Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2024 - 43

After a pilot is finished,
as with any learning
strategy, the emphasis
should be on iteration.
Immersive learning is a hot topic - and
for good reason. It can engage learners,
hold their attention and lead to true
behavior change. And if you're using
the right technology, skills data can be
captured as the learner goes through
the experience.
So, how can you choose the right tech
platform for immersive learning? There
is no single leading technology or
methodology, since so much depends
on the type of knowledge and skills
your teams need to develop, your
budget, and the size and geography of
your organization.
There's reason to choose immersive
learning as an overarching principle for
engaging your learners and improving
training outcomes. However, immersive
learning means different things to
different people. To some, it means
donning a high-tech headset for virtual
reality (VR); for others, it means realistic
video scenarios. For those new to the
technology options, here is a primer
on the different immersive learning
methods. The options for simulating a
realistic environment each have their
own pros and cons.
The best place to start when weighing
your options is with a framework for
deciding which platform
best meets
your organizational needs and goals.
Start With a Needs Analysis
There isn't a universal choice for
immersive learning, since the optimal
strategy for any organization relies
on several factors, such as learner
population size, available funding and
learning goals.
Frequently, entities tend to concentrate
initially on the technology and its
deployment instead of first identifying
the learning challenge and examining
potential solutions for it. Before
focusing on technology, it is best if
organizations review their existing
learning needs analysis procedure
and other learning implementation
processes to ascertain if they can be
used to pinpoint where an immersive
learning experience might be useful.
What Training Issues Need to
Be Addressed?
Just like creating any training solution, a
thorough learning needs analysis should
be done to ascertain the challenge
that needs to be addressed, explore
potential approaches and decide on the
right solution. This should include any
evaluation requirements and whether an
immersive learning solution should cater
to this training need. It may be that it can
be managed in the existing system, such
as a learning management system (LMS),
separate from the immersive experience.
What is the Organization's
Tech Capability?
Even if your learning and development
(L&D) team does not have the necessary
resources
to
launch
an
immersive
learning technology solution, there
might be an opportunity to source
support from another department that
has already experimented with new
technology. The talent development
team might have already tapped into
platforms that are measuring skills
data and could join forces with the
learning team.
TRAINING INDUSTRY MAGAZINE - SUMMER 2024 I WWW.TRAININGINDUSTRY.COM/MAGAZINE
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Training Industry Magazine - Summer 2024

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