Busted: 5 top myths about VR and AR training

The phrase “new gold standard” is often thrown around when discussing the latest corporate learning and development methodology, initiative or tech tool. But when it comes to virtual reality and augmented reality training, it’s hard to think of a more appropriate use of the term. From preparing surgeons to perform the most complex operations to helping sales representatives perfect their interpersonal communication, immersive technologies are raising the bar when it comes to learning and development.

Despite the soaring popularity of VR and AR, the inaccurate assumptions that L&D professionals hold onto about these technologies never fails to surprise me.

But first, what is immersive training technology?

Immersive technology is an umbrella term referring to tech with the capacity to integrate the real and virtual world, including:

• Virtual reality, which immerses users in a fully artificial digital environment or 360-degree video.
• Augmented reality, which overlays virtual objects onto a real-world environment.
• Mixed reality, which not only overlays, but anchors virtual objects to the real world.

Typically, learners use a mobile phone, laptop, tablet or headset to access specially created learning content, and each video is designed to help the user refine a particular skill.

However, a combination of poor communication and patchy understanding has resulted in the dissemination of several myths and misconceptions that hold hundreds of thousands of people back from exploring immersive L&D tech.

Myth 1: It’s a fad

In the fast-paced world of L&D, new technologies and trends come and go as quickly as the seasons. But this pattern is being spectacularly bucked by 2021’s hottest L&D topic — immersive learning — which shows no signs of slowing down its exponential growth.

Helped by the sudden demand that the COVID-19 pandemic generated for remote learning solutions, the immersive training market was valued at $26.05 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $463.7 billion in 2026. Global companies and organizations from Walmart to the U.K.’s National Health Service are already using the technologies at scale.

This popularity can be attributed to the fact that the global lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 opened our eyes to the possibilities and advantages of remote work and virtual collaboration. The hybrid approach that is characterizing the new normal demands that new tech platforms that can secure the best outcomes and the best user experience. Organizations are finding that immersive tech meets this need perfectly, which is why they will continue to embed immersive learning into their standard recruitment, onboarding and L&D processes.

Myth 2: It’s a gimmick, and doesn’t actually improve learning

Any new tech innovation runs the risk of being labelled “gimmicky” and failing to live up to over-hyped promises of impact. However, the key difference with immersive technologies is that there is extensive published research that proves their effectiveness as tools in L&D.

An independent study showed that when health and social care workers were trained via the Virti platform, their understanding of infection control measures was 76 percent higher than that of their traditionally-trained peers. When it came to knowledge retention, the immersive training proved 230 percent more effective.

This is most likely because we learn best by deliberate, repetitive practise that is easy to access and fun to engage with. We know that students who train on immersive tech platforms don’t only come out of the process with more refined skills, but they also hold onto their knowledge and their confidence for a longer period of time after the training has been completed.

Myth 3: It’s expensive and inaccessible for SMEs

Many companies are put off by the upfront costs associated with creating bespoke VR or AR learning content. Although initial setup costs can look high when it comes to recording and editing material, the relative costs dramatically reduce when additional content is created and updated further down the line.

Furthermore, because VR or AR training content can be accessed on demand and repeatedly by any platform user, immersive learning almost always works out to be significantly cheaper than traditional in-person learning. Finally, because immersive learning is so effective, fewer employee hours need be dedicated to L&D and organizationwide productivity is increased.

Myth 4: It’s too high-tech to be rolled out at-scale

Did you think that VR and AR training content could only be accessed using a specialized headset? Think again. Immersive learning content can be just as impactful when accessed via smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop. Users just need to log on to a remote platform in order to access the material, which can often be downloaded for offline use. If your team members own a smartphone, they can take advantage of immersive reality training.

Myth 5: It’s only useful for practicing physical skills

To restrict the use of VR and AR platforms to the domain of physical and technical skill training is to dramatically curtail their impact. Immersive tech offers an effective, scalable and consistent way of delivering soft skills communication training, whilst also furnishing learners with meaningful, data-backed feedback on their performance.

VR simulations provide a low-pressure way to practice high stakes conversations and foster an emotional connection for learners. For example, difficult conversations across leadership, HR, sales, customer service and more can be practiced with the aid of avatars.

The leading immersive tech platforms support the recreation of the stress and emotion of challenging conversations and capture data on employee decisions and behavioral response. They allow organizations to identify highly emotionally intelligent employees, set standards, level-up workforce empathy and drive human behavior changes.

In this era of geographically dispersed companies and the ever-growing importance of strong soft skills for professional success, immersive tech offers the perfect solution to plug the skills gap.

Now that we’ve busted the myths which might have been holding you back, it’s time for you to explore and invest in cutting-edge immersive tech for your team’s L&D needs.