Mirage XR app doubles down on open source blueprint
Improvements have been made in making the Mirage XR app ready for Moodle plugin certification, alongside the launch of an introductory course designed to provide training for how to use MirageXR, the leading application for Augmented Reality learning.
The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology (IET) launched the Mirage XR app with partners in 2021, responding to the need of educators, trainers and mixed reality developers to create AR-enabled curriculum and deliver training using augmented reality (AR).
Since 2014, beta testing of the Mirage XR app has taken place in various test cases, supporting educators and developers to build custom holographic training courses. This has allows for organisations and businesses to improve workplace process, advance data analysis techniques to assess performance and deliver training with immersive experiences.
Following its initial use, improvements have been made to user experience with new animations, a greater collection of augmentations and progress towards the app being able to work independently with a generic Moodle installed with the ARETE plugin.
“The biggest change in this update was the stuff under the hood. We have been making Mirage work faster, with improved functionality”, says Robert Hillman, Educational Technology Designer developing Mirage XR at The Open University.
Moodle is the repository of the experience that people have when using Mirage XR. Educational technologists at The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology are working with the app to make Moodle available as an open source project.
Discussing the significance of this in the context of the ARETE project, Pasquale Iero, Educational Technology Developer at The Open University shared, “Our plugin is intended to be approved by Moodle alongside the other Moodle plugins, and we are aiming to make our plugin meet the specification needs.”
“Following some tests and improvements, we will continue to make these improvements with the aim for Moodle approval to be achieved later this year [in 2022].”
On the significance of making our plugin available as an open source project, Pasquale shared:
“If our plugin is approved by Moodle, it gives it more chance for it to be widely used.”
In relation to this, an introductory course has been designed to provide training for how to use MirageXR across various educational contexts.
On the course, learners will be shown how to use the app and design augmented reality (AR) learning experiences, providing an opportunity to take part in a learning group for MirageXR course designers.
If you are interested in using the app and creating AR courses in your context, download MirageXR to your Apple device here and your Android device here. Access our ARETE Moodle Digital Repository and find out more about our pilots here.
