Enhanced Learning Environments: Technology and Innovation

Representing a diverse range of academic perspectives from various disciplines to provoke original thinking, engage critical analysis, and fuel the desire to improve education, this book is for those readers with a genuine interest in quality education and supporting technology. One often hears the words “Enhanced”, “Learning Environments”, “Technology”, and “Innovation” liberally applied in conversations with an assumption that their inclusion automatically improves the quality of education. This book looks beyond mere buzzwords for the ground truth in how education, technology, and innovation can enhance theory and practice in pedagogy and andragogy.

It begins with a philosophical criticism about education and technology to remind us of our responsibility to teach purposefully, before discussing entrepreneurial thinking regarding education. The book then makes a strong case for how technology can impact life-saving educational training, and discusses immersive virtual reality learning environments for exploring the essential design components from the perspective of instructional designers and subject experts. It also examines how state-of-the-art Hollywood technology is now accessible to all and discusses the impact this may have on education. The book concludes with an analysis of the implications of the metaverse concept for a pioneering new frontier in future-focused enhanced learning environments.