Is Virtual Reality Based Training More Effective Than Video-Based Training?

PlayStation VR – Astro Bot Rescue Mission + Moss Bundle

A few weeks ago, some friends introduced me to the Playstation 4 VR Headset. For people who know me, I read and do not play video games. Anyway, I watched “360° Travel inside the Great Pyramid of Giza” by the BBC and the music video, Saturnz Barz (Spirit House) 360 by Gorillaz. Later I watched some VR documentaries. It was my first true virtual reality experience and it felt so real. It was interesting for me to literally do a ‘360’ to fully immerse myself. Are you familiar with virtual reality? Is virtual reality-based training more effective than video training? What are some practical applications in the workplace?

Two years ago, Girl Geeks Toronto hosted, Augmented & Virtual Reality: Blurring the Line between Real & Virtual life. As I sat there listening to the speakers, it hit me that I needed to add virtual reality and augmented reality to the Strategic Reading Challenge. The speakers said that the next frontier for virtual reality was education. If you are not familiar with my reading challenge, it is geared to learning the key skills you need to thrive in the future. But a big part of it is to also read the world to learn about people from other countries and cultures.

As an aside, I believe that if more people were familiar with other cultures there would be less violence in the world. Also, because of globalization, you are finding that more people from different cultures are working side-by-side, so the ability to get along with others who are different from you is a prized skill. It is so important for me to host the Strategic Reading Challenge where participants read books written by authors from countries around the globe. Virtual reality can help you to develop intercultural awareness.

Although I desperately wanted to add virtual reality to the reading challenge two years ago, I was unable to find short documentaries that would immerse someone into a different culture. Perhaps the timing is better now. I am more convinced than ever that if I can find the right documentaries, it will help participants of my reading challenge to experience other cultures. I am also realizing that watching virtual reality documentaries about big world problems like poverty and the refugee crisis would also help professionals to develop empathy, which is an important ability to have.

Have you watched?

Note: You need a VR headset for a true experience.

Virtual Reality in the Workplace

If you conducted research on Google about the effectiveness of virtual reality, you will find a lot of studies, but in the medical field and on other high risk areas. Virtual reality training is very effective in these areas because trainees can get effective training without putting themselves or others at risk.

There is much less information on virtual reality training in business environments. Before I write about some of the information I uncovered about virtual reality training, I wanted to talk more broadly about the size of the training industry and the effectiveness of training in general.

Highlights from 2018 Training Industry Report

In the 2018 Training Industry Report,

“Total 2018 U.S. training expenditures—including payroll and spending on external products and services—declined 6.4 percent to $87.6 billion. Spending on outside products and services rose from $7.5 billion to $11 billion, while other training expenditures (i.e., travel, facilities, equipment) decreased to $29.6 billion from $44.5 billion. Meanwhile, training payroll increased nearly 13 percent to $47 billion.”

• On average, companies spent $986 per learner this year compared with $1,075 per learner in 2017.
• Government/ military organizations spent the most per learner this year ($1,433).
• Nonprofit organizations spent on average $1,360.
• Midsize companies spent less ($858) than large ($1,046) and small ($1,096) companies.

Source: 2018 Training Industry Report

In 2018, organizations in the United States spent $87.6 billion on employee learning and development. But training is effective and worth the financial investment only if trainees retain what they learned. “Two thirds of what we learn vanishes from our brains within an hour,” according to research by German philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus, reports Newsweek International in an article titled “Truly Total Recall.”

If what Ebbinhaus says is true, then most organizations are pouring training and development money down the drain.

Have you read?

How to Improve Learning – Remember What You Learn

Virtual Reality-Based Training

Virtual reality-based training is somewhat different from other training methods because it places the employee in an immersive environment that is relevant to the subject matter by way of a special audio headset. Although my virtual reality experience was not training – I was watching mainly documentaries – it was like the real thing.

For instance, I watched a short documentary where I was in a prison cell. I started to hyperventilate because it was so real. I felt claustrophobic and like the walls were closing in on me. When I watched a documentary about a refugee camp, I felt anxious as well as very empathetic towards the refugees. Although I watched the documentaries about six weeks ago, I still remember the experience because it was very immersive.

Here are some notes I took while I was researching the effectiveness of virtual reality training over computer-based training. Though the research is not for a business environment per se, the results and conclusions are worth noting.

Why Virtual Reality Training is Effective

Virtual reality-based training is more effective that computer-based or video training because it is more memorable.The participant has a stronger emotional response and that was my personal response. I was placed in a 3-dimensional, 360 degree environment using the Playstation 4 VR Headset.

It’s a simulation and the participant is immersed and stimulated, so emotions are involved. You will remember more of what you learn when more senses are involved. My research also showed that because of the stronger emotional response, virtual reality-based training increased memory and engagement.

These characteristics make virtual reality-based training a more effective training tool than computer-based training. What kind of training can you use virtual reality-based training for?

Have you read?

Virtual Reality Increases Training Effectiveness: 10 Case Studies

Final Thoughts on Virtual Reality-Based Training

Because of my experience with virtual reality, I will be adding short 360 degree VR documentaries because at the very least, you will learn empathy if you choose the right ones. Here are some actions to take today.

1. Learn more about virtual reality training.
2. Watch a couple of virtual reality documentaries.
3. Join the Strategic Reading Challenge.

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