To investigate the complex topic of technology-enhanced learning, the design science research process suggests iteratively creating many separate artifacts. This time-consuming process leads to repeated implementations of similar features in parallel artifacts. We deduced that common requirements exist in the learning scenarios which can, thus, be fulfilled as reusable modules. In this paper, we identified these requirements and present our open-source toolkit with solutions for identifying learners in a login, importing 3D content from the Web and managing this downloaded content, automation of interactions with mixed reality agents as mentors, integration in existing learning infrastructures and collecting data for learning analytics. With this modular design science research approach, multiple artifacts can be developed in parallel to investigate separate use case environments and other researchers can build upon the technical solutions to concentrate on the learning concept of their own mixed reality artifact.

Curricula at university and learning paths in self-regulated learning span a complex planning space that is difficult to visualize. Students need to plan their decisions ahead to take a valid order of courses that align with their learning goals. Previous approaches used 2D skill tree visualizations to map the dependencies which, however, cannot convey mixtures of long-term goals and short-term action plans well. We present an approach that realizes learning plans as 3D skill tree structures in mixed reality. With the extra dimension, clearer layouts can be found which combine views on long-term goals and specific actions. By bringing the 3D learning plans to mixed reality, depth perception can help the students to understand the 3D structure of the tree. Moreover, nodes of the tree can be anchored at places in the real world which aids the students’ spatial memory to help them remember the plan. The application is evaluated in two user studies with 17 and 53 participants, respectively. Although the amount of text and typing should be minimized, the results show that 3D learning plans are understood by students. As the hardware becomes more available, the 3D learning plans can help students to structure their studies.

The advancements of mixed reality technologies enable a productive application of mixed reality in various fields. This increases the demand for skilled mixed reality developers. Current curricula do not offer dedicated mixed reality courses in higher education that provide the necessary competences. We demonstrate a lab course for mixed reality software engineering in a bachelor program at a technical university with its learning goals and the identified skills to support future mixed reality computer scientists. The course was conducted five times over two and a half years with a total of 38 students. In all instances, the same open-source software project was used as a boundary object to train agile software engineering, mixed reality development competences, and presentation skills. As the course teaches state-of-the-art agile workflows, its aim is to prepare students for scientific projects, a bachelor thesis and industry training scenarios in mixed reality.

With recent developments in information technology, we can realize learning experiences on the Web and in mixed reality. Many disciplines have profited from this, e.g. anatomy with the possibility to learn with 3D models in both environments. However, designing authoring workflows and learning paths can be different in these environments as the transfer of design ideas can affect the quality of the learning experiences. In this paper, we juxtapose a Web application and a mixed reality application of the same anatomy course. We highlight where differences need to be considered and which modules can be used in both environments, e.g. authentication and gamification. With the practical knowledge presented here, the design of learning experiences on the Web and in mixed reality can be enhanced. To support this, all code is available as open-source software on GitHub.