An immersive training experience no longer requires on-site interactions. Though security training in virtual environments has already been disrupting the world of professional learning for years, recent events have highlighted the importance of promoting teaching strategies that can adapt to multiple complex issues. While its innovative aspect is part of what makes virtual reality shine, the method does boast educational benefits. Let us dive deeper into the virtual simulation solutions Immersive Factory has to offer to understand the impact an immersive experience can have on professional training.
Security Training in Virtual Environments: New Standards
The health crisis has brought to light the necessity for businesses to look into new training methods. According to a study conducted by Immersive Factory, 71.4% of the companies that participated in the survey wanted to try immersive training for themselves, 62.3% already being in favor of it. Post Covid-19, only 17% of the people who were interviewed said they were still interested in in-person modules, even though these represented 97.1% of the offering in terms of training solutions up until quite recently. Such enthusiasm can be explained by the fact that this method promises effective results without the need for physical contact of any kind.
But make no mistake: security training in virtual environments does foster the experience-based approach industry professionals are so attached to. Instead of having the learners interact in the field, they put on a VR headset, grab a couple of controllers and allow themselves to be guided through an environment designed to replicate reality in every possible way.
Immersion: A Key Component of Virtual Reality Training
By taking advantage of digital media, security training in virtual environments meets very concrete expectations businesses have. Virtuality and interactivity provide convincing substitutes for traditional learning methods thanks to the central part the concept of immersion occupies within this paradigm.
The most significant difference between on-site training and e-learning – which is often compared to immersive learning because it also relies on dematerialized media – is the notion of presence. VR training erases this discrepancy by focusing on interactivity. Contrary to the ‘lecture course’ format or to a reading module, a virtual reality session allows the participant to be fully immersed in their learning experience. This form of training is called ‘active learning’.
Learning Environments Designed to Promote Memorization
When undergoing security training in a virtual environment, participants need to experiment using the tools and gestures they are learning to master. The idea is to give them the means to appropriate these actions by performing them not only under conditions very similar to those actual training environments offer, but under circumstances that would be impossible to replicate ‘in real life’. And with good reason: the goal is to have them face events anyone would hope never to see happen. It would be difficult, for instance, to emulate the exact conditions surrounding a fire for training purposes without putting people and property in danger!
Security training in virtual environments was designed to allow instructors to imagine countless settings they can use to teach or evaluate their trainees’ achievements. This gives them the freedom to envision various disaster scenarios in the face of which employees will need to learn not to let panic set in. The faithful recreation virtual reality offers coupled with the sensations felt by VR headset users creates educational value thanks to a beneficial cognitive experience.
Suitable for Learning Multiple Skills
Since the learning environment is, in fact, a computer program, the virtual format is suitable for all manners of iterations. This makes it pertinent to various types of security training in virtual environments all while applying to countless other areas. Virtual reality is especially relevant to soft skills, which even role-playing does not address quite as convincingly as it should. In addition to the ‘real-life’ sensations the user experiences, the feedback they receive is truly representative and not as contrived as role-playing can often be. A 360° environment coupled with ultra-realistic consequences for every action optimizes the process of appropriating new knowledge.
These ‘inconsequential consequences’ make security training in a virtual environment a powerful solution. Knowing that they are perfectly safe within a harmless reality, trainees dare to take initiative and to put the theories they learned to the test, thus refining their skills safely. The engaging universe that surrounds them also influences their motivation. A gamified scenario implies that no progress can be made without the user’s full participation, which means that they feel invested. By carrying out the mission successfully, they get a sense of accomplishment and see the experience as a personal achievement, contributing to memorization.
The Benefits of Virtual Reality Training for Businesses
The benefits of virtual reality training are undeniably immense for learners. Yet, businesses that decide to implement it also enjoy many advantages. A training solution that allows users to experience complete immersion does have much to offer. However, making this type of training happen in the shape of a physical facility remains out of reach for most companies. The cost alone renders the operation impossible. Security training in a virtual environment therefore proves invaluable from an economical perspective, providing exceptional results and an excellent return on investment.
The programs are entirely customizable and, as such, can be adapted to fit evolving needs. For instance, it is perfectly conceivable to configure various levels of difficulty within the same module or to use the same environment as a base to produce an infinite number of scenarios.
Finally, the virtual format naturally lends itself to assessment and onboarding activities. It makes it very straightforward to test the participants’ ability to carry out certain tasks and to react appropriately, once again without it entailing further budgetary efforts on the part of the company.
Immersion Factory specializes in virtual reality EHS training and workshops and offers various formats to address all manners of situations. Active training, serious gaming, escape games, quizzes, awareness-building activities, hazard spotting and many more options are already provided. Their programs are also fully customizable and can be developed to match a company’s particular needs.