What do you do if virtual reality isn't effectively teaching you new skills?

My perspective: consider transitioning to Mixed Reality (MR) or creating a hybrid learning experience. MR integrates virtual elements into your physical surroundings, enhancing relevance. You interact with both digital and physical objects, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Combine VR, MR, and traditional methods for a holistic learning experience

If VR or spatial computing is disappointing, your skill-set expectations, identify a new non-orthogonal rail, such as AGI's adoption into the workplace, prompt engineering, or e-commerce for spatial computing. The rate of bolstering our skills in a world where AI can displace high-value knowledge creates a need to triage our skill sets to remain relevant and valuable. This need to triage will only increase as AI is adopted. Above all, keep a good sense of humor and persist at all you know to be good - we are only human.

I had this discussion with a company developing a VR solution to educate uses around Active Shooter situations. I first asked *Why* they required VR for their program? They convinced me that VR was essential to elicit emotional tension. Affirming the medium was reasonable, I asked *how* they judged VR was hindering learning. One founder noted customers felt “motion sick” and another pointed to in-program data that did not change before and after schooling. Motion sickness is a well-studied VR challenge and must be handled separately. The in-program metrics allowed the Product team to review alignment between what was being measured and what was being taught. TLDR: ensure you are evaluating your tool with the right measure.

Choosing learning objectives is related to understanding the problem. If we do not understand the problem, we cannot define the outputs, let alone determine whether VR is the technology to use. However, it is also important to mention that using VR can garner greater interest in a corporate audience to replace it with a conventional methodology. In the case of school or university students, the use of VR can be utilized as a tool to engage those students who finish their tasks earlier than others during a lesson.

Virtual reality is not a panacea for skilled development. The experiences are not one size fits all. As such, the particular skill needs to align with the type of activity, interactivity, and or simulation that is being undertaken. As such, who needs to consider the type of activity in alignment with the type of skill. For instance, if you’re practicing public speaking, merely having a skybox or 360 video simulation of an audience with you standing stillmay prove a useful practicing tool. However, if you were using the same simulation to teach surgery, it would not be effective.

To optimize learning outcomes in VR, conduct a thorough analysis of content relevance and personal learning style. Explore VR experiences aligned with individual preferences, such as visual aids, practical exercises, or interactive simulations. Utilize data analytics to assess user engagement and adapt content accordingly. Employ machine learning algorithms to personalize recommendations based on user feedback and performance metrics. Continuously iterate content design based on user interaction patterns and learning effectiveness. This approach ensures tailored VR experiences that cater to diverse learning needs, resulting in enhanced comprehension and retention of material.

A misalignment between VR content and your learning style can derail progress. The solution isn't just to find new content but to actively seek out immersive experiences designed with educational psychology in mind. Content that leverages the principles of active learning and spaced repetition, for instance, can significantly enhance your ability to absorb and retain new information.

Adjusting your content can be a great way to optimise your learnings. If you're a company then I would suggest creating specialized content on a team basis, If not then use the power of AI to create content that can help everyone learn!

Leveraging immediate feedback is a cornerstone of effective VR learning. Absence of or inadequate feedback mechanisms can hinder progress. Opt for VR programs offering comprehensive feedback, including virtual coaching. This detailed insight facilitates a tailored learning experience, pinpointing areas for improvement and fine-tuning strategies for skill acquisition.

You'd be mad not to seek any feedback! A really good idea is to look at platforms that would allow you to deliver an immersive experience quickly. Purchase a low-cost pilot licence for a piece of content covering a topic you already cover via another digital/F2F medium. Then (you may have guessed) set up some focus groups and perform some A/B testing. Keep your feedback as standardised as possible between your VR and 'current' training. REMEMBER: as VR is a novel piece of kit, you may find feedback skews towards the new and fun tech! So ask for evaluative feedback to better understand any biases in feedback, as well as pro's and con's and ideas to improve the delivery of any VR content.

Virtual Reality is not a magical bullet, it's just a technology that can improve the retention of what you are learning, thanks to its immersivity. This means that you have to keep the same discipline in VR training that you have with all the other forms of training: this means practicing constantly, doing the required exercises, asking for feedback when needed, etc...

The axiom "practice makes perfect" holds especially true in virtual environments. However, the practice itself needs to be deliberate, with a focus on quality over quantity. Integrating principles from deliberate practice theory into your VR sessions—focusing on specific skills, receiving immediate feedback, and pushing beyond your comfort zone—can transform routine practice into a powerful engine for growth.

Merging VR training with real-world application is critical. This dual approach not only solidifies learning but also enhances adaptability, turning theoretical knowledge into practical skills. Consider using VR as a rehearsal space for real-world application, a strategy that can significantly boost confidence and competence in new skills.

Curate additional content that can complement virtual and real world experience, include access to experts and peers as part of the process.

Employing a blended learning approach, integrate VR training with real-world practice for optimal skill acquisition. Post-VR sessions, immediately apply newly acquired skills in a physical environment where feasible. This strategy facilitates seamless transition from virtual to real-world scenarios, solidifying learning through practical application. By combining VR with traditional methods, learners benefit from a comprehensive training regimen, accelerating skill mastery.

Indeed. VR is not always the answer. But evaluate the other technologies in the XR family. Sometimes adjusting the VR training into a MR or AR one might just be enough.

Agreed. The thing about VR is that people know it’s “virtual”. If they then try to compare it to “reality” they’re possibly setting themselves up for a disappointment. Perhaps they should remember it’s just a tool, as all software is, and attempt to complete the tasks using other XR alternatives. But first, they need a clear definition of what those goals are.

Training is one of the main use cases of virtual reality, and the combined use of immersive realities and artificial intelligence is going to create a new generation of learning experiences that are going to revolutionize education in the next 5-10 years

Some generally good tips to keep in mind. 1. Keep any training LAZER FOCUSSED on delivering against your training requirements. 2. If you're looking at using generative AI dialogue/feedback in your training, understand the risk that it can create a less focussed learner journey. Make any training objectives using gen-AI very simple and specific, this will minimise chances of the AI making errors in its responses and feedback. 3. Where possible, ensure cross platform compatibility of any training - as in, learners can interact with the learning via VR, desktop, and even mobile. It may be that VR is considered the 'best' option, but it can be overwhelming for some... offering other, more accessible formats prevents anyone being left out!

If you want to build effective training and learning VR experience these are two important factors that I would recommend to consider: 1. Well designed user experience (so important to make sure that users can understand and engage with the content in a correct way). Sometimes we need to step back and separate the ‘virtual’ from the ‘reality’ to make sure that learning is accurate. 2. A good technical support and maintenance. Making sure that it works and works well for all users. So many times organisations spending lots on the content and experience creation but then failing with the hardware and support.

Never forget that also learning is a very personal characteristic. We all have our own learning styles. So it will not always be the anwer for everyone. People need also time to adjust their learning styles and above all different generations have a different view on all kinds of technology an dit might just need some additional "change effort". People always think it was better in the past, the way it was used to be done, because we often forget the pain or problems of the past.