Immersive Education Lab (iEL)

The Immersive Education Lab (iEL) carries out research into the use of virtual and mixed-reality systems for teaching and learning. Immersive Education is moving beyond just the use of virtual worlds to become more embedded into the physical world around us. The lab has a particular focus on the interface between real and virtual worlds and the emergence of inter-reality applications where virtual reality systems are coupled with real-world objects. A key concept for the lab is the notion of Immersivity, which spans the multiple dimensions of technology, pedagogy and cognition. This is becoming particularly important with the use of augmented and mixed reality technologies, where the technology is also often the context for learning.

The iClassroom follows on from the iSpace and is the second purpose build Intelligent Environment in the University of Essex. Built with the aim to aid research into supplementing education with intelligent environments. The iClassroom is the main research testbed used by the iEL. This is a flexible intelligent environment that can be deployed to support a range of teaching and learning scenarios. This includes distance and remote education, formalised lectures and tutorials, and also more collaborative problem-solving learning activities. The iClassroom (which is a sister to the iSpace used by the wider iEG) provides a smart environment in which learning can take place. It includes a pervasive computing technology infrastructure coupled with state of the art learning equipment and resources.