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Developing countries, including Mexico, face the challenge of integrating technology to enhance education and improve learning outcomes. Despite evidence in many settings of the benefits of using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) as learning tools, their potential use is still understudied in many developing regions. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the impact of a web-based eXtended Reality (XR) learning tool, PhysXR, among college-level students enrolled in a Mexican University. PhysXR is a web-based learning application designed to present users with information focused on Newtonian mechanics. This tool presents users with interactive experiences ranging from VR to AR environments and supports a physics simulator for experiments on physical phenomena of dynamics and kinematics. Overall, learning methodologies implemented using PhysXR follow the competency-based learning model implemented in Mexican Education Institutions, and include Learn by Doing and Problem Based Learning (PBL). In order to evaluate the PhysXR tool, 99 students were recruited and randomized to either experimental (VR and AR conditions using PhysXR) or control groups. Outcomes included student's learning and motivation, assessed using the John Keller's Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction (ARCS) learning motivation model. Results from this study indicate that the use of the PhysXR tool, both VR and AR approaches, generates a significant improvement in learning gains and motivation compared with traditional methods, highlighting the potential of cross-platform capabilities that web-based XR technology could offer, as well as the use of real time physics simulations for learning.

This work describes a learning tool named ARGeoITS that combines augmented reality with an intelligent tutoring system to support geometry learning. The work depicts a study developed in Mexico to measure the impact on the learning and motivation of students using two different learning systems: an intelligent tutoring system with augmented reality (ARGeoITS) and a system with only augmented reality (ARGeo). To study the effect of this type of technology (ARGeoITS, ARGeo) and time of assessment (pre-, post-) on learning gains and motivation, we applied a 2 × 2 factorial design to 106 middle school students. Both pretest and post-test questionnaires were applied to each group to determine the students’ learning gains, as was an IMMS motivational survey to evaluate the students’ motivation. The results show that: (1) students who used the intelligent tutoring system ARGeoITS scored higher in learning gain (7.47) compared with those who used ARGeo (6.83); and (2) both the ARGeoITS and ARGeo learning tools have a positive impact on students’ motivation. The research findings imply that intelligent tutoring systems that integrate augmented reality can be exploited as an effective learning environment to help middle–high school students learn difficult topics such as geometry.

The recent pandemic brought on considerable changes in terms of learning activities, which were moved from in-person classroom-based lessons to virtual work performed at home in most world regions. One of the most considerable challenges faced by educators was keeping students motivated toward learning activities. Interactive learning environments in general, and augmented reality (AR)-based learning environments in particular, are thought to foster emotional and cognitive engagement when used in the classroom. This study aims to compare the motivation and learning outcomes of middle school students in two educational settings: in the classroom and at home. The study involved 55 middle school students using the AR application to practice basic chemistry concepts. The results suggested that students’ general motivation towards the activity was similar in both settings. However, students who worked at home reported better satisfaction and attention levels compared with those who worked in the classroom. Additionally, students who worked at home made fewer mistakes and achieved better grades compared with those who worked in the classroom. Overall, the study suggests that AR can be exploited as an effective learning environment for learning the basic principles of chemistry in home settings.