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Overview & Workspace

This project page provides the single-source overview of the 4th State of XR & Immersive Learning Report. It hosts the working structure for synthesis, progress tracking, and coordination across all regional chapters and the Indigenous XR Special Call. This page anchors the project in its mission and provides tools for contributors to work together efficiently.Manage, synthesize, and prepare the global environmental scan into a unified 2026 report. This book functions as the coordination hub and final showcase space, weaving together the five regional scans and the Special Call on Indigenous XR into a coherent narrative for iLRN 2026 in Athens.

Jonathon Richter
Jonathon Richter  commented 2 weeks ago
#1

Immersive Learning Futures Scan for Friday, November 21, establishing a weekly rhythm and organized into a three-layer structure (Signals → Trends → Implications), with explicit notes where assumptions deserve scrutiny.


Immersive Learning Futures Scan — Friday, November 21


1. Signals of Change (Short-Horizon Indicators)

These are early weak signals or fresh data points that suggest potential near-term movement in the XR, learning, and societal ecosystems. I integrate a degree of skepticism to highlight where signals may be noise rather than true indicators.

A. XR Platforms & Technology

  • Accelerated browser-based 3D performance continues to surface across WebGPU demos, reducing the performance gap with native VR.
    Dissent: It remains uncertain whether education systems can actually adopt these advances quickly; bandwidth and device diversity in schools create friction that enthusiasts often underestimate.
  • Growing interest in low-code authoring ecosystems—Matterport, FrameVR, and Oncyber all expanding template-based creation tools.
    Dissent: Ease-of-use is not the same as educational quality; user-friendly creation tools may flood the ecosystem with shallow experiences.


B. Policy & Institutional Movement

  • Universities in North America and Europe are quietly launching “immersive literacy” or “multimodal fluency” task forces or working groups.
    Dissent: These groups are often non-binding and may dissolve without producing sustainable frameworks or adoption


C. Indigenous & Place-Based XR

  • Increased traction in Indigenous-led XR showcases at conferences (IDCs, AIATSIS-linked groups, etc.), emphasizing sovereign data governance.
    Dissent: There is a risk that institutions tokenize these efforts while failing to resource Elder-led cycles or protocols with the needed time, trust, and budget.


D. AI + Simulation Convergence

  • Expansion of agent-based simulation tools with natural-language control interfaces (e.g., open agents in Unity).
    Dissent: Most AI agents remain brittle and biased; integration in educational XR is still experimental.


2. Emerging Mid-Range Trends (6–24 months)

Where signals cluster and begin to shape coherent movement. Each trend includes a constructive-dissent check.


A. The Shift Toward Open Immersive Societies


Aligned with iLRN2026’s theme, multiple indicators show governments, academic consortia, and NGOs examining XR in relation to transparency, civic engagement, and knowledge equity.

Dissent: Open frameworks are politically appealing but technologically and legally complex. Many institutions default to closed vendor ecosystems, undermining the “open society” aspiration.


B. Multimodal Literacies Become Foundational


As AI-generated media proliferate, educators are reframing XR not as novelty but as a core literacy space (spatial, embodied, sensory, emotional).

Dissent: There is insufficient consensus on assessment frameworks, making it difficult to credential these literacies at scale.


C. Hybrid Conferences Mature


Organizations are beginning to treat hybrid as a legitimate format rather than a pandemic artifact.

Dissent: Yet cost models are brittle; financial pressure may push some groups back toward single-mode events.


D. Low-code XR Storytelling for Cultural & Environmental Narratives


Convergence of mobile AR, browser-based VR, and narrative engines supporting Elder-led or community-led projects.

Dissent: Low-code platforms risk oversimplifying complex cultural protocols and ceremonial knowledge structures.


3. Long-Horizon Foresight Themes (2–10 years)

These extrapolated futures highlight both potential and risk.

A. XR as a Civic Infrastructure


Spatial knowledge environments used as public commons: virtual archives, community planning sandboxes, digital twins for climate resilience.

Dissent: Without governance, these commons may be dominated by commercial actors or become data-extractive.


B. Synthetic Learning Companions

AI-driven multisensory tutors embedded in XR environments.

Dissent: Ethical and psychological impacts are insufficiently researched; over-reliance on synthetic teachers could widen educational inequity.


C. Indigenous Sovereignty as a Technological Paradigm

Indigenous-led XR design becomes a major influence on global practices, centered on relationality, place, ceremony, and knowledge stewardship.

Dissent: Adoption will require fundamental restructuring of academic timelines, funding cycles, and Western epistemic norms—changes institutions often resist.


D. The Global Immersive Learning Supply Chai

Standardized pipelines for XR creation, documentation, dissemination, and preservation—including iLRN’s Knowledge Tree, Innovation Garden, and Repository ecosystem.

Dissent: Long-term sustainability requires stable funding and staffing; volunteer models alone cannot support global infrastructure.


4. Implications for iLRN (Operational & Strategic)

Where each trend intersects with your current initiatives.


A. The Knowledge Tree as a “Field Spine”

Your approach positions iLRN as a central nervous system for the global field. This aligns well with open-society futures.

Critical tension: To avoid fragility, each branch must have a clear ownership and volunteer pipeline.


B. Innovation Garden & Searchlight Integration

Weekly walkthroughs, GVA templates, and platform spotlights provide the “soil” for grassroots contributions.

Critical tension: Rapid turnover of tools/platforms demands a more agile maintenance and archival plan.


C. Global Scan & 2026 Report

The five-continental approach is well aligned with future governance models.

Critical tension: Ensuring regional autonomy while maintaining consistency may require a refined tagging ontology and RACI matrix for Chapter Leads.


D. Blackfeet EcoKnowledge as North America’s Lead Node

Your Elder-led protocol work positions BEK as the strongest example of ethical immersive practices.

Critical tension: Scaling Indigenous-led XR internationally requires carefully negotiated reciprocity—not replication.


5. Recommended Actions for the Coming Week

Based on this scan, these steps would strengthen coherence and resiliency.

  1. Finalize the Searchlight–Garden linkage language for Codex (knowledge → evidence → practice → showcase).
  2. Push a brief to Geographic Chapter Leads summarizing the Scan Entry format for December.
  3. Draft a crosswalk table connecting multimodal literacies with the Knowledge Tree trunk disciplines for the Hong Kong keynote.
  4. Create a mini-playbook for low-code XR storytelling aligned with Elder-led protocols—frame it as principles rather than methods.
  5. Prepare a 5-slide version of this Futures Scan to share during the Monday leadership sync.


6. Closing Tension Summary

Your current trajectory is strong, several productive tensions deserve continued attention:

  • Openness vs. Platform Dependency
  • Volunteer creative energy vs. institutional sustainability
  • Global standardization vs. local autonomy
  • Indigenous knowledge sovereignty vs. tech-driven acceleration
  • Multimodal literacy frameworks vs. unclear assessment infrastructure

Each tension is a productive boundary rather than a flaw; treating them as negotiation spaces will strengthen the entire 2025–2026 architecture.


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