The national and final conferences of the project Creating new teaching modules in the field of Augmented and Virtual Reality (Think XR) took place in Ljubljana, bringing together top experts in the field of XR technologies. The event, attended by 200 people, was dedicated to discussing the impact of virtual and mixed reality on contemporary educational practices.
The participants were first addressed by Mag. Jasmina Mihelak Zupančič, Principal of the School Centre Slovenske Konjice – Zreče, in her capacity as a representative of the project promoter. She summarised the results of the project, which exceeded expectations. She highlighted the XR partnership established within the project, which brought together education and industry, and stressed that the activities during the project enabled more interactive learning, visualisation and practice, which was previously unfeasible. All of this requires new skills, and training of education staff is key. New professions are knocking at the door, so it is important to think here and now about strategic measures and new paradigms for education.
The event was also addressed by Urban Kodrič from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation and Aleksandar Sladojević from the Slovenian Centre for Vocational Education. They highlighted the importance of using new technologies and digital education.
Aleš Pevc from the Ljubljana Technology Park presented the results of the Think XR project, stressing the need to integrate XR technologies into school curricula.
Erik Kapfer from Pattern.City stressed the importance of supporting teachers in the use of technology and encouraging continuous learning.
Michael Barngrover from XR4Europe highlighted the potential for the deployment and use of XR technologies in industry and education and praised the XR community in Slovenia and invited to join the European XR network.
The Multimedia Laboratory at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering actively participated in the event. Klemen Pečnik moderated a panel on “What strategy should Slovenia adopt in introducing new technologies in education/educational programmes?”. Jože Guna was a panellist on Introducing new XR software modules and curricula in educational institutions – challenges and opportunities. We also took care of filming and photography at the event and provided technical support for the event itself.
The following themes were highlighted at the event.
- Presentation of the action plan and strategy for the introduction of the new XR programme modules/curriculum in educational institutions
- Presentation of the cooperation agreement on the strategic XR and WEB4.0 partnership
- Discussion on the impact of XR technologies on the education system and the needs of the economy
- Strengthening efforts to develop digital competences and link the education system with the economy
We would also like to highlight the results of the Think XR project, which has successfully organised a series of expert consultations and thematic workshops, attracting hundreds of participants from different sectors, from education to industry.
The results of peer learning, training, piloting and transfer of good practice:
- Multidisciplinary working group established: 28 members
- Study visit to Norway: 20 participants from Slovenia and 14 from Norway
- Implementation of a training programme for teachers and trainers (XR Academy – 100 hours): 4 modules, 100 hours, 16 trained trainers
- e-Handbook for the XR Academy developed: e-material for participants prepared for 5 modules
- XR Academy delivery – 40 hours, 2 locations, 16 students and staff and 28 pupils