What is Immersive Literacy?

Literacy Definitions

2018, HTC VIVE VR headset, downtown Perth (Copyright Erik Champion).

This online prototype resource is designed to introduce people to the relatively new concept of immersive literacy and to provide resources to explain how extended reality software and technology (XR) can be employed in the classroom to help students learn for themselves to navigate and orient in immersive worlds, and for teachers to help them design immersive worlds and other immersive projects for the enjoyment and education of others.

This online resource is designed to introduce people to the relatively new concept of immersive literacy, and to provide resources to explain how extended reality software and technology (XR) can be employed in the classroom to help students learn for themselves to navigate and orient in immersive worlds, and for teachers to help them design immersive worlds and other immersive projects for the enjoyment and education of others.

In terms of theory, this resource modifies digital literacy frameworks to ensure they are suitable for designing educational (serious) games and immersive 'worlds' for the GLAM sector (using libraries as the initial test case). Why? Because galleries, libraries, archives, and museums are designed for people to explore their collections. Immersive technology promises remote access to currently locked-down spaces, but even more, to help people explore and create and share. For example, 90% of museums were closed in 2020, according to UNESCO, and 2021 also looks worrying.

Although the aim is clarity and simplicity, this resource modifies digital literacy frameworks to ensure they are suitable for designing educational (serious) games and immersive 'worlds' for the GLAM sector (using Libraries as the initial test case). Why? Because Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums are designed for people to explore their collections. Immersive technology promises remote access to currently locked-down spaces, but even more, to help people explore, create, and share.

This is a proof-of-concept online resource using https://docs.gitbook.com. GitBook has personal and educational free licenses, customizable themes, and colours and can include code snippets, including the online live HTML and CSS editor codepen.

There is even a version of the free AFrame webXR* framework editor using codepen, which is discussed on a later page.

*webXR is an open framework for augmented, mixed, and virtual reality (together, XR, or extended reality), on a range of devices and software platforms, it used to be called webVR. OpenXR is another open format for XR. While webVR is a superseded term for webXR.