VR IN LEARNING
My Work
To Prepare for my Capstone, I attended an Accenture-created virtual reality training event.
Accenture partnered with a global bank with this event to train over 1600 new employees of the bank, using virtual reality as the medium of this training.Through real-time analytics embedded in the system, managers could also identify skill gaps and provide targeted follow-up coaching and personalized guidance to teammates to further improve performance.
I learned about the growing uses of VR in workforce development, and I was able to shadow the event and undergo some of the training the new hires were learning myself.
I researched cases of virtual reality being used in learning, Exploring a vast number of training and experiences...
I than began working on creating my own experience...
to prepare I looked at similar work in VR skills training, I went through trainings myself to see which ones were more influential to me and what made certain experiences stand out to me, so I would know what to include in my own.
The most important thing I realized and want to utilize in my own training is the power of active learning, when I would feel like I was not doing anything, I would tend to stop listening as intently and become less motivated to learn more about the given subject. Even in virtual reality, learning can become dull in long periods of time, and lecture-based education is often ineffective.
I then researched the ways those trainings were created, learning that many experiences in VR can be created even without vast amounts of coding knowledge (which I do not have).
I began courses in Talespin and practiced building in Horizon Worlds to learn how to develop the training.
Interview Q&A
I was also able to conduct a short interview with NAME, a __job position__expert. I recorded our conversation and listed the footnotes below:
Q: How is meta-verse learning disrupting the training industry?
A: VR training, in my opinion, hasn’t disrupted the training industry yet, but it’s in the process. Even before Covid, we had virtual trainings for many years in various platforms. More recently the technology evolved to allow backgrounds, which is great for hiding your actual background which may be unprofessional looking now that most of the world is working remotely, and many were trying to keep their kids active in virtual school at the same time.
In Summary:
VR training is becoming increasingly prominent because of its ability to simulate face-to-face interactions and replicate dangerous situations.
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Q: How can virtual reality be used in emotional intelligence training?
A: I think most things can be taught in the metaverse and Emotional Intelligence is absolutely one of those! Having taught emotional intelligence for teams within Accenture through teams calls, I can see the benefit of using even more immersive methodologies. In our teams calls, it was clear that many were struggling to focus and were multi-tasking. Immersive learning, especially in a VR headset, would keep learners more engaged and actually build a stronger emotional connection to the content. Additionally, the ability to "hide" behind an avatar during conversations that could make some uncomfortable would be ideal. I believe this would open people up to the experience.
In Summary:
VR programs with AI can simulate different scenarios that people encounter. No one is perfect and people can sometimes do or say the wrong thing, leading to them accidentally alienating others or saying the wrong thing. VR programs can "protect" users and create a safe and judgment-free training zone for them to really develop their emotional intelligence.
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Q: What makes virtual reality training effective, or more effective than other mediums training is given with.
A: As I mentioned in the second question, immersive learning keeps people focused and free from distraction which provides greater learning retention and helps build an emotional connection to the content. Immersive learning is exactly that - immersive. People are more focused on this modality than in virtual learning and even in-person learning! Additionally, in collaborative learning environments, one can find more connection to the people around them and immersive learning gives greater opportunity to interact - with the space, objects in the space and with one another. There are many other reasons and more research underway, but what gets me most excited is that it gives people the chance to learn something new with no risk. I can see the future where drivers Ed is done in VR, or where you could try out a job you always thought you'd like but were either afraid or not confident in - but now you get a chance to try without risk. I'm actually going to try to spend 10 minutes a day learning to be a dj - and I won't distrust anyone and don't have to buy very expensive equipment!
In Summary:
When learners are in-headset, they are fully immersive. As a captive audience, they are free from distractions and feel as if they're physically experiencing the learning event, vs. just watching or listening. The learning is more durable. With VR people learn faster and better.