Are You An Early Adaptor?  Virtual Reality Online Training May Be For You

There are so many ways to teach a student in our modern age of learning. From massive online courses to social media peer study groups, we are always surprised and excited to hear about the next big thing in learning and development. What’s next on the horizon for forward-thinking companies and learning with technologies? Virtual Reality training may be the learning tool that businesses need to bring their online training to life.

Here’s what we’re seeing when it comes to VR training.

Turning the Virtual into Reality

Virtual reality provides the unique opportunity to bring your trainees in to a unique environment. You can offer learners a 360 degree view of a workshop, of a specific place, or even have them interact with digital elements within their own workspace. This technology brings a much more hands on, integrated approach to corporate training which can increase experiential learning, and lead to better retention rates. Take the risk out of safety and compliance scenarios while showing learners a deeper than theoretical scenario. Give trainees the chance to practice and perfect their learnings in a virtual reality setting. Bring new hires up to speed quickly and effectively, without risking mistakes that can impact clients or projects. The benefit of bringing training material into a more active presentation is greater impact, and that’s something every learning and development program can benefit from.

Getting Started

There are so many corporate training courses already available to businesses through online learning websites like Coursera. Here training modules combine virtual reality elements with training material to teach students about a wide range of subjects and train them in the skills that will add value to their work. They might look futuristic, but several VR devices are available to purchase and use. They are already a hot commodity in the gaming space. Look at Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Sony’s Playstation VR, Microsoft’s Hololens, and more. Mobile headsets are easy to use and just require a smartphone inserted into the view frame to start. But It’s the PC or game console devices which are said to have the most power. With either remote or cabled headsets, users can create a virtual learning environment where they can interact with co-workers and instructors. This learning environment can be accessed from anywhere in the world so long as the employee has a VR headset and an internet connection. The advantages of training a remote workforce in tandem with these devices are enticing to say the least. But the technology is still new enough that some companies may not be able to fully invest right away. In cases like those, we recommend doing a little at a time. Don’t go overboard when buying devices. Find the content that would benefit most from a virtual reality element, then test out the next program. Ask for feedback from trainees and instructors before going all in.

Are you innovating?

Interested in seeing how other new technologies can improve your corporate training program? Reach out to the team at Clarity Consultants for more insight. There is a reason why over eighty percent of Fortune 500 firms rely on Clarity to staff their projects. Our background, skilled consultants, and broad range of experience across industries and sectors help set us apart from the competition.