RESEARCH AND ARTS

Colleagues from RTV Slovenia and international experts from the University of Joanneum (Austria), CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands), and Northeastern University, Boston (USA) will also participate in the project as external partners and experts.

SUMMARY
As part of the public tender “Virtual, Augmented, and Extended Reality in Education,” the Faculty of Education at the University of Maribor is a consortium partner in “TeachXR,” which focuses on researching and introducing advanced virtual, augmented, and extended reality technologies (VR, AR, and XR) in primary and secondary schools.

We are entering the era of the fourth industrial revolution, which brings advances in information and communication technologies (ICT), robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and extended reality (XR), including virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Digital transformation and automation are affecting the labor market and require updated knowledge and skills for new technologies.

XR technologies are the foundation of modern digital technologies. Due to their interactivity, they offer an innovative and alternative source of teaching and learning that is also sustainable. Studies show that XR technologies improve understanding, increase motivation, and enable the acquisition of digital skills, which is crucial for the future of work.

There are two key challenges for XR technologies in the Slovenian education system. The first is the education and training of teachers to develop solutions and create content using XR technologies. The second is adapting the regular curriculum to make it more attractive to students.

The purpose of the TeachXR project is to empower teachers and help them acquire new knowledge so they can gain the necessary skills to develop content and integrate XR technologies into the learning process, thereby improving the quality of education in Slovenia. The network of teaching laboratories established by the project and the training provided will give participants practical experience with XR technologies. Through the TeachXR project, students and teachers will gain in-depth learning experiences that encourage creativity and are not limited by geography or time.

The objectives of the project are:
– Establish a multidisciplinary group of teachers and project partners to prepare proposals for implementing educational modules.
– Improve the digital competences of target groups in content development, use, and teaching with XR through modular training courses implemented throughout Slovenia.
– Ensure wider accessibility and availability of equipment.
– Develop and promote new innovative pedagogical approaches and didactic tools for using XR technologies in education.
– Compile new educational content and set up an e-classroom.
– Set up six physical teaching laboratories where partner teachers can work.

All project activities aim to improve the educational process through the use of advanced XR technologies that can effectively complement or partially replace traditional forms of teaching.

PROJECT RESULTS
The expected results of the project include:
– Preparation of a professional, theoretical, and technical basis for the use of VR, AR, and XR technologies in primary and secondary schools.
– Designing content for the use of VR, AR, and XR technologies in the classroom.
– Ensuring that at least 25 teachers in primary and secondary education are trained to use the tools or introduce individual elements of VR, AR, and XR technologies into the educational process.
– Ensuring that at least 100 primary and secondary school teachers are trained to prepare content for the use of VR, AR, and XR technologies in the educational process.

Target groups in the TeachXR project are teachers (from primary schools, primary schools with adapted programs, institutions for the education of children and young people with special needs, secondary vocational and technical schools, and high schools), mentors, students, and other professionals working in education.

The project, implemented within the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan, is financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union – NextGenerationEU.

Link: https://teachxr.si  

Link: https://www.gov.si/zbirke/javne-objave/jr-razvojni-projekt-navidezna-obogatena-in-razsirjena-resnicnost-v-izobrazevanju/