Abstract:

In this article we analyze the concept of Virtual and Augmented Reality applied to the new paradigm of emerging learning in education, in relation to key concepts focused on gamification, immersion, and social interactivity. As Serious games are growing interest in education and training. These visualization and simulation technologies contextualize the player's experience in stimulating and realistic environments by supporting the awareness of being in a virtual world.

The heart of this article is the activity carried out during the workshop "Vivi nella Realtà Virtuale" offered to young people who participated in the Salone del Libro 2019 in Turin.

On that occasion the participants, through innovative equipment (such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Virtual Wall) had the opportunity to live funny and exciting game experiences in virtual environments (reconstructing puzzles, rearranging old manuscripts inside a library, etc).

The children had to store innovative equipment and place it on the interactive map. Through the use of cardboards, framing the QR-Codes within the special cards, children and young people did not learn the meaning of Virtual and Augmented Reality by playing with real applications.

By using controllers and viewers, they had the opportunity to immerse themselves in virtual environments and also, through simple interactions, they did exercises useful for memory. In addition, to stimulate the sense of touch they had the opportunity to really touch the technologies printed in 3D, living an educational experience in the round.

The objectives defined to increase learning through these new technologies involve the continuous training of the mind by stimulating memory in remembering shapes / colors and paths, educating users on the correct use of these immersive technologies.

The participation of users during the different training experiences has confirmed the success of new technologies (Virtual and Augmented Reality) that represent a real cultural revolution in the educational field.

Keywords:

Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Serious Games, Innovative education, Interactive map.