A glimpse into the History & Role of XR in Youth Work

š Welcome to the World of XR!

This training course helps youth workers become skilled in Extended Reality (XR) ā a fancy term that includes:
⢠VR (Virtual Reality) ā Fully immersive digital worlds (think Oculus games š®)
⢠AR (Augmented Reality) ā Digital elements over real life (like PokĆ©mon GO š±)
⢠MR (Mixed Reality) ā A combo where you interact with both real and virtual things at once

š” Why XR Matters in Youth Work

XR opens new doors for:
ā Making learning exciting
ā Practising real-life scenarios safely
ā Fostering empathy and creativity
ā Helping young people explore identity
ā Teaching valuable future-ready digital skills
ā Bridging online and real-world experiences
ā Boosting collaboration and teamwork

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ā³ A Brief History of XR (Spoiler: Itās Older Than You Think!)

š Way Before Tech
People dreamed of alternate realities for centuries ā stories like Pygmalionās Spectacles (1935) imagined VR-like experiences before computers even existed!

š„ 1962: The Sensorama
Invented by Morton Heilig, this arcade-style machine gave users a full sensory ride ā visuals, smells, sound, even vibration!

š® 1968: Sword of Damocles
The first-ever VR headset! It was huge and hung from the ceiling, but it paved the way for todayās headsets.

š 70sā80s: NASA & Military
VR was used for safe flight and space simulations.

š¹ļø 80sā90s: Hype & Art
Companies like VPL and movies like Tron and Lawnmower Man brought VR into the pop culture spotlight. But early consumer gear failed ā remember Sega VR and Nintendo Virtual Boy? Neither do most people. They flopped hard.

š“ 90sā2000s: The Sleepy Years
VR interest faded. Only niche sectors like medicine and academia cared.

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š„ The Comeback: Enter Oculus
⢠2012: Teenager Palmer Luckey builds the first Oculus Rift in his garage. His Kickstarter takes off š
⢠2014: Facebook buys Oculus for $2 billion šø
⢠2018 onwards: Oculus Go and Quest go wireless. Easy access = more users.
⢠2021: Facebook becomes Meta. Oculus becomes Meta Quest. Big dreams for a Metaverse.

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š§ The Future is Now (and itās still evolving)
⢠2024: Apple Vision Pro steps in with a premium AR/VR experience
⢠2025: Samsung + Google + Qualcomm teaming up on XR headsets
⢠+ AI! XR will get smarter, more personalised and deeply immersive ā think realistic avatars, intuitive interactions, real-time worlds

Content prepared by Barry Haughey, @HOLOGEN for the training course on "Virtual Reality in Youth Work"