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Over the last decade we have seen massive technological changes that have facilitated the crossover between the physical and digital. Mobile technology has allowed the digital world to become untethered from the terminal and the tangle of cables. We are now wireless and capable of allowing the digital to seep into the world around us - from navigation apps, music everywhere we go and the endless potential of the internet to fuel our desire to learn, connect and escape where ever we are.

 The next wave of technologies however offers something different – the ability to truly mix the digital and the physical into a ‘new’ reality. One where we can interact with the digital through the physical, in turn affect the physical through the digital. Where we can change not just what we see, but how we see it and experience the world around us. The future offers us a way to construct new places and spaces, new connections and experiences, new ways to express ourselves and leave our mark on the world.

 Welcome to the world of Mixed Reality.

 This session will provide some of the groundwork on the topic, laying out some of the foundational concepts and technologies, and providing some examples of how we can rethink the world around us using these new technologies.

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Students and educators alike live and work in a technology rich society, transforming what teaching and learning looks like in the 21st century. As educators in the 21st century, we need not ask, “Should technology be used in education?” but instead be asking, “How should technology be used to help students achieve and learn?”

The 21st century is technologically rich and is comprised of a new breed of students who have been exposed to technology since birth (Rothman, 2016). As educators therefore, we need to question how we teach, reach and engage these students that can multitask and use technology to play, learn, communicate and socialise.

Students working towards a degree in the Health Sciences are required to undertake two first-year subjects in anatomy and physiology and this is the context of this work. We know that our students are likely to vary significantly in their education prior to university (Anderton, Evans, & Chivers, 2016) and are likely to be kinaesthetic learners (Farkas, Mazurek, & Marone, 2016). Unfortunately, it has been reported that many of these students either drop out or decide to repeat these subjects before progressing in their chosen field (Entezari & Javdan, 2016; Schutte, 2016). Furthermore, students have reported that they underestimate the amount of content and comprehensiveness of a first year anatomy and physiology subject and that the teaching methods used can influence their ability to learn the content (Eagleton, 2015).

With the aforementioned predisposition of attrition that is inherent in our current student population, the need to promote 21st century skills virtual reality (VR) has affordances that enhance the constructivist type of science learning (Southgate, Smith, & Cheers, 2016) which can engage students, improve scientific outcomes and assist in developing workforce skills (Gonski, Arcus, Boston, Gould, Johnson, O’Brien, Perry, & Roberts, 2018). We present here, how VR was integrated in the anatomy and physiology laboratory and its effect on improving student’s motivation and engagement (Hicks, MacDonald, & Martin, 2017), as well as promoting real world connections (Vygotsky, 1977), collaboration, deeper learning (Levy & Murnanes, 2006) and 21st century skill development.

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Imagine not having to download and install an app to experience or create Augmented and Virtual experiences, just open a URL and it just works…

This session will look at how utilising the web to deliver AR and VR educational content removes the initial on-boarding obstacles for the end user, and speeds up and decreases the cost to deliver as it works across various devices, without the need to re-develop for multiple platforms.

We’ll look at what is possible on the web right now and where this is headed over the next 12-18 months as it continues to evolve at a blistering pace.

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Cogniss is a low/no-code platform disrupting how we use mobile app technology to solve pressing challenges. It combines a simple visual app building interface with powerful gamification, big data and AR/VR capabilities, allowing anyone without coding knowledge to create sophisticated apps for learning and behaviour change.

 Democratising app creation in this way not only amplifies the generation of user data, but when paired with deep learning technology, turns the platform into an intelligent, predictive system with the potential to diagnose learning issues earlier.

Cogniss Discussion Audio

The global augmented reality market is projected to reach more than $150 billion by 2020, with opportunities emerging in a number of fields including defence, education, manufacturing, logistics, retail and e-commerce.

Rupert Deans, entrepreneur and founder of Australian-based pioneer, Plattar, will explore how augmented reality will transform the workplace, product development, the customer experience and the way we interact with the world. We will discuss how businesses are using augmented reality today and the future applications to watch.

Plattar

Are we going to be producers or consumers? Does anyone make 360° video, 3D-stereoscopic vision, interactive media, virtual and augmented reality content at CSU? The answer is yes, but you already knew that from reading the title. Andrew has over a decade’s experience teaching these topics, and embedded the essentials into CSU’s Animation & Visual Effects core curriculum when establishing the degree in 2007. Subjects like VFX220 Interactive Animation show students how to create their own real-time immersive content with cutting-edge 360° cameras and the latest 3D game-engines. Ask Andrew anything about the cost, artistry, craftsmanship, production processes, or if an enterprise is even worth doing? Come see what has already been made at CSU and get a sneak peak of what’s coming next! The conference consists of a 30 min presentation followed by a friendly Q&A session, then an informed debate about where all of this technology is headed.

Are you interested in integrating technology into your learning and teaching experience, but don’t know where to start? Do you see a future involving Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and Virtual Reality and want to make sure you’re not left behind? This presentation will talk about how Mixed Reality can be integrated into your pedagogy, and give some case study examples of what we’ve done in our lab, The Mixed Reality Research Lab over the last five years. Come help us in forging a future where technologies such as mixed reality can be used to inform innovative classroom practice.

Pre-reading:
Cowling, M., & Birt, J. (2018). Pedagogy before Technology: A Design-Based Research Approach to Enhancing Skills Development in Paramedic Science Using Mixed Reality. Information, 9(2), 29. Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/2078-2489/9/2/29/pdf and summary of Mixed Reality Research Lab overview at https://tinyurl.com/birt-mmrl2018

Further reading: Birt, J., Moore, E., & Cowling, M. (2017). Improving paramedic distance education through mobile mixed reality simulation. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 33(6). Retrieved from https://ajet.org.au/index.php/AJET/article/view/3596/1493 For work/outputs from the Mixed Reality Research Lab for the areas of paramedics, anatomy education, spatial communication, and/or network & ICT modelling, go to http://www.mixedrealityresearch.com/#projects for details.

Dr Patrea Anderson has extensive academic experience in Nursing Education. As Academic Director for Simulation and Visualisation for the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), Patrea’s primary focus is on utilisation of advanced technologies in simulation and curricula integration. Her research interests include clinical education, simulation (including visualisation and game-based simulation, AR and VR applications), patient safety, professional competence and issues impacting on the preparation and development of health professionals. Patrea was the recipient of an OLT citation for leadership in simulation in 2015 and is a Higher Education Academy (HEA) Senior Fellow. Patrea is a founding member of the academic group that developed the Tag Team and Tag Team Patient Safety simulation modality. She holds a number of governance roles. She is Portfolio Leader for Simulation and Practice Learning for Undergraduate Programmes for the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine at USC, Chair of national simulation education collective InSPIRE and The Australian chair for SimGHOST Australia.