Assessment of Learners’ Needs Regarding Learning Videos and Immersive Learning Environments

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Background Learning videos are widely used in higher education and design principles are established. Immersive learning environments (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality) are so far barely used for educational purposes, resulting in a lack of recommendations for their design. Therefore, when designing immersive learning environments, potential users should be involved from the beginning. Objective The objective of this paper was to explore learners’ needs and perspectives regarding learning videos and immersive learning environments, to examine their fit with established design principles, and to derive new design recommendations. Furthermore, we aimed to identify suitable application fields from learners’ perspectives. Methods In total, 14 current and former students participated in two online focus groups. They were asked about their usage habits for learning videos, their experience with immersive learning environments, and potential fields of useful implementation for immersive learning in their studies. Thematic analysis was used to identify relevant themes. Results Results confirm established principles (e.g. coherence, minimalism, pacing, guided activity); however, additional design recommendations were found (brevity, focus, merry, accessibility). Learning videos are mostly used for demanding and dry subjects, when a different approach is needed, or to catch up on lacking previous knowledge. Empathy, three-dimensional space, and tangibility were identified as suitable applications for immersive technologies. Conclusion Experience with immersive learning technologies is scarce among students, nonetheless they have ideas about how the design of immersive learning environments could contribute to their learning activities. The recommendations presented should be implemented and their effect on learning outcomes should be empirically tested.