The Influence of Extended Reality on Climate Change Education

Climate change is a nuanced global issue with a scope that is often difficult to fully appreciate. This study examined an undergraduate course focused on the impacts and responses to climate change on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, USA. The course utilized a socioscientific issues (SSI) approach to examine global climate change in a local context that allowed for a deeper understanding of the inequitable impacts on humans and the environment. As part of the class, students were immersed in a 6-day field experience in the Outer Banks to investigate the challenges facing the barrier islands where they visited five sites and used augmented reality (AR) to learn about the impact of climate change at those respected locations. After each experience, the course instructors debriefed with the students to help make sense of the experiences and promote deeper understanding of the issue. Four weeks later, the class immersed in virtual reality (VR) to revisit the same five sites using the same information provided in the AR. Using a constant comparative and inductive analyzes using keywords in context, results suggest both AR and VR enhanced learning experiences. Findings indicated that the students generally felt that the VR experience was a suitable alternative, with the caveat that it cannot replace being immersed in the location, that both technologies increased their engagement, and increased their learning. Conversely, some students reported that the technology impeded their learning.