The XR Toybox
Reimagining learning through immersive extended reality.
What is the XR Toybox?
Launched in May 2023, the XR Toybox is a groundbreaking initiative at the University of Pretoria that uses extended reality (XR) to transform how students and staff learn. By blending the physical and digital worlds, it creates interactive environments where users can explore and discover in new and engaging ways.
How It Works
The XR Toybox combines cutting-edge VR, AR, and MR technologies to provide:
- Immersive learning – interact with 3D objects and virtual scenarios.
- Hands-on training – practice real-world skills in safe, simulated spaces.
- Scalable experiences – enabling hundreds of students to learn simultaneously.
- Play to learn – a space to become comfortable with XR technology.
Goals of the XR Toybox
The XR Toybox serves as an exposure tool for the students and staff in the faculty.
- The space allows everyone to explore the latest XR technology in an informal way, playing games and having various experiences.
- This exposure leads to a comfort and familiarity with the technology, a “XR literacy”.
- The experience gained in playing in the toybox is then transferred to their formal learning environment (outside of the XR Toybox)
- XR technology can then focus on how to teach the learning content, rather than familiarizing the user with the technology.