Virtual Reality for Learning and Development

There is quite a lot out there at the moment about virtual reality. January news in the NY Times assessed the current position of this technology in Gartner’s hype cycle – apparently we may now be in the trough of disillusionment. As video-based VR came on the scene, some have even claimed that this new tech may even be the “ultimate empathy machine”. This all got me thinking about how to define the VR landscape, and think about its actual or potential applications to learning and development.

First, I see three kinds of VR, some of which overlap a little today (and may overlap a lot in the very near future):

1. Augmented – Digital content applied through a visible overlay onto one’s current physical environment
2. Immersive Video – 360 video as experienced through a head-mounted viewer
3. Synthetic – Completely computer-generated environments to be experienced on a flat screen or through a head-mounted viewer

At the risk of simplifying things, this categorization has helped me think about ways this new array of technologies can create new, and possibly better, learning experiences. Here's a bit more on each:

Augmented Reality: e.g. Microsoft Hololens, Apple AR Smart Glasses, Sony SmartEyeglass, Google Glass, and a host of others. Think of the Iron Man suit, and the heads-up displays you see Tony Stark working with. At present, this VR is accessed through apps on tablets and smartphones, with or without glasses that you wear.

Applications for learning: An immediate answer here is any kind of physical process training, where the learner needs to operate within a physical space, with physical objects. Certainly virtual orientations to facilities is an opportunity, as well as remote collaboration (live coaching / collaboration). FUTURE: Personal efficacy. I really think we’ll see some convergence of wearables and artificial intelligence to help people through their days.

Immersive 360 Video:  Lots of production companies are out there now (notably Within, featuring work by Chris Milk), and pair the video with an app and a head-mounted display (e.g. Oculus, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, etc.). It all starts with a specialized 360 camera rig to capture everything, and then there is a lot of post-production to add additional audio, visuals, and do the editing.

Applications for learning: Duke CE is currently using this kind of VR to drop participants into unfamiliar contexts where observation must be practiced (see header image). This experience is paired with a debrief with experts who help managers and leaders sharpen their awareness of their own biases while also honing cross-cultural competence. A perhaps more obvious application is to provide virtual orientations of remote facilities, and to help bring deeper understanding of customer experiences. Less obvious might be the application of this technology to helping people experience bias. FUTURE: I believe that we will see a live component with this technology (think Periscope meets 360 meets planetarium).

Synthetic Worlds:  Use a regular computer screen (or head-mounted display optionally) and an avatar to visit 360, 3D computer-generated environments. InWorldz, High Fidelity, Minecraft, Lego Fusion, Sansar, and others. This type of VR requires some online system / environment that you access. Typically, these are live spaces that feature a great deal of user-generated (virtual) content, and this is also the kind of VR implemented in gaming environments.

Applications for learning: Duke CE has used these environments to prototype virtual experiential activities and role plays, even as far back as 2009 (which is ancient history by now!). There is still an opportunity here for scaled collaboration on digital object prototypes and spatial innovation efforts, such as with architects and city planners. Many digital artists are using these spaces to create work that can only be experienced in these digital lands. Less obvious is perhaps recognizing and leveraging the proteus effect, and organizing some avatar-based experiences designed to effect improved real-world behaviors. For additional reading on this, check out Jeremy Bailenson’s work at Stanford’s Virtual Human Interactions Lab.

I personally am very excited about what all this means now, and in the near future for learning and development. The few pieces we have created so far seem to have a powerful effect. Engaging managers and leaders in novel contexts is a terrific way to test out new behaviors and gain exposure to new environments. And, if Chris Milk is right, we will all benefit from the experience of being there in these new, virtual realities.