Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality – Trends in Pedagogy

Virtual reality has recently become a trend that each and everyone appreciates, which everybody wants – and constantly tries – to understand, is a topic that is stirring interest at all times. Using virtual reality, along with several other fields related to it, may seem unstable at first, but once the necessary information is assimilated, their utility starts to sound promising. Our study aims to bring together the benefits of virtual, augmented and mixed reality within a classroom, emphasizing their use in the formation of a teacher. Starting with an investigative approach based on J. C. Flanagan’s Critical Incident Technique, and combined with P.C. Smith and L.M. Kendall’s Development of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (which is purposed to identify the main competencies a teacher that is correctly adapted to the Digital Natives era should possess), this study aims to emphasize the potential applicability of virtual reality in constructing certain competencies, such as communicative, informational, technological, instrumental, decisional, appreciative or competencies related to using new technologies. The conclusions reflect a series of advantages and disadvantages of the virtual environment and the applicative way in which these can be used to complete what we already possess or we aspire to obtain.