Education has always been one of the most promising use cases for XR technology. While more traditional learning approaches still have its zealots, advanced technology has been gaining traction in the education space.
No matter how people felt about it this time last year, the coronavirus pandemic has more and more people looking hopefully toward advanced technology in education. That makes June just about the perfect time for a conference on XR technology in education.
Just such a conference is being presented on June 21-25 by the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) and Educators in VR. The conference will be taking place in WebXR via FrameVR.io and in desktop VR via Altspace.
About the XR Conference
The ambitious five-day conference has sessions non-stop from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. PST, with a networking hour beginning and ending each day.
If that sounds too hectic, a drafted schedule, shared with ARPost but not yet made public, indicates social networking sessions scattered throughout the day, as well as more social events like game sessions. The conference will also feature workshops, panels, and keynotes.
Featured events of the conference include the launch of the inaugural State of XR and Immersive Learning Outlook Report. There will also be a curated VR art exhibition, and an awards banquet and masquerade ball.
While we don’t yet know much about the presenters and speakers, over 8,000 attendees are expected to attend the conference over the five days.
Highlights
While the whole conference is something to look forward to, there are a couple of events that have our attention in particular.
First, AREA Executive Director Mark Sage will moderate a panel discussion. The panel will discuss the importance of research in deploying XR technology solutions.
Next, XR technology and social enterprise leader Hla Hla Win will give a talk on her work to use AR to facilitate learning in rural communities.
About the Sponsors
The Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN) is an international organization dedicated to developing and promoting XR technology in education.
“We’ve been pushing the envelope to incorporate XR capacity at our conference and across our network,” iLRN President and CEO Jonathon Richter said in a release. “Our audiences in computer science, educational technology, game studies, and the learning sciences are generally accustomed to everyday working with emerging technology for practical purposes.”
iLRN is also partnering with Educators in VR, an open network of educators and innovators working together to expand the use of XR technology in education. The organization held its own conference earlier this year that attracted over 6,000 attendees.
“We are incredibly excited not only to be working with iLRN on their first fully-virtual conference, but also about our partnership with them going forward,” Educators in VR co-founder Daniel Dyboski-Bryant said in the release. “We are ideal counterparts and joining forces like this really amplifies our individual and collective efforts.”
The conference is also technologically co-sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. A number of the XR technology presentations that will be showcased for the first time at the conference will later be submitted to publication in IEEE’s prestigious journals.
Finally, the XR Association recently signed on as a sponsor. The organization is dedicated to promoting responsible development and adoption of XR technology.
See you in VR
As the conference doesn’t kick off until late next month, there’s still plenty of time to register as an attendee or a presenter. ARPost will be there, so we’ll see you in Altspace!
