Is immersive learning the future of training? While it's too early to say, this technology is already revolutionising the way we learn, thanks to virtual reality. But for which professions and skills is immersive learning most beneficial? What are its practical advantages and limitations? Gauthier Lamothe, education specialist, takes a closer look.
An overview of what immersive learning can bring to training!
Immersive learning: definition
Immersive learning is a generic term. It refers to any type of training that uses technology to give learners the impression that they are actually present in a virtual situation. Nowadays, it mainly refers to learning skills via virtual reality. Or VR for virtual reality. But in a broader sense, this covers other related practices, such as augmented reality.
Immersive learning: what concrete impact on learning?
Practical experience in real-life conditions is obviously an irreplaceable asset for integrating the reality of a profession. However, real-life conditions are sometimes difficult to put in place during training. That's why practising periodically in real conditions and regularly in virtual conditions has many advantages.
Firstly, repeated practice creates and maintains neural pathways in the brain. In other words, skills are acquired and anchored through practice.
For example:
- learn to spot certain visual details
- repeat a procedure in sequence
- practise certain verbal rituals to defuse conflict
- practice issuing a counter-objection in the sales world
In this way, VR allows you to train all the reflexes that will be used in reality. What's more, in certain contexts, the difference with reality is minimal and the number of training sessions is much higher. Immersive learning therefore improves the retention of knowledge by learners, whatever their sector of activity (or almost).
Virtual reality gives learners the pleasant sensation of "being there", in situations that would be complicated to set up in the real world.
It becomes possible to update knowledge regularly in rare situations that we cannot provoke voluntarily. This is a key advantage of VR because learning takes place through cycles of forgetting and updating.
Finally, immersive learning technologies, in particular VR, allow you to focus on a specific situation, without the previous and subsequent context.
Some concrete examples
On a very practical level, for example, it is now possible to :
- rrepeat a manoeuvre 50 times in one morning, without having to set up a new teaching environment each time
- isolate certain tasks that could not be carried out separately under normal circumstances
Example:
In some laboratories, safety standards are draconian and the shelf life of certain products is very short. Chemical elements are unstable or radioactive, often dangerous, and break down rapidly. For safety reasons, only one operator at a time can put his hands into the gloves built into the handling cabinet. What's more, they have to carry out the procedures in one go. As a result, a trainer does not have enough time to comment on the steps and insist on details.
- provide participants with highly committed role-playing partners
Example:
During conflict management training, it can be difficult to find partners capable of improvising and portraying a character with conviction. Immersive learning makes it possible to practise certain tricky interactions. Coupled with generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT, immersive learning has a lot of potential to explore!
See also the article : ChatGPT: what uses in training?
Immersive learning and virtual reality: use cases in training
Virtual reality is beneficial for developing a wide range of skills, often linked to the specificities of a particular trade.
Physical inaccessibility
Example: operations carried out by technicians who have to squeeze into a confined space. This might involve cleaning, repair or maintenance operations in wells, silos, pipes, etc. In this context, training a large number of technicians using virtual reality is of definite interest, both in terms of budget and the physical space required.
Here, for the training of six specialised maintenance technicians :
Ethics
In the medical field, learning certain procedures requires many hours of practice. Virtual reality makes learning easier and allows for mistakes. And mistakes are essential to learning...
Convenience
Example: in the climate engineering (large industrial air conditioners).
Following a training course, one of the participants said that virtual reality was ultimately the most useful way of using 3D models of their machines. New technicians in training put on a helmet and can then analyse each mechanical part from every angle, in three dimensions, and dismantle each part down to the last screw.
Please note: Immersive learning, on the other hand, is little used in the software world, since it is already an infinitely malleable environment.
Immersive learning: what equipment?
In the world of VR, the equipment used will typically be a headset. Either a top-of-the-range headset with its own sound and image system, or a headset into which a mobile phone is slipped. This tool can also be accompanied by screens or tablets so that participants can watch the progress of a fellow student.
In some cases it is useful to practice video duplication. This involves reproducing the trainer's movements in real time. The trainer wears a camera connected to the participants' phones (if a mobile application can be installed). Otherwise, the camera is connected to the tablets provided.
When participants need move around in 3D space, We are talking about immersive room. The CAVE VR system and AET Zone are examples of solutions that have already been tried and tested, but require a substantial budget for custom installation. For example, motion detectors can cost from €20,000 to several hundred thousand euros. Some technologies contain objects and physical stimuli (hot or cold air currents, odours). This type of training concerns first aid and interventions in degraded conditions involving teamwork (fire, landslides, etc.).
Immersive learning: obstacles, limits and challenges
The worst reason for using immersive learning is prestige.
Good technology is technology you can't see !
The use of VR should be motivated by improving the user experience for learners. But what criteria should be used to measure this?
Performance indicators
Three performance indicators stand out.
- Anchoring knowledge
- The ability to solve problems
- Training time
In very large companies, it's easy to choose metrics and carry out tests.
Example 1:
To compare the retention of information by a group of employees benefiting from immersive learning and a group not using it. This is the case of a famous American supermarket chain, which has the firepower needed to conduct this kind of test. Virtual reality has boosted performance so much that the chain now has VR training centres dedicated to the supply chain and sales.
Example 2:
Another American company, a leader in the fried chicken sector, also has training centres in the United States.
Using VR, it can train operators to cook fried chicken in 10 minutes instead of 25, while avoiding wasting raw materials.
According to a Capgemini Research Institute, 82 % of companies that have implemented immersive learning consider that virtual reality has either met or exceeded their expectations. The employees who benefit from it ask for more training. And they perform better.
Exploiting the data
Participants' interactions with any given element of the simulation are recorded in an automated log. This makes it possible to identify the sticking points in a training course and improve it.
Example:
Using HoloLens, a heavy goods vehicle manufacturer has improved training in engine quality control by using the augmented reality which gives operators real-time access to decision-support tools
For small and medium-sized companies, it is worth asking at what scale immersive learning is profitable, both in terms of budget and training time. The challenge may be to choose a partner who can provide data analysis. The aim is to improve the quality of training without driving up costs by processing all the parameters in-house.
In conclusion, immersive learning is becoming an essential training method. As Big Data and artificial intelligence become more widely available, its solutions are becoming increasingly accessible. By integrating user experience and gamification, immersive learning will further improve the quality of training courses.
