Eric Hawkinson

Immersive technologies are not new to learning and teaching, but the move to ubiquity of AR/AI/VR and other related tools are being touted as the way forward, quickly being deployed to classrooms and other learning environments. This talk will concisely lay out some of those promises and give some rational, fair-minded, and cautionary counterpoints to commercial dogma in this space, giving some hints and tools to help developers and educators as the technology seeps into our learning cultures.

In the opening presentations of the World Immersive Learning Labs Symposium 2024, held in Tokyo, Japan, from March 25-27, Eric Hawkinson delivered an insightful talk on the confluence of Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the educational sector. As a co-founder of the symposium and an advocate for innovative learning technologies, Eric set the stage for the event by discussing the evolving landscape of immersive technologies and their impact on education. He highlighted the challenges and opportunities presented by the integration of AR and AI, stressing the importance of collaboration among educators, technologists, and researchers to navigate this dynamic field.

A look at what it means for educational institutions as more of the processes of teaching and learning are automated from student, educator, facilities, and leadership perspectives.