Recently, I wrote a book withTony O’Driscoll called Learning
in 3D Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration. A
small excerpt from the book is provided below.
As 3D virtual world technology becomes more and more
assessable, companies are struggling with determining when the use of 3D
virtual worlds are appropriate and when other learning technologies would be
more effective. Here are three times when virtual immersive environments (VIEs)
make sense for learning.
Learners Need to Be
Stressed
Humans behave differently in stressful situations than they
do when they are not under stress. This can have dire consequences when a
person has to remain level headed in a stressful situation such as dealing with
a car accident, stopping a suspicious person at a check point or even using the
right close to make that million dollar sale. A VIE is perfect for setting the
scene to induce stress. The visual 3D aspects of the immersive environment add
to the situation, the fact that “real” people are controlling the avatars and
the fact that changes can happen in real time all lead to a heightened sense of
stress. While we might not want to stress our learners in every learning
interaction, using a VIE to test reactions and behaviors while the learner is
under stress can be an effective tool for learning (and even assessment).
Coordination is
Required
Often when people interact with clients or co-workers or
counter-parts in another organization, they need to coordinate efforts to
achieve a goal. A virtual immersive environment can require learners to
cooperate inside the learning space. They can be put into situations where they
must work together to fight fires, direct traffic or coordinate a sales or
prototyping effort. Because learners (as avatars) can speak to each other, see
movement of others and coordinate activities, learning that requires
coordination is a good candidate for instruction in a 3D virtual immersive
environment.
Visualization is
Important
If you are conducting training where learners have to
identify specific types of machinery or suspicious packages or view a proposed
prototype then virtual immersive environment is ideal. A VIE can allow the
learner to walk around and object and see it from all angles or to even
visualize data that is traditionally displayed in a two-dimensional spreadsheet
in three-dimensions to gain insight. The goal in a VIE is to provide a
realistic image that a person can manipulate in the space to observe its
characteristics. Car companies, equipment manufactures and people who layout
factor workflows use the visualization properties of virtual immersive
environments to ensure success even before one physical element is ever
constructed.
Use these criteria to determine if a virtual immersive
environment is right for your training program.
You can join the virtual blog book
tour at Learning
in 3D Blog Book Tour Starts or check
out the book’s web site at www.learningin3d.info
or become
a fan of the book at Facebook.
