It is clear that new technologies are constantly revolutionizing the practices and habits of different sectors.
The democratization of the Internet, interactive whiteboards and many other tools have begun the first digital transformation in the field of education. Today, Immersive Learning is on the verge of its second transformation.
What is Immersive Learning?
As its name implies, Immersive Learning is the process in which learners are completely immersed through a helmet, glasses and/or screen in a virtual learning experience. There are two areas of action:
Virtual reality: The learner finds himself interacting in a 100% virtual environment
Augmented reality: The learner finds himself within the surrounding reality, enriched by the overlay of virtual elements.
Immersion for a better motivation
In the education system, some students have no taste for learning, overlook their passage through the classroom, and even, as a result of demotivation, gradually move towards the exit. However, it is now well known that motivation is an essential factor for success and excellent productivity. Institutions and teachers assume that we learn more quickly and sustainably when we feel concerned and motivated. This is why immersive learning is an interesting tool because it deals with the question of the interest and commitment of students, of learners. Indeed, the creation of the playful and interactive landscape makes it possible to mobilize several of the learner's senses (hearing, sight, touch) in order to provide a total sensory experience. In this way, the learner is constantly stimulated and becomes an actor in his training. The experience will then be more engaging and the learning will become a success.
Reinventing the way of teaching
For students, the tool allows them to learn in a more enjoyable way, to learn at their own pace, to adapt & apply the solutions resulting from the virtual experience to real world scenarios, but also to acquire knowledge through the exploration and manipulation of objects and environments. For teachers, the use of immersive learning aims to create an environment where students train in a controlled virtual environment, before confronting the reality of the situation and learning from it. Moreover, this technological instrument constitutes a complementary tool to the lectures and theoretical courses. For example, in 2017, the Neoma Business School in Rouen was the first Business School in the world to integrate immersive learning into its teaching practices in order to acquire know-how in the field of this technology and enrich its students' profiles on the job market when they leave school.
Immersive Learning in Professional Training
Aside from the educational field, immersive learning is a highly esteemed instrument in professional training for many reasons: saving costs and time, improving technical and relational skills, etc. Light and Shadows has developed numerous virtual solutions to meet the recruitment and training challenges of several companies. For example, the stand-alone XR Paint application has helped Alstom to offer its employees a new way to faithfully reproduce a working environment and to simulate infinite scenarios whose objective is to paint objects. Tools and application parameters such as speed, paint thickness, angle, accuracy, presence of various 3D models to be painted and many others are available to train, evaluate, test to the maximum. Here, the video presentation of our application:
Conclusion
The interactive environment simulates real-world scenarios by reproducing different sensations that have an impact on the learner's psyche, thus stimulating his/her brain mechanism. Therefore, immersive learning can not only help students develop their skills, but also motivate them to learn.
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Light & Shadows believes in the potential of AR and 3D technologies. We strive to better meet the needs of each of our customers, in order to provide them with a memorable virtual experience for both them and their customer.
What are the objectives of using immersive learning for teachers, as mentioned in the article?