Introduction

With recent developments in sensory technology, it is easy to envisage a near future where education will adopt mixed reality solutions, overlaying the learning environment with digital augmentation and multisensory interfaces. This combined with the possibilities of creating interfaces for interaction with familiar objects in the Internet of Things, where having a conventional screen as a graphical user interface has become redundant.

‘Often, the interface is seen as a connector, as a seamless rendering of interoperability, and as a way by which the web becomes accessible to us’ (Ashton, 2009).

Ashton, K; That ‘Internet of Things’ Thing http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?4986

What seemed impossible can become a reality. Imagine if a fire broke out around you, and the extinguisher, positioned in your environment senses it is an electrical fire, alerts you, speaking instructions to guide the user on how to put out the fire and at the same time alerts the fire station. The possibilities are endless.

The purpose of this Open Educational Resource

No one can predict what may happen, we can only hope that the digital future will bring us a new level of interactivity in educational technology. This OER is designed to form a starting point to think about a future with enhanced interfaces building on existing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR). In doing so some of the implications of more realistic visualisation of interfaces such as those with multisensory features such as touch, taste and smell as well as sound and vision should be considered.

However you may like to ask yourself the following questions:

Can there be too much reality in a simulated digital environment?

And are there unintended consequences of creating mixed reality learning environments that immerses the participant in a sensory world?

Feel free to write down your thoughts before you formally start the course.
Your views may have change by the end of the course!