How To Use XR Technology In Learning
AR, VR, MR, which are collectively known as XR technology, are extensively used in the learning industry today. The world is adapting to the new technology to cater their content in a most innovative way. That's how immersive learning has become the new sexy.
While eLearning organization giants are exploring and experimenting with XR technologies, here are the top 10 ways the XR can be utilized to cater a meaningful, impactful, and immersive content to our learners...
1. Creation Of A Safe Environment For Practice
One of the major concerns is safety when it comes to training individuals in the chemical, pharmaceutical, and energy industry. Imagine that a learner needs to learn to troubleshoot a valve which is leaking in a big chemical plant; practicing with the real plant is almost impossible. This is where VR comes in handy. A 3D plant can be built to project different problems which may occur in the chemical plant. Those can be rectified by a learner while he's in a virtual world. Similar types of learning can happen when training involves safety precautions in connection with a cost analysis! Another useful application of VR could be, for example, in this case, to virtually practice repairing the engine of a BMW i8!!! That would otherwise be too costly wouldn't it?
2. Teleportation To A Virtual World To Explore
I would prefer creating history rather than repeating history. Put your learner in the ancient period and show them the structures of the monuments and how the streets and corners looked like at those times! This would be one hell of a journey for a learner. Not just a journey, but there would be a lot for them to observe and learn too. Virtual space can be filled with ancient monuments, streets, and also people letting learner walk around and get a sense of the true ancient period. If I were given a chance, I would like to be in Vijayanagara Empire, for instance!
3. Can't Get Near The Shark To Study It
XR technology can come in real handy in cases when people are trying to learn the behavior of various dangerous animals. Learners can sit in their chairs and study these animals which are rare to find. These 3D models, the animations can be fed into one of the VR devices. With such an interactive information hotspot, the lesson would make a lot more sense compared to studying it in the book with a single image of an animal. And it's not just ideal for studying the behavior of wild animals. It could be an ideal solution for studying their physical body, bones, nervous system etc. This is applicable even for studying humans!
4. A Virtual Instructor
Holograms can be used to project an instructor who is actually in a different country, and they can be instructing looking at the learners on his MR device. A couple of cameras and MR devices like Microsoft HoloLens and Meta 2 can be used to project the instructor onto the learners' MR device and in the same way, project the whole classroom onto the instructor's MR device. These true virtual sessions will bring down the cost of logistics and they are more effective than just video calls.
5. Books And AR Equals Great Learning
We still rely greatly on books to gain knowledge. What if every picture in a book speaks? Design an AR application to recognize each image in the book (Tracker), and trigger an app to play corresponding videos. Imagine a history book talking about World War II; an image from World War II can trigger an app to show videos related to it which would make learning more interesting. So, books are interesting without technology, but with this technology, we can make it even more immersive.
6. AR Is Your New Instructor
Take out your smartphone, scan the tag on the engine through an AR app, and the complete information on the engine is ready on the phone screen. You can rotate, zoom in/out or even make a cross section and study the working of the engine and know different parts in it. Onsite learning cannot get more interesting than this, I believe.
7. AR Is Your New Guide
You have got a new air cooler which needs installation. The first thing you do is go through an instruction guide to learn how to install it. Using AR with the help of your smartphone can guide you through the complete installation. Scan the component, an animation-based instruction is on the screen and follow the procedure step by step until you are done; now, turn the air cooler on. Pretty cool, isn't it!
8. Lie To Me
Public speakers? Who is training them? AR technology is so accurate in recognizing the facial expression, body language and. in a year or so. that would become damn accurate. This tech can be used to assess the facial expressions, the body language of the public speaker and correct them while practicing it. Animoji (iPhone X feature) is just a start.
9. Welcome Onboard
Every employer is looking for new ways to help them welcome a new joiner, to make an impression, and to provide them with an experience that lasts long. Now, imagine a CEO sitting in a helicopter beside you; he/she opens the door midair and throw you out of it, and... you end up in an office after a great fall. You roam around the empty corridors when you finally reach the CEO's office only to see that the pilot who threw you out is actually your new CEO who welcomes you. He now asks you to turn back, where all the employees are waiting to welcome you by shouting "welcome onboard!". WoooW, what an amazing onboarding experience that would be. VR can really make this happen. If someone implements this, send me a copy of it. I would be really glad to experience it!
10. Learn Lab
This one is my favorite. Lab manuals are replaced by AR app. Go to a lab, hmmm a chemistry lab—Open an app, say which experiment you need to conduct, and the AR app would show the complete procedure from selecting a chemical to the result of a test. In a biology lab, you can even know whose bones these are, how old the species is. In a physics lab, just scan the apparatus and learn how to use and where to use 3D graphics on your smartphone screen. Learning in a lab would be more fun and practical.
These are some of the use cases which came to my mind today while thinking about XR technology in learning. Some of them are already in use or some are on the way, or some people may get inspired by this and create something new in the future. I have always believed in the idea that technology and training combined would make learning more effective. What is this new technology that can make learning better? Keep thinking, keep implementing, and keep advancing.
