What is Immersive E-Learning and How it Benefits Your Business?
All too often, training modules, whether they are classroom-based or e-learning, assume ideal conditions. Companies developing training modules prioritise content in the hope this will achieve their training objectives. Ideal conditions don’t exist in the real world, however. As a result, we need to focus on learner experience, creating immersive e-learning modules designed for the real world.
Let’s look at this another way. When upskilling and providing training to your staff, the goal is not just to create e-learning training modules but also to ensure they are successful and effective.
There are many different strategies you can use to achieve this including adding interactive elements, using a microlearning strategy, implementing a blended classroom approach, developing a just-in-time training strategy, etc.
The principles of immersive e-learning apply to all the above strategies and should be an objective whatever e-learning module you develop, i.e. e-learning modules you create should provide an immersive training experience for learners.
The Problem that Immersive E-Learning Addresses
As with all solutions, strategies, and methods, it’s important to first understand the problem they aim to overcome. Once you understand the problem, it’s then important to assess the impact and whether the mitigation measures are worth applying.
With immersive e-learning, the problem being addressed is significant and easy to understand as most of us face it every day – the distractions of modern life in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Your team will complete the e-learning modules you create on a mobile phone or tablet, or a computer with their mobile phone either in their pocket or on the desk/table beside them.
The learner will also be connected to the internet.
You can see the picture being painted. It’s one where there is a huge amount of potential distractions. Every ping, beep, ring, and vibration on their phone tempts the learner away from the e-learning module, disrupting the learning experience.
They may also see, think, or remember something that prompts them to open a search engine or social media app on their phone. Before they know it, 30 minutes has passed, and they are still at the same point in your e-learning module.
Not only that, but they probably don’t even remember what the e-learning module was covering before they became distracted.
Immersive E-Learning Explained
An immersive e-learning module or course keeps learners engaged despite the potential distractions that exist. It maintains attention spans and focus, often by being a combination of effective, enjoyable, highly informative, rewarding, and easy to use.
Developing Immersive E-Learning
The highpoint of immersive e-learning is using virtual or augmented reality, experiences which are naturally immersive.
It is possible, however, to create standard e-learning modules that offer an immersive learning experience. You may need to add elements such as gamification sections, avatars, and scenarios. Videos and other media help too, as does the style and tone of presentation and the quality of the overall design.
Hiring a professional e-learning developer in the UAE or KSA is likely to be the best approach as it will deliver the greatest investment return.
Benefits of Creating Immersive E-Learning Experiences
Your business overall, your training strategy, and individual members of your team will benefit from creating immersive e-learning modules. Here are some of the main benefits.
Improves and personalises the learning experience
Learners resist training when they think it wastes time, is not relevant to them, or is challenging to complete. Creating immersive e-learning experiences helps with all these objections.
For example, a well-constructed immersive e-learning experience will allow learners to proceed through the content at a comfortable pace. Immersive e-learning also makes dry and dull topics, including many compliance topics, more interesting and enjoyable.
Improve the skills of your employees
The ultimate goal of most training strategies is to improve the skills of employees. This is a central component of immersive e-learning. After all, if a learner is easily distracted when completing your e-learning module, they are not learning properly.
Fast achievement of upskilling goals
Learners will also complete immersive e-learning modules faster than modules where the focus is on content rather than the learner experience. In addition, immersive e-learning gives learners a deeper and more thorough understanding of the topic, ensuring they acquire the skills and knowledge they need.
Reduced overall training costs
Reducing training costs is one of the main benefits of using e-learning in your business. You will save even more by creating immersive e-learning experiences, not least for the reasons in the points above, i.e. immersive e-learning reduces the time it takes to upskill employees.
Upskill in a safe environment
Immersive e-learning experiences are particularly effective when the training is on a topic or skill that has a significant safety risk. This could be using a dangerous piece of equipment, for example, or working in a hazardous situation or environment.
Providing this training in real-life involves real risks. E-learning makes it possible to deliver the training while removing the risk. Still, you have to overcome the problem of the training not being compelling enough, reducing the employee’s ability to truly understand the risks involved.
Immersive e-learning is an effective solution in the above situation, particularly when technologies like augmented or virtual reality are used.
Enhanced learner engagement and satisfaction
Learner engagement is a primary goal of immersive e-learning, but you will also see improved learner satisfaction rates. This will benefit your company overall as well as your wider training strategy.
After all, if an employee feels the training has been helpful and worthwhile, they will be more likely to change behaviour and implement what they have learned. They will also be more open to training in the future.
This, in turn, increases employee ownership of their learning and development.
Maximising Outcomes
E-learning makes it possible for you to create fantastic training modules for your team faster, quicker, and at a lower cost than other forms of training delivery. Making your e-learning training modules immersive will take your strategy to the next level and maximise results.
