Explorations in Mixed Reality with Learning and Teaching Frameworks: Lessons from Ludus and the Vulcan Academy

Implementations of mixed reality technologies for teaching and learning are becoming increasingly common, however it is depth of experience that should be the goal of pedagogical design. This chapter explores the design of mixed reality frameworks for learning and teaching at Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. Discipline areas from Pharmacy and Design have developed a series of experiential learning scenarios that help build rich frameworks in which to learn, teach and assess, using and testing multiple strategies in the process. Essential to teaching methods is the implementation of learning objectives as moderated by strategies of play-based learning. The learning scenarios range from developing mobile applications to impact upon spatial reasoning beyond the device frame, designing transformative experiences through student led content authoring of augmented game content, to immersion in a virtual pharmacy with access to augmented content through head mounted displays. Increased engagement is a key objective of the gamified learning experience, and our experiments seek to investigate the boundaries between educational theories as applied to mixed reality environments through active learning and inquiry-based instruction. Our findings demonstrate that play, through the use of mixed reality technologies, can benefit and prolong student engagement, but importantly that the student can have ownership of the experience. The technological frameworks are not just seen to have novelty but are effective tools for deeper and lasting levels of engagement.