Use Virtual Reality in e-learning for a valuable learning experience

E-learning
19/8/2021

You can use Virtual Reality (VR) for truly valuable e-learning. Does VR sound like science fiction to your ears? In this blog, we share a number of tips with you on how to get started easily!

We already knew that an e-learning that only consists of text and a single image is boring. To make it more varied and interactive, you can add videos, gifs, quizzes, audio, and many more formats.

But have you also thought about Virtual Reality?

Virtual Reality is seen as the future in e-learning. This is because it allows you to simulate real-life situations, making the transfer of theoretical knowledge into practice much easier and more effective.

Does Virtual Reality sound like science fiction to you? In this blog, we share a number of tips with you on how to get started with Virtual Reality easily.

What is Virtual Reality?

In Virtual Reality, a person interacts with a 3D computerized environment. The student has the feeling that he/she is part of a 3D world and is immersed in this virtual world that shows, for example, a certain workplace, a certain process, or a certain situation.

Benefits of Using Virtual Reality

Using Virtual Reality in e-learning offers many advantages. We have listed a few of them for you:

  • Provide an active learning experience instead of just passively receiving information
  • Helps to understand complex concepts, topics, or theories
  • Increases students' creativity
  • Increases interest in “dull/dryer” topics
  • Improves students' level of understanding
  • Improves information retention by connecting feelings to what has been learned
  • It takes the student relatively little time to understand highly complex topics
  • Students experience more (learning) fun
  • Ideal for applying gamification
  • Contributes to students' imagination

What can Virtual Reality be used for?

VR offers new learning opportunities that weren't available before.

For example, VR can be used for courses on how to work in risky environments, how to work with hazardous materials, or perform other complex activities without actually being exposed to such a “dangerous” environment.

This provides practical experience with minimal exposure to danger. It allows students to learn from their mistakes, learn and practice the right skills, with the freedom to make mistakes and try again.

A VR-based learning module about working with a certain hazardous material, for example, allows the student to virtually practice handling the hazardous material without actually running the risk if they make a mistake.

How do I get started with Virtual Reality?

  1. Scenarios

Virtual Reality is ideal for simulating of real scenarios. Imagine, for example, that a firefighter in training enters a VR environment where he has to drive a fire truck to a burning building.

Once there, he discovers that there is a person inside the building. The student puts what he has learned into practice virtually, without any real consequences associated with his actions. In this low-risk environment, the firefighter can make decisions, receive feedback, and learn from his mistakes.

Another example is, for example: practicing speaking to a large audience, speaking to customers, practicing first aid, or getting to know a new work environment.

Do you necessarily need complex technology for this?

No. Of course, you can purchase VR glasses (they are getting better and cheaper), but you can also make videos yourself at your workplace or, for example, re-enact scenarios with colleagues or actors (role-playing games).

  1. Virtual voyages of discovery

Nowadays, our phones and other gadgets often have fantastic cameras that allow us, for example, to shoot 360-degree videos. This gives us the opportunity to accurately capture an environment. These videos can then be used in Virtual Reality.

Students can get acquainted with a work environment, tour a factory, control a new device, look into a cockpit, and so on.

Virtual Reality offers great opportunities to digitally discover new environments that may not have been available to students before.

As you can see, it offers Virtual Reality a huge number of opportunities to bring an e-learning environment even more to life.

At Pluvo, we are also extremely enthusiastic about Virtual Reality and would love to help you discover the possibilities for your e-learning!

Send a message via the chat and we'll be happy to think along with you.

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