Training Benefits of Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality Improves Educational Results
As far back as 1938, educators have proven that the best education is experiential.
Dale’s Cone of Experience is a model that incorporates several theories related to instructional design and learning processes. Today, this “learning by doing” has become known as “experiential learning” or “action learning”.
During the 1960s, Edgar Dale theorized that learners retain more information by what they “do” as opposed to what is “heard”, “read” or “observed.” His research led to the development of the Cone of Experience.
When the student is engaged, having fun and feeling confident they learn more and learn faster. Virtual Reality is well-known to be an effective tool to create experiential learning. After all, you can see, hear, and feel while you are in VR.
Radical Empathy’s Virtual Reality is training Medical Professionals
Radical Empathy’s VR training, with Police
Radical Empathy’s VR training, with Individuals
Virtual Reality training benefits
Immersion
“In 2016, the first wave of dedicated consumer VR headsets arrived, though all three were effectively peripherals rather than full systems:
The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive each connected to high-powered PCs, and the PlayStation VR system ran off a PlayStation 4 game console.
In 2018, the first “stand-alone” headsets hit the market. They don’t connect to a computer or depend on your smartphone to supply the display and processing; they’re self-contained, all-in-one devices that make VR truly easy to use for the first time ever.”
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Simulation
“The value proposition of Skills-Based VR training is clear. Any number of people can receive first hand skills-training on-demand and on-location, by using virtual or augmented reality solutions.
VR removes significant travel & infrastructure not to mention the need to recreate costly and potentially hazardous simulations. However, there is more to immersive training than teaching practical skills.
We have barely scratched the surface of how Immersive Technologies will impact the way we learn throughout our lives.”
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Interaction
“The goal of training is to convey information that will be stored in long-term memory and maximally insulated from forgetting. It does no good to train an individual to perfection today, only to have that information forgotten tomorrow or next week.
The brain is hardwired to forget. This construction is adaptive, because human memory has limited storage capacity. Retention is the true goal of training. For training content to be retained and guide long-term behavior, it must be stored and represented in long-term memory. We must train for retention.”
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Empathy
“If you give people superpowers, will they use those abilities for good?
Researchers at Stanford recently investigated the subject by giving people the ability of Superman-like flight in the university’s Virtual Human Interaction Laboratory (VHIL). While several studies have shown that playing violent videogames can encourage aggressive behavior, the new research suggests that games could be designed to train people to be more empathetic in the real world.”
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Virtual Reality Generates Empathy and Sustainable Behaviors
The Impact of Vivid and Personal Messages on Reducing Energy Consumption Related to Hot Water Use
From Stanford University: Research suggests that vivid and personalized interventions influence pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Through the use of immersive virtual environment technology, people can experience vivid environmental scenarios that are personalized to the individual. An experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of vivid and/or personal messages on energy savings behavior related to hot water use. Participants experienced a virtual shower in which they received feedback (varying in vividness and/or personalization) on the amount of energy used to heat and transport the virtual water. Participants’ hot water use during hand washing in the physical world was tracked before and after treatment. Participants exposed to vivid messages used cooler water compared with not vivid messages. There was no significant effect for personal messages and no interaction effect. The results suggest that technology that leverages vividness may be effective in promoting pro-environmental behaviors.
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The Ultimate Empathy Machine
Chris Milk uses cutting edge technology to produce astonishing films that delight and enchant. But for Milk, the human story is the driving force behind everything he does. In this short, charming talk, he shows some of his collaborations with musicians including Kanye West and Arcade Fire, and describes his latest, mind-bending experiments with virtual reality.
Other Uses of Virtual Reality
Application of VR Technology in Rehabilitation
Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology with a variety of potential benefits for many aspects of rehabilitation assessment, treatment, and research. Through its capacity to allow the creation and control of dynamic 3-dimensional, ecologically valid stimulus environments within which behavioral responding can be recorded and measured, VR offers clinical assessment and rehabilitation options that are not available with traditional methods. Initial applications of VR in other aspects of medicine and psychology have yielded encouraging results, but continued research and understanding of this evolving technology will be crucial for its effective integration into rehabilitation. This article provides a brief introduction to VR technology, examines the specific benefits VR offers consumers and providers of rehabilitation services and discusses potential areas of application and important considerations in applying this technology. Finally, 2 examples of current VR applications are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The application of virtual reality technology in rehabilitation (PDF Download here).