Towards eXtended Universal Design

Even though eXtended Reality (XR) technology has been trialed in various projects in primary and secondary education, its lack of universal design hinders further adoption. In this paper, we present the results from focus group interviews with representatives from Norway’s private and public sectors, in which we investigated their practical experiences and opinions about the accessibility and usability of XR technology in schools. We summarize practical opportunities and challenges related to the need for universal design of XR technology, both in general terms and in education specifically. Moreover, we compare the results to a previously conducted selective and weighted literature review. Five major future research needs to improve the universal design of XR technology emerge: The need to (1) increase co-creation, (2) identify and understand barriers, (3) develop solutions for said barriers, (4) advance standardization, and (5) develop evaluation methods and tools.