Chris Gunby, Head of Partnerships at VirtualSpeech speaks on the state of VR learning and training
Immersive learning and training applications are becoming a leading use case supporting the value of XR for enterprises. From construction to retail, immersive learning solution providers are continuing to drive adoption and innovation in the XR industry by providing positive learning and capital outcomes for many end users.
The hardware and software behind XR training are evolving rapidly, offering advanced immersive learning solutions that empower trainees and mentors at all stages of their learning journeys. Furthermore, emerging technologies like genAI and digital twins are aiding in the creation of targeted training services for a vast range of potential clients and use cases.
Chris Gunby, Head of Partnerships at VirtualSpeech, spoke exclusively with XR Today to discuss the state of enterprise-grade immersive learning platforms heading into the new year.
VirtualSpeech offers a range of training scenarios that use digital humans capable of reacting to conversational and presentation training scenarios.
The platform’s training avatars can ask questions tailored to the trainee’s presentation using genAI integration, allowing for each training scenario to be unique, and the avatars can use the deep resources of genAI to ask personalized questions about the presentation. The solution aims to enhance workers’ soft skills, such as public speaking, to match a range of enterprise end-users.
When Will Immersive Learning Solutions Become Standard?
Chris Gunby:
As more hardware developers explore options like AR and MR to heavily integrate this technology into daily consumer life, I believe that the tools will become more prevalent within training. Often, barriers we see to the adoption of these tools are around the familiarity and availability of the tools, as well as a hesitance from some users who have either had bad experiences with VR in the last 5-10 years or are concerned by things like sickness, etc.
Many, although not all, “growing pains” with VR and related technology have been ironed out, with improvements to locomotion and frame rates massively improving on aspects like motion sickness. And with large suppliers.
Who is Taking Note of Immersive Learning Solutions Today?
Chris Gunby:
Many studies (including our own) have shown a marked increase in knowledge retention, learner engagement and ongoing skill development when utilizing immersive technologies in learning. Particularly in our area of soft and professional skills, we are finding a variety of clients looking to implement immersive training in their organizations or universities.
Typically, XR training has focused on hard skills, with major benefits being realism, repeatability and reduced cost, but we have found that, increasingly, these benefits have translated to other forms of learning.
The corporate training market is estimated at $25Bn, with the largest market share being in-person training- so a huge number of training programmes have needed to quickly adapt to a remote learning model since the global pandemic. VR provides a service that enables training companies and employers to provide an engaging, effective and experiential way for their employees to learn remotely.
There is also a benefit in social teaching scenarios. Current remote learning often takes place through video conferencing software such as Zoom, which is typically a very one-sided experience with lots of room for distraction. In VR, trainers can meet trainees as a group in a virtual environment, such as a sales pitching room, for example. Attendees would learn techniques with the trainer in VR and then work through their own realistic scenarios, gather feedback, and replicate in-person workshops while not being restricted by budget or geography.
Should Teachers and Trainers Leverage XR?
Chris Gunby:
We have found a variety of benefits for using XR technology, particularly with soft skills. The impact of this style of learning can be seen immediately, with our typical users reporting improved skill levels up to 20% in just a single 10 minute session. Retention rates of taught information are also significantly higher than traditional forms of training.
The reasons for this can be attributed to much higher levels of focus from learners while using XR, as well as increased efficiency in training. Typically, thanks to that increased focus and higher retention rates, we have found that learners in XR can pick up new skills 4x faster than those learning with other traditional methods.
We also found that due to the flexibility of apps like VirtualSpeech – and being able to easily tailor scenarios to different proficiency levels – an overwhelming majority of users who felt they were already competent in skills they were training could further improve and develop using Virtual Reality.
With increased confidence, engagement and faster learning times, the overall total cost of ownership is reduced.
What Frameworks Exist for Successful Enterprise Integration?
Chris Gunby:
Learning Frameworks still vary between providers, but many XR content creators, including VirtualSpeech, are now focusing on proven pedagogical design for their training over just basic simulation.
The power of VR comes from its ability to provide realistic, repeatable experiences, but the real benefits to learning come from the ability to give reliable and measurable feedback to continuously improve. By allowing a cycle of learning, practice and improvement, educators can guarantee a seamless inclusion of XR in to their current curriculum.
This is helped by the excellent capability of XR for analytics in a number of scenarios, whether through tracking hand/eye/body movement or with the introduction of AI language processing to give feedback and response to actual speech.
What are the Challenges of Immersive Learning Implementation?
Chris Gunby:
Often, the challenges we see with implementing immersive technology centre around communal access or distribution of devices to an increasingly distributed workforce or student base. The increased availability and affordability of XR hardware has boosted the adoption and development of ancillary services such as device management, turnkey providers and universal standards for development. This means that, while there are still education hurdles, it is easier than ever to provide consistent training experiences across a large organization.
Educators should consider the format of their training when planning a rollout and how it fits into their current curriculum. VR is a powerful tool but not a blanket replacement for all types of learning. It can provide realistic and immersive spaces to practice skills consistently, and improvements within AI have
Consider the length of your training, your learner base’s existing experience with XR, the number of devices you have access to and how you plan to track and deliver feedback from these exercises.
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