Exploring evolution of augmented and virtual reality education space in 2020 through systematic literature review

• Published in: Computer animation and virtual worlds Vol. 32; no. 3-4
• Main Authors: Noah, Naheem, Das, Sanchari
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2021
• Subjects: augmented reality; Education; Evolution; literature review; Literature reviews; online education; Systematic review; Virtual reality
• ISSN: 1546-4261; 1546-427X
• DOI: 10.1002/cav.2020

Research is increasingly being conducted to identify the benefits provided by the latest developments in the AR/VR domain, which has seen an increase in interest as a result of the stay‐at‐home phenomena in 2020. Of particular interest is the application of AR/VR to education, a discipline that has seen a rapid shift to online modules in 2020. To better understand the advancements in AR/VR enabled education, we conducted a systematic literature review consisting of N=61 papers published in the year 2020 that focused on AR/VR in the education sector. We particularly focused on papers where studies have evaluated user perceptions in different countries, academic fields, and at varied educational levels. We found that while most papers conducted user studies and evaluated the technical applications of AR/VR, user perceptions, impact, and awareness were not explored in detail. Our findings highlight trends that can drive critically needed innovations through AR/VR especially to help a globalized digital evolution in the education sector. In the educational sector, AR/VR has undoubtedly brought about innovative changes, especially with the onset of 2020 and the sudden yet necessary shift to online education. Our research provided a systematic literature review of papers focused on AR/VR in the educational sector to identify trends. A detailed thematic analysis found out that most researches did not include knowledge retention post‐test, and there is an increasing number of AR/VR development on mobile which plays a role in its adoption due to its affordability. We also indicated gaps in the review papers, including a need for more in‐depth reporting of study characteristics.