The Future of Higher Education: Implementation of Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Educational Process

Abstract

The introduction of VR and AR into the higher education is a particularly interesting phenomenon for the education of the future. Thus, the aim of the study was to determine the impact of using VR and AR as a possible strategy to enhance teaching in higher education institutions and as a replacement for outdated teaching methods. Virtual and augmented realities are tools that enable dynamic training in a virtual environment by facilitating the management of its components. Virtual immersion in the process of the information comprehension allows students exploring complex environments and situations by manipulating the elements that make up the environment. The purpose of this study is to analyse the introduction of VR and AR in the learning process as a favourable area of the development of higher education. The analysis of the relevance and effectiveness of virtual artefacts in higher education was obtained using the following methods: a literature review was used in the research to systematically gather, analyse, and synthesize existing published literature on the topic. The next stage was the observation, data analysis and interpretation. The results of the work were obtained through a double analysis. First, the state of the art of the related literature was investigated, and second, the impact on students was assessed, offering an innovative alternative to traditional teaching methods at the pedagogical faculties where the observation was conducted. Search engines revealed 2300 articles on the use of VR and AR in higher education. As a result of the selection and verification process, only 50 state-of-the-art sources from 2018-2023 were selected (taking into account the scientific novelty of the topic). An observation of students obtained data to evaluate the implementation of resources in higher education by key elements: motivation, design, and collaboration. The question of whether the use of educational artefacts in VR and AR is applicable in the perspective of higher education and the values that should guide their strategy is revealed. Conclusions present the scientific and students’ opinion in terms of the implementation of VR and AR in higher education. This research questions are revealed, the advantages and disadvantages, concepts and paradigms in this area are identified. The position on the significance of VR and AR as a pedagogical instrument is presented.