Using virtual reality for training
When thinking of virtual reality (VR), it’s hard to avoid images perpetuated by commonly used stock photography. You know the ones — photos of a young person in a darkened room, wearing a headset evoking the novelty of VR. Like this one. Or this one.
But VR is no gimmick. It has the potential to offer an immersive, interactive, and effective way to train entrepreneurs and small businesses on both operational and soft skills that can lead to greater knowledge retention and engagement.
“When instituted properly, learners suspend their disbelief, engage with the virtual world as if it were real, and retain more knowledge.”
How does VR impact training?
VR shows promising results for impacts on training. Users learn by doing, and the immersive nature of VR means they aren’t easily distracted. Additionally, the emotional response that immersive environments elicit makes training more memorable and leads to opportunities for greater behavior change. For instance, PwC studied the effects of VR on soft skills training and found those who had learned using VR were:
Natalie Miller, Chief Growth Officer at XRGlobal, a company focused on VR training and development in emerging markets, explained that she was drawn to VR following her experience with traditional training methods across a variety of sectors. “The common theme across these sectors in my experience has been this underlying knowledge that we weren’t effectively training,” she explained. “We were doing a lot of ticking the boxes, but not really understanding ‘Is there knowledge transfer? What levels of actual knowledge retention are we experiencing? What is the reality behind the effectiveness of this?’”
XRGlobal found compelling evidence for increased knowledge retention by comparing the levels of knowledge increase from the pre- and post-training test scores for learners trained by an instructor and learners trained through VR. Those trained by an instructor saw a 12% improvement in their post-training test scores, while those trained using VR saw more than 100% improvement in their test scores.
The private, low-pressure, and risk-free environment that VR creates — in addition to the ability to repeat training lessons and activities — can better support learners who may need more practice or may feel intimidated by traditional training methods. For example, Miller explained VR can benefit women, because it creates a safe environment that you experience on your own, removing the intimidation that some women may feel in larger classroom settings.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, VR can also offer benefits for addressing personal limiting beliefs and increasing self-confidence. Research found that rehearsing an investor pitch in a VR presentation environment led to greater speaker charisma. Further Impact, a South African program focused on increasing the capacity and resilience of entrepreneurs, created a VR experience with XRGlobal about unlocking personal potential, which you can experience for yourself.
Developing and delivering VR for training
VR training experiences can take different forms:
1. 360-degree video: A VR experience is created by filming a 360-degree video of a real-world scenario, using actors or real people, in which learners are then immersed. This style is great for providing a local context, but it is typically expensive to localize training into other contexts, as the 360 videos would need to be reshot.
Here’s an example of a soft skills training VR experience using 360 live-action video and decision trees for handling difficult conversations with employees (though the experience is meant for a headset).
2. Computer-generated 3D modeling: With 3D modeling, a VR experience is built using software. Learning experiences are still immersive and highly customizable (virtually any training experience can be created in a 3D modeled learning environment). These trainings can be more easily localized for different contexts and cultures by replacing avatars and languages.
Here’s an example of an XRGlobal training demo for Absa Bank Mozambique employees (keep in mind this is best viewed with a headset!):
3. Hybrid of the two: A hybrid VR experience combines the best of both worlds. Learners are immersed in a combination of 360 live-action VR and 3D-modeled environments. Hybrid VR can also be a cost-effective way to include 360 live-action VR without having to reshoot video to localize training content.
Delivering VR
There are two delivery modes for training using VR: smartphone headsets and all-in-one head-mounted displays.
VR smartphone headsets
These are headsets into which learners place a smartphone. They experience a VR environment by either downloading or streaming VR content.
Pros:
- These are more affordable — price points can range from $12 to $15 for a headset (or free — Google offers open-source specifications for their handheld cardboard viewer).
- Learners can use their smartphones to view VR training content at any time and repeat the training as many times as they want.
- Pre- and post-assessment scores can be captured and transferred to a dashboard.
Cons:
- Requires access to a smartphone and stable wi-fi or data connection.
- Offers a more basic VR experience.
- Some smartphones cannot support VR technology.
All-in-one head-mounted displays (HMDs)
These are headsets with built-in processors, sensors, batteries, storage memory, and displays that enable learners to experience a VR environment without additional requirements.
Pros:
- Content can be pre-programmed and does not require access to a smartphone or data connection.
- Offers a comparatively better quality and more immersive VR experience than a smartphone headset.
- Enables hand controllers for a more interactive experience.
- Training progress data can be captured and transferred when the HMD is back online.
Cons:
- More expensive — popular HMDs, such as those from Pico or Oculus, are around the $300 mark, though competition has meant prices continue to drop.
- Less accessible in certain countries.
Insights on using VR to train small business owners and entrepreneurs
Let the end user guide your offering
Truly understanding who your end user is and what level of interactivity might make the most sense for them is critical. For instance, if your training targets rural end-users who have limited experience with digital technology, you might want to limit interactivity in training modules. VR immersive scenes with little to no interaction followed by a facilitated discussion might work best. If you are training managers or field agents who are facilitating digital transactions for customers, you might choose a highly interactive, decision-tree-based module.
Storyboarding is critical
VR training entails higher initial costs for VR training and long lead times. (Miller estimates approximately 60 to 70 days for the average 30-minute 3D-modeled VR training session — 360-degree VR content may take longer depending on filming locations.) So storyboarding each aspect of the VR experience is necessary and critical. Further, spend more time than you think necessary doing so — it’s much easier to fix language issues, the structure of assessment questions, and the planned design of VR scenes before development and voiceover begin.
Build a proof of concept and learn from it
For many people, VR is still a novel training method. In these cases, a proof of concept is valuable to gain internal stakeholder acceptance. Further, a proof of concept can better help you understand what delivery method suits your target group of learners. Miller recalls an instance where following a proof of concept, a client learned that HMDs would be a better delivery mode so their users could also interact using their hands. Be sure to test your proof of concept on a small group of target users and integrate learnings into the wider rollout of the VR training experience.
Looking ahead, Strive Community will continue to share future insights as we learn more from the industry on how VR can support the training needs of micro and small businesses. Do you have best practices to share? Reach out to us.
