Emerging Technologies in Immersive Learning: A Systematic Review of Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities
Tudor-Mihai Ursachi, Robert-Emanuel Brezoaie, Maria-Iuliana Dascălu · 2025
Contribution: This systematic review identifies important trends, difficulties, and possibilities covered in recent research by looking at the literature on new technologies (VR, AR, and MR) in immersive learning. An organized overview of the current state of the area is provided by the categorization of the findings.Background: The use of immersive technologies such as Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) holds great promise for revolutionizing teaching approaches. Even with increased interest, a comprehensive picture of the situation is still required, considering adoption barriers and pedagogical factors. From engineering and healthcare education to teacher training, recent assessments demonstrate the growing potential and usage of these technologies in a mixture of educational fields.Problem Addressed: A comprehensive synthesis that highlights the general trends, common issues (such as cost, accessibility, training, technical limitations, and pedagogy), and opportunities across various educational levels—identified in both individual studies and other systematic reviews—is necessary, even though many studies focus on applications or aspects of VR, AR, and MR in education.Research Questions: 1) What are the main patterns in taking advantage of VR, AR, and MR in immersive learning environments? 2) What are the main obstacles to the successful integration and broad use of these technologies in the classroom? 3) What are the main ways in which these technologies can improve learning outcomes and experiences?Methodology: Following the guidelines of a systematic review, this study’s steps included discovering pertinent literature (depending on the original paper’s scope), gathering information about trends, opportunities, and problems, and synthesizing the results considering the research questions. Methodologies employed in comparable systematic reviews within the area are reflected in this procedure.Findings: The review validates robust trends in immersive technology for individualized education, skills training in domains such as engineering and medicine, and experiential learning. Technical obstacles, exorbitant expenses, the requirement for teacher preparation, pedagogical integration difficulties, and equity issues about the digital divide are among the major problems that are frequently mentioned. Significant opportunities exist to improve student motivation and engagement, offer secure practice simulation settings, support the understanding of difficult ideas, and open the door for innovative teaching strategies. To ensure successful implementation, rigorous pedagogical design and sufficient infrastructural support are essential.