Immersive learning is a contemporary learning method that allows people to train in a virtual environment before facing the real situation. This new experiential training methodology simulates real-world scenarios and trains employees in a safe and engaging immersive training environment. It combines a feeling of presence with advanced learning theory, data science and spatial design to improve efficiency and user engagement. It represents part of what extended reality (XR) practice is involved in.
Innovative and revolutionary, immersive learning has 4 main benefits:
Immersive learning techniques can offer learners new and exciting ways to interact with their environment. Virtual reality provides a distraction-free environment where learners can focus completely on the assignment, helping them visualize what they are learning and making them feel as if they are experiencing it as they go.
With engaging and fun immersive experiences, learners are more motivated and actively participate in the exercise.
Immersive learning allows for training in a controlled virtual environment. Learners can then make all the mistakes necessary for their apprenticeship, without any consequences in reality. This teaching method is therefore particularly well suited to high-risk technological or human situations, such as crisis management or security protocols.
Virtual reality will facilitate the training of a cleaning agent to detect and clean a space contaminated by the Covid 19 virus in complete safety, without being exposed to it during his training. The same is true for a train driver who has to rehearse the operations to be carried out on the rails in emergency situations.
The key figure: people retain 90% of what they experience. This is what immersive learning offers thanks to virtual reality. Immersive learning increases memorization, via automatisms helping to acquire reflexes. An acquired reflex is durable.
This is the great benefit of practice over theory, because the learner is concentrated, uses his visual memory and learns more easily.
Immersive learning with virtual reality allows companies to access exploitable data via an LMS (learning management system). The learners' actions are captured and the cumulative data collected provides information on behavior; something that traditional training methods have never been able to do.
It is therefore possible to accurately determine the frequency and duration of training, assess skills, provide job performance indicators and provide qualitative feedback to participants.
