How easy is it to eXtend Reality? A Usability Study of Authoring Toolkits

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) has the potential to be a very successful teaching tool because it enables students to engage with a learning environment that incorporates both physical and virtual objects. Nevertheless, preparing an XR lesson requires technical skills and pedagogical storytelling, which might be challenging for many teachers who lack relevant knowledge. As a solution, support systems such as XR Lesson Authoring Toolkits (XRLATKs) are needed to provide educators with the resources and tools necessary to create effective and engaging XR lessons. The goal of this paper is to describe a mixed-method usability evaluation of MirageXR, an interactive XRLATK prototype. Ten participants were instructed to assume the perspective of a teacher and create an XR lesson with MirageXR. Questionnaires and interviews were conducted to gather feedback. The empirical data were analysed to contribute to the development of MirageXR.