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Public speaking often imposes a nerve-wracking atmosphere in the L2 classrooms. Consequently, an alternative to the anxiety-arousing activity by using advanced technology for pedagogy is urgent. Prior publications reported the use of virtual reality (VR) for training public speaking and alleviating students' public speaking anxiety (PSA). However, no latest review in this area has been published. This present study employed a systematic review to delineate the trends in the latest decade (between 2011 and 2023), synthesizing research outcomes, methodologies, loci, participants, treatment duration, and research focuses. This systematic review was based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Conceptual and theoretical studies were removed, yielding 16 studies with empirical data to be thoroughly examined. Most studies indicated the effectiveness of VR for teaching public speaking and reducing speech apprehension. Several gaps were disclosed, such as the inconsistency of the research findings regarding whether the short duration of VR exposure resulted in the statistically non-significant effects, the unequal distribution of research loci which were mostly reported from the US, the UK, and Europe, and the major focus on English as L1 instead of L2 public speaking training. The results of this review suggest that more pertinent studies in countries with EFL or L2 learning contexts and longer treatment duration be conducted and reported in the globally renowned English-language journals to verify the effectiveness of VR technology in treating PSA.

Virtual reality (VR) is used across the educational spectrum (higher education, high school, primary school, and even pre-school); however, primary school teachers' perceptions of using VR in their classrooms require further research. A brief review of the literature of 100 existing articles related to teaching within the primary school context was conducted. The articles were obtained by performing a word search within Google Scholar, with the keywords 'virtual reality primary school teachers 2018 - 2023'. Teachers indicated both hesitance and enthusiasm for incorporating VR. The findings of this study indicated that only a low number of articles (n = 11) addressed VR and primary school teachers, compared to the total number of articles reviewed (n=100). Researching VR and teaching assists in supporting the wider fringe aspects of e-learning practices, such as VR. It advances the compass of e-learning knowledge by integrating immersive learning tools into the primary school classroom.

Teachers often use analogies to introduce unfamiliar or complex concepts. However, several studies have found that their knowledge on how to use them is limited or superficial. Similarly, the integration of technological resources in the teaching-learning processes is not always carried out efficiently, which evidences the need to improve teachers' digital competence. This paper provides a formative sequence on the use of analogies in teaching through mediation of technological resources, implemented in the context of the initial training of secondary education teachers. The results show a positive assessment by the students, a change in their perceptions on the subject and some progress in their classroom proposal designs. The conclusion is that it is necessary to train future teachers to deal with common teaching problems in a reflective, comprehensive and innovative way, which will undoubtedly be one of the challenges of education in the 21st century.

Purpose: This study explores the impact of new technologies, such as simulation and virtual reality, on the pedagogy and learning of engineering students. It aims to compare the effectiveness of these digital tools against traditional teaching methods in enhancing student learning experiences. Design/methodology/approach: Utilizing a quantitative research approach, the study involved third-year engineering students from the "Production Management" course at the School of Engineering of Vitoria-Gasteiz. Data were collected through an ad hoc questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software, focusing on student satisfaction, challenges in adopting new technologies and the evolving roles of students and teachers. Findings: The research highlighted several key aspects. Firstly, it identified the need for adapting teaching methods to incorporate new technologies effectively. Secondly, the integration of simulation and virtual reality was found to facilitate a deeper understanding of real-world problems, as students could engage with these issues in a simulated, virtual environment. Finally, the study emphasized the importance of pedagogical approaches that leverage these technologies to increase student involvement and motivation. The results suggest a positive impact of digital tools on the learning process in engineering education. Research limitations/implications: The study's scope was limited to one course within a single institution, suggesting the need for broader research across various disciplines and educational settings. Originality/value: This research offers valuable insights into the integration of simulation and virtual reality in engineering education, underscoring their potential to enhance the learning experience and knowledge acquisition among students.

Augmented Reality (AR) is now being used in education across various subjects. The number of AR applications has increased with the popularity of smartphones. In this study, we explore the use of AR-based apps for teaching astronomy in the last four years of secondary education in Spain. The study includes an experimental group and a control group to show the benefits of using AR in the classroom. We conducted a pretest-posttest design, with a knowledge questionnaire given before and after the teaching period. 130 students aged 12 to 16, from a secondary school in Spain were divided into four groups, each having a control and an experimental group. The experimental group showed significant improvement in academic performance through the use of AR. This research aligns with previous studies, confirming that the use of AR makes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning more engaging compared to traditional teaching methods.

This paper delves deeply into the creative pedagogies which support cutting edge digital STEAM practice across primary and secondary school settings. It contextualises the research within current STEAM agendas including transdisciplinarity, and STEAM and technology and goes on to offer insight from the novel context of ocean learning to develop and extend a theorisation of creative pedagogies as entwining both creative teaching and teaching for creativity as embodied, democratic, dialogic and material processes. Intra-action between theory, praxis, nature, culture, the digital and humans enables an emergent perspective about changing the dynamics of power to develop ocean or environmental learning and related activism. Derived from research into an ocean education project, which aimed to develop students' ocean literacy through the combined educative principles of creative pedagogies and digital technologies (Augmented and Virtual Realities), the research draws on data from six projects across primary and secondary school settings in Denmark, Spain and England. It used a "diffractive" analytic technique, inspired by new materialist theory, to explore the messy mixtures of natural, cultural and technological environments that were being learned through. This involved the development of four material-dialogic assemblages each including diffractive switches. Each is presented first through a "piece" which demonstrates each assemblage's connection to the core question, followed by "ripples," which briefly articulate the new learning and questions arising from that assemblage. The four assemblages cover the irresistibility of making kin, the relationships between lively bodies and virtual environments, the importance of spacetimematter in environmental edu-activism and trajectories between transience, stability and dialogic space. The paper leaves the reader/engager with a selection of prompts to highlight the research's contribution to current STEAM agendas related to changing power dynamics, and to provoke reader/engagers' own practices. These can include new pedagogies and activisms, as well as theoretical developments to the combined educative principles of creative pedagogies and digital technologies within STEAM education.

Non-governmental development organizations (NGDOs) are responsible for ensuring basic human rights for socially marginalised people. In situations of migration, people's opportunity to regularise their migratory status and to secure their fundamental rights to key public services is entirely dependent on communication with the local administration. To support these processes for those who are not fluent in the language(s) of the destination country, NGDO workers must learn how to provide effective interpreter-mediated communication services. In 2019-20, the "Linguistic mediation for development cooperation" (MELINCO) project brought together a multidisciplinary team to explore and respond to the communication needs of third sector organisations serving migrant populations. It included a self-study project involving the development and delivery of a training for NGDO staff, which was aimed at helping them select, prepare, and work with interpreters. The training was delivered online and was based on a needs assessment that involved data collection with NGDO representatives and interpreters. It received highly positive evaluations by participants in terms of course design, contents, and methodology, but our analysis also yielded directions for improvement in terms of extending opportunities for debate, design of practical applications, as well as facilitating participation in virtual learning environments.

Traditionally, civil engineering infrastructures have been represented through two-dimensional (2D) drawings, which can lead to interpretation errors and jeopardize engineers' understanding of complex projects. However, with the development of building information modeling (BIM) methodology, civil engineering projects can now be virtually modeled in three-dimensional (3D), offering a more accurate representation. Augmented reality (AR) tools can be linked to BIM models for educational purposes, allowing for a more immersive and interactive learning experience. While previous studies have focused on improving the visualization of mechanical and civil engineering drawings, this study presents the development of a low-cost AR tool for visualizing BIM models and its application in civil engineering courses. To achieve this, the main state-of-the-art AR software was compared for their characteristics and functionalities, and the software, Unity, was selected to develop an AR visualization tool. The application of this tool was then presented, along with an analysis of its benefits when introduced into two civil engineering courses at the University of Castilla La Mancha (UCLM) in Spain: Descriptive geometry, and Design work of a structure. Overall, the results of the study suggest that the integration of AR tools into civil engineering education can enhance students' learning experience and improve their understanding of complex projects.

This study focuses on the behavior of interactive agents and how to ground their implementation in psychology and cognitive modeling to capture fundamental psycho-pedagogical elements to deliver an effective competency-based training and assessment tool for teachers, trainers, and educators working in the school context. The study describes the design and implementation of a Serious Game, "Attain Cultural Integration through COnflict Resolution skill Development" (SG-ACCORD), to develop and assess soft skills that are pivotal in educational working contexts (i.e., negotiation, effective communication, intercultural conflict management). The SG-ACCORD has been developed by applying a tailored methodology, namely the Educational Technology-enhanced Role-Playing, addressing two main facets: psycho-pedagogical (theoretical frameworks) and technological (production of artificial worlds based on computer-simulated models). The game is a single-player virtual role-play offering a series of scenarios reflecting the real-life experiences of teachers in which the role of interactions and human factors is crucial. It focuses on the simulation of a dialogue between two characters (an avatar controlled by a human player and a BOT computer-controlled counterpart), enacting interethnic conflicts between teacher and students within realistic school context scenarios. The SG-ACCORD represents a free, easily manageable, and flexible educational tool that can be used as a stand-alone resource and envisages an automatic feedback and debriefing system.

Several studies have been published to date about the use of Augmented Reality (AR) as a breakthrough technology in education, but most of them focused on the impact of using prepackaged information on student motivation and engagement. This paper analyzes the affordances and limitations of AR in second language learning, emphasizing its potential as transformative rather than delivery technology in teacher training programs. The novelty of this research is that it examines the attitudes and creative skills of pre-service teachers to meaningfully integrate AR-based projects aimed at teaching English from a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning model. The sample size was 229 Education students from the University of Alicante (Spain), who created 47 vision-based and location-based projects through different authoring tools, and utilized them to teach English to children. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered through a pre-post-test, teaching experience videos and class debates. The research findings revealed that the teacher candidates lack practical training in AR content creation and implementation from a technological and pedagogical perspective, but their attitudes towards AR integration as transformative technology were very positive, particularly regarding student attention, collaboration and shared enjoyment. Spearman's Rho correlation coefficient also demonstrated a relationship between positive attitudes towards AR integration in EFL and the level of difficulty perceived by participants.

Gamification is a training model that encourages the inclusion of active methodologies into learning environments. The objective of this study is to analyze the effects of a gamified experience through virtual and face-to-face escape rooms as well as to determine the generated levels of fun, absorption, creative thinking, mastery, activation, absence of negative effects and student grades. A descriptive and correlational experimental design has been used. In total, 105 Spanish university students participated. The data was collected using a scale validated in the Spanish context called Gameful Experience in Gamification (GAMEX). The results reveal significant variability according to the training environment. In face-to-face environments, students' fun and activation were promoted, generating pleasant entertainment experiences. In virtual environments, influence, autonomy, creativity, and exploration by students increased. Similarly, these environments shared high levels of spatio-temporal absorption and an absence of negative effects. Regarding the ratings, no statistically significant results that confirm their effectiveness depending on the environment were determined, but good scores were obtained. It is concluded that the choice of the gamified environment will depend on the dimensions and the goals that the teacher intends to achieve during the learning process.

The purpose of this study was to examine the studies related to augmented reality applications in sports science and to discuss the results based on this. Articles selected for analysis were found through searches journals in the Web of Science database from 1975 to 2018 were examined and searched using the keywords ("physical education" or "physical activity" or "sport$") and ("augmented reality"). As a result of the search, 44 articles were reached, and 11 articles were excluded from the research because they were not related to augmented reality applications or sports science. The publication classification form consists of the titles "Years, Authors Number, Country, Journals, Age, Sample Size, Variables, Sample Method, Research Method, Data Collection Method and Data Analysis Method." There are a limited number of studies where sports and augmented reality technology are used and interacted together. With the spread of the use of augmented reality and similar technologies in the field of sports sciences, it is thought that such fields as health and education will be positively affected.

The advancement of emerging technologies in the classroom is a reality, however, the vision that teachers may have of them is essential in order for these to be incorporated. Using this as a foundation, this article's main objective is to know the vision that secondary education (SE) teachers have of the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in teaching at that educational level. Through a descriptive correlational quantitative study, an ex-post facto design, and an ad-hoc questionnaire of 39 items, (N=350 teachers), this objective has been corroborated. The main conclusion that has been reached is that SE teachers consider AR as an element that will cause a change in the student's learning methodology making it more autonomous and experiential. In addition, the teachers will need more training with AR, lower costs, and greater availability of resources to carry out the teaching process with greater ease.

Recently, immersive virtual reality (VR) environments for language learning have garnered interest from researchers and practitioners alike, based on their realistic imitations of environments where target languages might be used for "authentic-like" interactions (with other learners, bots and avatars). However, the majority of research thus far has focused on university-level students' perceptions of VR and there is a critical need for research examining how these environments can be used effectively with kindergarten to grade 12 students. This article discusses a pilot study that aims to fill this gap in research through a three-month-long VR study conducted with 10- to 11-year-old students in Spain (n = 24) studying English as a foreign language (EFL). VR lessons were taught using the VR language learning platform Immerse and Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets. The data corpora consist of recordings of the VR activities, comparable non-VR classroom activities and teacher-directed student output (pre-VR and post-VR activities focused on the target language). Fragments of interactions during activities in both VR and the classroom were selected and transcribed. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment Companion Volume (CEFR-CV) illustrative descriptors were then used to map the participants' language performance to the CEFR-CV scales. Findings indicate that production of the target language is less controlled and less accurate in VR compared to face-to-face "traditional" oral activities in the classroom. However, there are more examples of spontaneous language use, more examples of mediation between the learners and even moments of higher than expected levels of production and comprehension, equivalent to English language level B1 descriptors in VR.

This review paper presents a systematic literature review on the use of Augmented Reality (AR) in engineering education, and specifically in student's spatial ability training, for the last decade. Researchers have explored the benefits of AR, and its application has been of increasing interest in all levels of education. Engineering students tend to have difficulties in acquiring visualization skills, and hence, AR is gaining momentum in enhancing students' learning achievements. This paper aims to present valuable information to researchers, tutors and software developers of learning technology systems concerning the advantages and limitations of AR in spatial ability training, the incorporation of adaptivity and personalization in AR applications as well as the aspects of spatial ability having been evaluated using AR and the prevalent evaluation methods for AR applications. To this direction, a total of thirty-two (32) studies were reviewed, having been published since 2010. The findings reveal an increase in the number of studies during the last three years. One major conclusion is the improvement of learners' spatial ability using AR in educational settings, and the noted challenge is the need for more learning content. One research gap that has been identified is the lack of personalization in the developed applications, offering space for future research. Concluding, this area is under-researched, and thus, there is scope for a lot of improvement.

Mobile learning is a resource that can enhance the teaching-learning process of students and improve the training of future teachers. Specifically, augmented reality (AR) technology allows for immersive and experiential learning without the need to leave the classroom. The purposes of this paper were to apply AR technology in the training of future Primary Education teachers and to analyze the perceived usefulness of AR in the classroom by future teachers. A quantitative approach was used based on a design with a control group and two experimental groups with a post-test using a sample of 171 second-year students studying an education degree. The results showed that experimentation with AR promoted a slight increase in student motivation. However, no significant differences were found between the control group and the experimental groups. Finally, the findings allowed us to establish that the implementation of resources such as AR does not differ in the opinion of future teachers about the inclination to implement AR in the classroom.

"Social Europe Days" is a collaborative four-day international seminar held yearly near Brussels, Belgium, by a network of ten European universities from eight different countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seminar had to be offered virtually and redesigned. The final design included synchronous and asynchronous activities, informal and formal interactions, and a focus on empathy for the existential problems faced by participating students and faculty during the pandemic. This article describes the design challenges, the design choices and decisions that led to the virtual seminar design, and reflections based on lead faculty notes, member checking, and student evaluations.

This study investigated the role of virtual reality (VR) in computer science (CS) education over the last 10 years by conducting a bibliometric and content analysis of articles related to the use of VR in CS education. A total of 971 articles published in peer-reviewed journals and conferences were collected from Web of Science and Scopus databases to conduct the bibliometric analysis. Furthermore, content analysis was conducted on 39 articles that met the inclusion criteria. This study demonstrates that VR research for CS education was faring well around 2011 but witnessed low production output between the years 2013 and 2016. However, scholars have increased their contribution in this field recently, starting from the year 2017. This study also revealed prolific scholars contributing to the field. It provides insightful information regarding research hotspots in VR that have emerged recently, which can be further explored to enhance CS education. In addition, the quantitative method remains the most preferred research method, while the questionnaire was the most used data collection technique. Moreover, descriptive analysis was primarily used in studies on VR in CS education. The study concludes that even though scholars are leveraging VR to advance CS education, more effort needs to be made by stakeholders across countries and institutions. In addition, a more rigorous methodological approach needs to be employed in future studies to provide more evidence-based research output. Our future study would investigate the pedagogy, content, and context of studies on VR in CS education.

In recent times, there has been growing disinterest by students in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). This trend is especially acute in those students who do not take STEM content during their secondary or high school education. This disinterest might be conditioned by negative emotions towards science developed by students during the different educational stages, even from an early age. In this sense, active teaching methodologies, such as gamification, play a fundamental role in fostering positive emotions towards learning STEM content. Within the wide range of gamification methodologies, we find educational Escape Rooms. Due to the current situation generated by COVID-19, many of the lessons have had to be adapted to a virtual format through various online platforms. In this study, in a preliminary manner, we aim to analyze the effects on the affective domain produced by a virtual Escape Room used in a STEM course as an instructional tool to teach contents about the Universe to teachers in training. According to the results obtained, the positive emotions of "happiness", "satisfaction" and "fun" are significantly increased after the intervention. At the same time, some negative emotions, such as "nervousness", "frustration" and "worry" also increase, partly due to the components typically found in this type of games. Based on these results, it is concluded that, despite the existence of both positive and negative emotions, the results are promising and the intervention is motivating and stimulating for the students.

As a consequence of the scarcity of studies of augmented reality (AR) in Spain, this study developed a questionnaire to evaluate teachers' perceptions on the use of AR for heritage teaching (n = 347 teachers: n = 131 in-service/n = 216 in-training). The objectives were to: (1) identify teachers' existing knowledge about AR; (2) evaluate educational strategies teachers value most in AR apps for teaching; (3) evaluate necessary AR functions; (4) determine desired technical and functional characteristics; and (5) compare any significant differences between the two groups. The results provide a contribution to the increasing implementation of AR apps in heritage education, which promotes the understanding, enjoyment, experience and knowledge of heritage. Heritage education is increasingly present in Spanish classrooms due to awareness of the country's rich heritage, and AR is a good tool for understanding and linking society with its heritage. From the results, it is clear that, despite their desire for implementation, there is a lack of teacher training in applying AR; both subsamples pointed out the importance of humanising the explanations in AR apps with experts or actors who mediate heritage and value the ease of use of these apps, multifunctionality, low battery consumption, and use in the background. Significant differences suggest potentially greater educational commitment among active teachers who seek deep and meaningful learning, above the superficiality and enjoyment reported by teachers in training and, on the contrary, the value placed on technical and visual aspects, related to the high use of mobile devices.

Purpose: The beliefs about this subject of N = 223 secondary education teachers were collected through an ex post facto research method using a descriptive and correlational design and a 27-item questionnaire. Design/methodology/approach: The arrival of online learning, in this case m-learning, to secondary education, has made educators in this stage incorporate digital resources, such as Smartphones or mixed reality (MR), to their classroom methodologies. The present study describes the results obtained in the project design, implementation and evaluation of MR materials in learning environments (PID2019-108933GB-I00). The starting general objective is to determine the perception of Compulsory Education teachers-in-training from the areas of Experimental Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, and Health Sciences, on the use of MR as a teaching tool under the m-learning modality. Findings: The main conclusion obtained was that neither sex nor age had an influence on the use of MR in the classroom, and its use was determined by elements associated with the classroom methodology, such as collaborative work and attention to diversity, which took place in the education center. Research limitations/implications The main obstacle found when conducting the research was being able to access the general population of teachers-in-training in the aforementioned Master's program. Originality/value: The value of the article lies in publicizing the knowledge that secondary school teachers have of MR and giving clues to create training actions that encourage its incorporation into the classroom methodology.

This study examines how English-as-lingua-franca (ELF) learners employ semiotic resources, including head movements, gestures, facial expression, body posture, and spatial juxtaposition, to negotiate for meaning in an immersive virtual reality (VR) environment. Ten ELF learners participated in a TaiwanSpain VR virtual exchange project and completed two VR tasks on an immersive VR platform. Multiple datasets, including the recordings of VR sessions, pre- and post-task questionnaires, observation notes, and stimulated recall interviews, were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively with triangulation. Built upon multimodal interaction analysis (Norris, 2004) and Varonis and Gass' (1985a) negotiation of meaning model, the findings indicate that ELF learners utilized different embodied semiotic resources in constructing and negotiating meaning at all primes to achieve effective communication in an immersive VR space. The avatar-mediated representations and semiotic modalities were shown to facilitate indication, comprehension, and explanation to signal and resolve non-understanding instances. The findings show that with space proxemics and object handling as the two distinct features of VR-supported environments, VR platforms transform learners' social interaction from plane to three-dimensional communication, and from verbal to embodied, which promotes embodied learning. VR thus serves as a powerful immersive interactive environment for ELF learners from distant locations to be engaged in situated languacultural practices that goes beyond physical space. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of embedding the computer-based 'Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Simulation Series' within teacher education curricula in higher education institutions in the US and in Spain. A quantitative survey design was used to explore student teachers' perceptions of the simulation experience. The sample consisted of 95 undergraduate education students from Chicago State University (US) and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Spain). Participants attended a session where they played a 21-34-minute simulation, and afterwards completed an online questionnaire. As a result of the study, it was found that the simulation helps students learn strategies to promote family engagement and deepen their knowledge to promote positive, goal-oriented relationships with families. Based on the results, it can be asserted that the simulation also supports student teachers' in-depth learning when practicing active listening skills and relationship-building strategies.

Development and evaluation of a teaching-learning activity in 4th year Forensic Physics course of Degree in Criminology was based on different combinations of a virtual laboratory and a research laboratory as teaching spaces. Students explored in detail the components and functioning of an electron microscope using both an online suite of education tools and an advanced scanning electron microscope (SEM). The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of all combinations of both activities on students' learning process, and to examine the effect on their interest towards the subject. A blend of research and virtual laboratories have a higher significant impact on students' achievements rather than each one separately, but the same is not true for student interest in scientific careers. These results confirm that the use of a research laboratory combined with a virtual one can have substantial benefits in improvement students' knowledge about abstract and complex concepts.

Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging technology with an increasing number of studies assessing its benefits in educational settings. However, there is a shortage of empirical studies aimed at evaluating the acceptance of this technology in primary education. The authors propose an extended version of the Technological Acceptance Model to examine students' intention to use immersive VR. To this end, 111 fourth-graders completed a history teaching unit using immersive VR. Structural equation modelling was employed to assess causal relationships between six variables: prior knowledge, perceived attention, perceived utility, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment and attitude towards the use of immersive VR. The results indicate that students' prior knowledge was not significant in explaining their intention to use immersive VR. However, perceived attention had a significant effect on this variable mediated through perceived utility. These results have important implications regarding the design and use of VR tools for educational purposes.

These past few years society has experienced a worldwide pandemic that has affected every aspect of our lives. COVID-19 has forced institutions to integrate remote learning tools and techniques, even when most lack of resources to implement online methodologies. Education has been one of the areas greatly affected by these measures, making it compulsory to invest in new educational technologies to survive and succeed in a new normality scenario. The use of Virtual Reality has emerged as a great alternative thanks to the immersive aspects and practical experiences, but the question remains the same: What is the advantage of using virtual reality in the new normality we live in today? In this paper, a case study is presented to analyze the use of VR technologies to learn healthcare techniques recreating a preclinical VR scene that mimics a real life scenario for practices. This tool was used by students of the nursing degree at the University of Oviedo, who were able to take home the VR sets and carry out the practical assignments with the non-presence of an instructor. Several indicators are assessed and analysed using data gathered from the app, such as satisfaction, usability and learning factors, specifically designed for this study. With all results provided, this study shows that VR is a valid approach for online distance learning which does not have a negative effect in the acquisition of knowledge by the students, although an initial training on VR usage might be useful to consider in future research.

The use of mobile devices in classrooms is becoming more and more common. The introduction of these resources to produce learning is part of the mobile learning methodology. Among the possibilities of these devices provide we can find, as an emerging technology, augmented reality, which combines elements of the real world with virtual images. The purpose of this paper is to know the impact of the augmented reality in the educational cooperatives of Andalusia. In this regard, educational cooperatives are centers characterized in their origin by promoting the development of methodologies based on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The data collection instrument used in this questionnaire is a quantitative methodology of a descriptive nature. The questionnaire was prepared ad hoc according to the existing literature and the answers coded on a Likert scale. The results show that only a minority of teachers implement the augmented reality in their classes. In addition, there are statistically significant differences in terms of professional experience, so that younger teachers tend to implement methodologies based on the use of emerging mobile technologies such as augmented reality. Finally, it is emphasized that despite the constant technological advance of mobile devices in society, their application in the classroom occurs slowly.

One of the emerging technologies that have sparked greater interest in pedagogical contexts is augmented reality. This paper aims to assess the impact, practices and attitudes that are generated from augmented reality in the initial training of future teachers, and the presence of these practices in a university training context. The study was carried out with 87 trainee primary teachers. Information was obtained by applying the Wilcoxon test. The qualitative data obtained in open questions were also triangulated. It is emphasized that students do not habitually use this resource at the university, and that with these practices there is sometimes a certain amount of distraction, and even of time being wasted. From the data analyzed, we also highlight that once the availability of resources, class planning and initial teacher training are overcome, augmented reality provides benefits and advantages centered on pedagogies that allow for greater enthusiasm on the part of the students, with significant advantages in creativity, innovation, participation, and especially in the motivation of participants. Coinciding with recent research, our results underline the need for initial training so as to be able to design and apply practices with augmented reality in teaching, and to take advantage of the aforementioned benefits.

Nowadays, Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the emerging technologies with a greater impact in the Education field. Research has proved that AR-based activities improve the teaching and learning processes. Also, the use of this type of technology in classroom facilitates the understanding of contents from different areas as Arts, Mathematics or Science. In this work we propose an AR-based instruction in order to explore the benefits in a 6th-grade Primary course related to 3D-geometry shapes. This first experiment, designed from an exploratory approach, will shed light on new study variables to perform new implementations whose conclusions become more consistent. The results obtained allow us to envisage that AR-based proposals slightly improve the classical didactic methods.

Technological advances have posed a challenge in university learning ecosystems in terms of the application of immersive technologies that offer an educational and innovative framework to the student. The evolution of global research on this topic during the period 1980 to 2019 was studied. For this purpose, a bibliometric analysis of 1296 articles was applied, obtaining results of the scientific productivity of the journals, authors, institutions, and countries that contribute to this research. The evidence shows a growing interest, especially in the last three years, in the study of the application of virtual reality in higher education. The main subject area is Social Science. The most productive research institution is the Complutense University of Madrid. The United States is the country with the most publications and citations. In addition, The United States, Spain and the United Kingdom are the countries with the most international collaborations in their publications. The study detected five new directions for future research. The growing worldwide trend of scientific production demonstrates the interest in developing aspects of the use of virtual reality in arts education in the context of higher education. This study contributes to the academic, scientific and institutional discussion around the improvement of decision making based on the available information.

This empirical study presents university students' perceptions of professional competences through the use of such technologies as Augmented Reality (AR). The possibilities offered by this technology allow designing educational environments with different contexts that involve nontraditional practices. An online questionnaire was used to gather the data about their opinions of the use of the AR and the factors supporting the development of good professional practices. The sample consisted of 1920 students from the departments of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education and Pedagogy in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 academic years. To analyse the data, the statistical software SPSS 23.0TM was used. Descriptive, inferential and multilevel analyses were conducted. Three researchers analyzed and categorized the students' comments, suggestions, opinions and critics before and after the teaching intervention with the AR. Then, Cohen's kappa of 0,70 coefficient was used to calculate interrater reliability value. The results indicate that we must improve our learning design by incorporating simplicity and flexibility to it. On the other hand, we have managed to activate the professional skills of our students. We propose improvements in relation to the activity that should be intuitive, comfortable and easy. We add that personalized work is a very relevant aspect.

Online and virtual teaching-learning has been a panacea that most educational institutions adopted from the dire need created by COVID-19. We provide a comprehensive bibliometric study of 9523 publications on virtual laboratories in higher education covering the years 1991 to 2021. Influential bibliometrics such as publications and citations, productive countries, contributing institutions, funders, journals, authors, and bibliographic couplings were studied using the Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol. A new metric to complement citations called Field Weighted Citation Impact was introduced that considers the differences in research behavior across disciplines. Findings show that 72% of the research work was published between 2011-and 2021, most likely due to digitalization, with the highest number of publications in 2020-2021 highlighting the impact of the pandemic. Top contributing institutions were from the developed economies of Spain, Germany, and the United States. The citation impact from publications with international co-authors is the highest, highlighting the importance of co-authoring papers with different countries. For the first time, Altmetrics in the context of virtual labs were studied though a very low correlation was observed between citations and Altmetrics Attention Score. Still, the overall percentage of publications with attention showed linear growth. Our work also highlights that virtual laboratory could play a significant role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG4-Quality Education, which largely remains under-addressed.

This paper presents data from two international projects focused on the interaction between changemaking and digital making in university students. The data is drawn from the contributions of 63 university students located in the United States, Romania, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and England. Using a design thinking methodology and a thematic analysis of student responses, the aim was to understand how the creative use of immersive technologies, such as augmented and virtual reality, might create an environment for changemaking practices in an international context. Findings suggest that students demonstrated not only enhanced digital skills and student engagement but increased cultural competence and global mindfulness. International digital collaboration can create conditions for students to develop changemaker attributes and identify as changemakers within the spheres of entrepreneurship and education, preparing them to be a force for change in the world.

This study presents the main advances made in recent years by an innovative teaching group at the University of Almeria, who are attempting to incorporate alternative spaces for teaching--learning interaction. This group is developing a new line of study to obtain the main vectors for creating an accessible 3D virtual campus on the Second Life platform, recognized as a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). The goal of this work was to measure the satisfaction and perception of a group of university students. To do this, a co-design approach based on student opinions by relating methodological procedures with an adaptation of the Kano model usually used for product design has been followed. The results found by a panel of postgraduate students in the second stage of the educational project, suggest that the synchronous distance teaching proposal developed can effectively facilitate conciliation of family, work and personal life with online teaching--learning. In the case of undergraduate students with class attendance, the use of the 3D virtual campus is perceived as something more complementary.

Augmented reality (AR) immersion enables virtual objects and real environments to coexist and encourage experimentation with phenomena that are not possible in the real world. Augmented reality is generating new opportunities for the development of ubiquity within educational environments. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact that the integration of ubiquitous game approaches with augmented reality has on learning. A quasi-experimental study was carried out with 91 sixth-grade primary school students; the learning scenario was designed and the augmented reality application "WallaMe" was selected for use in five sessions of a didactic unit in Art Education. Through pretest and postest procedures, academic performance and information search skills were evaluated, and, a Likert scale analyzed the motivation and collaboration variables among the students. The results showed that the experimental group obtained statistically significant improvements in the academic performance of the subject, motivation, in the search for, and analysis of, information, level of fun and collaboration. The conclusion is that the dynamic activities managed in the intervention, which made use of augmented reality and localization, benefit teaching-learning processes, and encourage innovation and improvement through educational technology.

"Augmented reality" (AR) is presented as technology that harmonizes, in real time and with user collaboration, digital information with physical information through different technological supports. Such are AR possibilities, that when it is incorporated into teaching, students show high satisfaction rates and positive attitudes for its use, but at the same time, a series of limitations and obstacles can be noticed. As an attempt to investigate the technical, curricular and organizational difficulties of AR incorporation in training contexts, an instrument "AR obstacle questionnaire" (CORA) was designed, which in turn was administered to a total of 264 subject experts for validation through the Delphi method, subsequently applying the "K coefficient" (K = ½ Kc (knowledge coefficient) + Ka (argumentation coefficient)), selecting those experts who obtained a = 0,8 score in the coefficient. Among the results obtained in the study we manage to point out the main obstacles involving AR implementation into university education: the lack of teacher training and improvement, the few educational experiences found, lack of conceptual foundation, limited educational research and lack of institutional support.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of 8 weeks of Pokémon GO on physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness [CRF], Speed/Agility [S/A], and muscular strength [MS]) and fatness (body mass index [BMI], percentage of body fat [%BF], and waist-hip index), as well as possible differences between weekly physical activity (PA) levels, in Spanish adolescents between 12 and 15 years of age. Design, setting and method: Comparative design, with a control group (n = 86) that did not participate in Pokémon GO, and an intervention group (n = 78) which did so over an 8-week period. Age, sex, number of home computers, and maternal educational level were controlled for as possible confounding variables. Results: Results show that players walked a total of 52 km in 8 weeks. Moreover, they played the game for a mean of 40 min/day. Pokémon GO players showed improvements in CRF and BMI (p < 0.05). Inactive young people showed a 22.2% increase in CRF and an 11.3% decrease in their %BF compared to non-players. Despite these results, less than half of the participants considered that Pokémon GO had improved their overall fitness and felt more encouraged to engage in PA. Conclusion: Pokémon GO increased PA and CRF levels and decreased BMI and %BF after 8 weeks of practice independently of age, sex, number of computers at home, and maternal education. The Pokémon GO app could be used in school and family contexts to increase the daily amount of MVPA, improve CRF, and to take advantage of the effects of loss of body fat.

Augmented reality is a great value resource in the area of education, as it allows the students to become immersed in a hybrid context between the real world and the digital one, bringing realities closer to the classroom which would otherwise be impossible to reach, improving the student's motivation and also facilitating the construction of significant learning within themselves. Also, its inclusion within the classroom does not imply great costs, as the necessary hardware requirements for its implementation are limited to the availability of a Smartphone or digital tablet and an internet connection, making it the ideal technology that can be integrated into any educational stage. In the present work, we present the evaluation of augmented reality as a didactic resource within Primary Education, by future teachers. The research is addressed from a quantitative methodology, through the use of a questionnaire, created ad hoc and composed by 32 items that refer to specific educational aspects such as inclusion, special education needs, the teaching-learning processes, etc. An incidental sample of 208 students was utilized, who were enrolled in the Primary Education Degree at the Faculty of Education of the University of Cordoba. The conclusions indicate that the future teachers, in their initial training, consider augmented reality as a tool that could be valuable and relevant for the development of the curricula, as well as inclusive education.

Virtual Reality is an emerging educational technology due to its potential immersive, interactive and imaginative characteristics supporting pupils in the learning process towards meaningful learning. Furthermore, the current teaching of history is generally too traditional, making the subject being perceived as pointless and boring by students. These aspects lead to poor academic performance. In this context, this study focuses on analysing the eventual benefits of Virtual Reality in the teaching of history at Primary Education and compares its results with those of traditional teaching resources in two dimensions, academic performance and the motivation of students. Thus, an intervention was performed with 98 fourth graders divided into two groups, control and experimental. For the collection of the data referring to motivation, an adaptation of the Instructional Material Survey instrument from Keller [(2010). "Motivational design for learning and performance: The ARCS model approach." New York, NY: Springer] was used while, in relation to the evaluation of the academic performance, a specific test was designed taking as reference the tests of the coursebooks for the unit of work "The Roman Civilization" of the subject Social Sciences. The results show statistically significant differences in favour of those students who used Virtual Reality, both in motivation and in academic performance.

Examples of applications of equilibrium-based methods for multicomponent separations usually require the use of simulation packages, which do not allow students to follow the involved algorithms step by step. Excel spreadsheets with examples of six such rigorous methods have been used with MSc students of Chemical Engineering of the University of Alicante (Spain), showing a significant enhancement of their ability to apply these methods.

This study investigated the effects of the use of Augmented Reality (AR) on the academic performance of students, as well as perceptions that were following the use of this new technology resource. The participants were students of primary education in Spain, which were assigned to an experimental group and a control group. Contents related to the topic Representation Earth were created, and were held with the collaboration of teachers using tablets to display bookmarks. To analyze the results collection tools of quantitative and qualitative data are used, a pre-test and post-test on the subject explained. I was done and Likert questionnaire on aspects of the use of the AR was given and an in depth interview was done teachers. Used tools of collection of data quantitative and qualitative to the deal are of a design quasi-experimental. In order to analyze the data, the statistical software SPSS 23 was used. The use of the AR as a teaching tool sheds results that reveal that the performance and the acquisition of knowledge of students improves significantly, being reflected in the ratings that were higher. The process of teaching and learning is perceived as positive, incentive and facilitator in the acquisition of knowledge.