An Interactive Mixed Reality Platform for Inquiry-Based Education

Mixed reality technology presents new opportunities for educational applications through its combination of real and virtual worlds. Recently, a growing interest has been noted in inquiry-based learning that emphasizes active learning and personalized education. Accordingly, this paper proposed a mixed reality-based interactive media platform for an inquiry-based learning environment in which the users were able to explore a wide range of optional experiments under the instruction of the inspectors. A sequence of mixed reality technologies are combined in this environment. Users became immersed in an interactive media space, while the environment responded with the user via interactive displays fitted on the experimental utilities and furniture. User behavior was instantly recorded and interactively visualized for the inspector to make decisions on the instructions. A prototype was then designed for this environment, and an evaluation was conducted to test its applicability. Overall, the participants revealed that the 3D printing experimental utilities were effective in enhancing their sense of reality, while the virtual interactive 3D scene played a key role in extending the inquiry base. Furthermore, it enabled users to have more freedom in conducting exploration compared to traditional experimental environments.