Introduction
Virtual training can earn companies a positive return on investment (ROI), with relative small investments. Smart companies provide employees with training opportunities to keep skills and knowledge at their top in order for employees to produce high-quality work, with all the advantages of a no-risks virtual environment to work inside. In the past, employees typically learned in classrooms led by expert instructors. but that scenario has been changing.
While face-to-face instruction offers the opportunity to interact in person with the instructor and classmates, and may be the first choice of most people, it is not realistic in today’s global environment: technology opens up new learning options.
Virtual classrooms and virtual worlds make up an array of environments for learning. Some are more instructor-led, and others are totally learner-driven. They are also cost-effective once the technology is in place and the company culture embraces other learning patterns.
Outside of subject areas where face-to-face interaction or real world testing is necessary, many researches indicate that no significant differences exist in the effectiveness of learning through virtual environments and collaborative tools.
Carefully developed 3D graphics and visuals can help better explain new concepts. Realistic environments, advanced physics simulations and even short videos and integrated multimedia contents contribute to a more visual and immersive approach to understanding concepts. That, combined with the instructor’s interactions, ensures a better and more effective way of learning. In fact, some animated sequences and scenarios in v- training would be difficult to safely and affordably duplicate in a classroom.
Interaction through blogs, wikis and discussion boards can help learners see other points of view. There is no danger of isolation for virtual learners, since they play in a immersive workspace with many other avatars and powerful tools used to reinforce the learning.
The opportunity to access specific sections of the learning content as many times as necessary to grasp key concepts provides a better overall understanding of the topic. Also, choosing the best time to learn puts the learner in a better frame of mind to learn.
While it may be tempting to assume a shift to v-learning is only about cutting costs, an over-reliance on the financial ROI justification risks compromising the current learning program’s effectiveness. Companies must objectively evaluate the financial impact on business when considering the adoption or avoidance of v-training. V-training can help address many critical business problems like supporting global employee learning, decreasing travel and expenses, and increasing productivity in a competitive environment. But companies need to do a careful assessment of the nature of internal and external learning at all levels of the business, especially the benefits, costs and risks.
travel and expenses, and increasing productivity in a competitive environment. But
companies need to do a careful assessment of the nature of internal and external learning at all levels of
the business, especially the benefits, costs and risks.