a training burden to properly operate, often resulting in unused technology. Co-design activities, with place-based challenges in XR environments, were effective for students to learn STEM-related content. Co-design activities concluded in a three-day summer workshop for 10 high school students. At the workshop, students defined place- based challenge(s) in their community and implemented an XR technological solution in software and hardware. Assessments showed positive results from the students on several measures, including evidence that the workshop contributed to seven of the 10 applying to a university in a STEM major. 

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4. A Review of Extended Reality (XR) Technologies for Manufacturing Training

   https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies8040077  

   Doolani, Sanika; Wessels, Callen; Kanal, Varun; Sevastopoulos, Christos; Jaiswal, Ashish; Nambiappan, Harish; Makedon, Fillia (December 2020, Technologies)

   Recently, the use of extended reality (XR) systems has been on the rise, to tackle various domains such as training, education, safety, etc. With the recent advances in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies and ease of availability of high-end, commercially available hardware, the manufacturing industry has seen a rise in the use of advanced XR technologies to train its workforce. While several research publications exist on applications of XR in manufacturing training, a comprehensive review of recent works and applications is lacking to present a clear progress in using such advance technologies. To this end, we present a review of the current state-of-the-art of use of XR technologies in training personnel in the field of manufacturing. First, we put forth the need of XR in manufacturing. We then present several key application domains where XR is being currently applied, notably in maintenance training and in performing assembly task. We also reviewed the applications of XR in other vocational domains and how they can be leveraged in the manufacturing industry. We finally present some current barriers to XR adoption in manufacturing training and highlight the current limitations that should be considered when looking to develop and apply practical applications of XR. 

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5. A systematic review of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) research in medical and other engineering fields

   Milani, A.S.; Cecil-Xavier; A., Gupta; Cecil, J.; Kennison, S. (October 2022, International journal of human computer interactions)

   This article provides a systematic review of research related to Human–Computer Interaction techniques supporting training and learning in various domains including medicine, healthcare, and engineering. The focus is on HCI techniques involving Extended Reality (XR) technology which encompasses Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. HCI-based research is assuming more importance with the rapid adoption of XR tools and techniques in various training and learning contexts including education. There are many challenges in the adoption of HCI approaches, which results in a need to have a comprehensive and systematic review of such HCI methods in various domains. This article addresses this need by providing a systematic literature review of a cross-s Q1 ection of HCI approaches involving proposed so far. The PRISMA-guided search strategy identified 1156 articles for abstract review. Irrelevant abstracts were discarded. The whole body of each article was reviewed for the remaining articles, and those that were not linked to the scope of our specific issue were also eliminated. Following the application of inclusion/exclusion criteria, 69 publications were chosen for review. This article has been divided into the following sections: Introduction; Research methodology; Literature review; Threats of validity; Future research and Conclusion. Detailed classifications (pertaining to HCI criteria and concepts, such as affordance; training, and learning techniques) have also been included based on different parameters based on the analysis of research techniques adopted by various investigators. The article concludes with a discussion of the key challenges for this HCI area along with future research directions. A review of the research outcomes from these publications underscores the potential for greater success when such HCI-based approaches are adopted during such 3D-based training interactions. Such a higher degree of success may be due to the emphasis on the design of userfriendly (and user-centric) training environments, interactions, and processes that positively impact the cognitive abilities of users and their respective learning/training experiences. We discovered data validating XR-HCI as an ascending method that brings a new paradigm by enhancing skills and safety while reducing costs and learning time through replies to three exploratory study questions. We believe that the findings of this study will aid academics in developing new research avenues that will assist XR-HCI applications to mature and become more widely adopted. 

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