Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have revolutionized learning approaches through immersive digital experiences, interactive environments, simulation, and engagement. They may be able to bridge the gap between traditional classroom teaching and real-world experience, which will lead to tangible benefits for learners in terms of professional development. The objective of this major review is to bring about the development of augmented and virtual reality in education over the past 12 years. Hypotheses have been developed based on the previous work of AR and VR in education. The results were processed and assessed to reveal the state of the art for the development of AR or VR literature, applications, advantages, and future directions. Results show a growing adoption of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in education, where wearable devices accounted for most of this development over the last few years. The results also reveal that in educational institutions, there is a gap between the speed of implementation and development of these technologies. More educational applications emerge in learning as virtual reality and augmented reality technologies rapidly develop and mature.

Research method

By adopting the Scopus database, VR and AR in education or learning included 5122 documents of all times without any limitation. Additional methods for optimizing the research cycle were applied, including year of publication 2011 to 2022, document type: article 1454, review 252, and Conference Paper 35 documents in addition to notes, letters, editorials, and short surveys and sources type included conference proceedings 852, journals with 648 and books contained 283 documents. The focus of this study was 1536 documents, which have been used to date for further analysis. The various areas of science also exist in the context of virtual and augmented reality for education.  More information is needed in terms of specificity that will help explain the various areas of science to be covered. It is important to mention that these different areas included education or learning. Discussing more about the usage and employment of virtual and augmented reality in various fields and markets is out of the scope of this research. The most dominant areas included computer science, social sciences, engineering, and medicine.

Data collected and analyzed

In view of its effective use for content analysis, Wordstat has been adopted by researchers. WordStat allows researchers to get more insight into word frequency and keyword distribution. To find the most important keywords of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in education settings have been adjusted. To understand the word frequency of AR and VR in education, including the top 20 words, WordStat settings were adjusted. Apart from extending these abbreviations, the top five-word frequency was AR and VR. The final step of the analysis is to analyze topics related to Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in education. To meet the criteria, 20 of the most important topics were included in the analysis settings, and 13 of them were selected based on the serial number. Seven of these topics were excluded, while the others explain coherence, eigenvalue, frequency, and number of documents where these words appeared.

Findings and limitations

The educational use of Augmented and Virtual Reality technologies is becoming increasingly common. The student can interact with the environment in a more immersive way, increase their engagement, and understand concepts better. Technology will become even more accessible as costs for augmented and virtual reality hardware decrease. The way students learn and interact with the world in which they live is being revolutionized by AR and VR technologies in education. Students will have new opportunities to interact with 3D objects, explore the environment, and learn more about concepts thanks to AR and VR. Creating interactive simulations, allowing students to explore complex concepts in a safe and stimulating environment, can also be done with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.

In addition, it has been demonstrated that the introduction of Augmented and Virtual Reality into a classroom benefits students’ engagement and learning. Higher levels of motivation and engagement have been found in students using AR or VR technology, as well as higher performance on academic tasks. This may be because virtual and augmented reality provides students with a more immersive learning experience, enabling them to explore, discover, and interact with their environment. Other teaching environments, such as museums, libraries, and science centers, have also used AR and VR technologies. The students have the possibility to explore and interact with objects through Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, which would not otherwise be possible in the real world. Young students who may not fully understand complex concepts with visual aids could benefit from this type of learning.

Although Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are powerful tools to improve education, they also have some limitations. The high cost of hardware, which can make it difficult for schools and universities to implement this technology, is one of the main challenges of AR and VR. Their complexity is another limitation of AR and VR. It can be difficult, given the relatively new nature of these technologies, for teachers and students to use them without prior knowledge or experience. Ensuring the proper installation and maintenance of software and hardware can also be a challenge, which could result in technological problems or interruptions at class time. Students may also be distracted by some of the immersive experiences created by AR and VR, making it difficult to concentrate and retain information. The research on these technologies still has several limitations.

There is still much to be done in research on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for education, but there is still no thorough understanding of their potential. In addition, further research is needed to understand the impact of AR and VR technologies on student learning outcomes, given the complexity of their implementation in a learning environment. There may be a lack of technical knowledge in many schools and teachers for effectively implementing these technologies in the classroom. The appropriate criteria for evaluating the research on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in education are also lacking. Hence, the effectiveness of each implementation makes it difficult to assess the benefits of these technologies accurately. There is much more to learn about the potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies for education.

Implications for practice

The potential for revolutionizing the education system and bringing more immersive, interactive learning experiences to learners lies in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies. The use of these technologies will allow students to experience different visual, audio, and simulation elements that can help increase their interest in the subject. In addition, they can also be used to develop more engaging and exciting virtual worlds that offer better learning experiences. The importance of AR and VR integration in education is emphasized by this research, which also includes the use of eLearning, mobile learning applications, and educational application platforms. The research suggests that these technologies, when used in conjunction with the support of constructivist learning and to reduce educational inequalities, can produce more immersive and engaging teaching experiences for students.