Editorial: themed issue on enhanced educational experience in virtual and augmented reality

Abstract

VR and AR can bring changes not only to the everyday life of society, but also in humans’ cognitive capacity to perceive and imagine, giving them the opportunity to experience what is not possible in the real world, and equipping them with the possibility to see objects, places and situations that cannot be seen in reality. Technologies change the field of education, the way people learn and the way they acquire knowledge; consequently, changes need to be made in the way students are taught and in how their knowledge is assessed when using these technologies. In the context of VR/AR educational experiences, significant transformations are needed; in particular, these experiences move away from local teaching to translocal teaching as the virtual world gives students the possibility to disconnect from their physical environment. VR/AR can be combined with haptic solutions and ideas of gamification to support learning and provide diverse experiences. Both the socialisation process and the environment are partly transformed, and virtual communities are created which, in turn, advance new challenges to the teaching and learning process.