A vast array of marketing and public service campaigns,eLearning modules, and educational campaigns share a goal: Changing people’sbehavior. As anyone who’s tried to break a bad habit or learn a new routine canattest, changing behavior, really changing it in a way that sticks, ischallenging.
By enabling L&D professionals to create visceralexperiences, virtualand augmented reality (VR and AR) offer a potential solution. Thesetechnologies can trick learners’ brains into feeling as if a virtual experiencewas real. And, just as impactful experiences can change people’s behavior,early research indicates that such visceral virtual experiences could alsodrive behavior change.
The virtual experience might illustrate a scary, dangerous,or painful consequence that learners will be highly motivated to avoid. Or itcould simulate a more mundane scenario: A workplace dilemma that the learnerneeds practice addressing—harassing behavior or difficult conversations withdirect reports or providing feedback to colleagues.
Virtual-reality-based research and training are alreadyexploring the possibilities: Participants in a research study can practicea desired response to a recurring scenario that has them feeling extreme fearor anxiety, for example. An educational simulation might bringlearners into a place they otherwise couldn’t experience: aforest where trees are being harvested to create paper products or acoral reefharmed by ocean acidification, for example.
Whatever the scenario, these rapidly evolving technologies providenew options for instructional designers and developers to provide realisticexperiences that could influence learner behavior.
360-degree video offers “budget VR”
For many L&D teams, full-fledged VR with responsive,navigable digital environments is still out of reach. That doesn’t mean givingup on immersive, visceral learner experiences, though; 360-degree video offersa more affordable option.
St. John Ambulance and a partner pulled together alow-budget—and extremely effective—disasterresponse training using 360 video. Video “in the round” has also beenemployed to providesafety training.
Several corporate and public safety organizations havecreated VR simulations that aim to reduce texting while driving, a significantcontributor to traffic accidents and a very common behavior,especially among younger drivers. One example, the AT&T “It Can Wait”campaign, features a series of videos in addition to a powerful 360video simulation.
These and other 360 video simulations can be viewed online;for heightened effect, immersive viewing is easily accessible using aninexpensive cardboard viewer and a smartphone. The ease of distribution andaccess are key benefits of the 360 video approach, as is its affordability.According to Learning Solutions columnist Matt Sparks, “A360 video studio can be affordable, easy-to-use, and, surprisingly compact.”
Create budget-friendly visceral experiences with AR
AR also offers a budget-friendly way to create visceral learningexperiences that could spur behavior change.
The Weather Channel’s storm surge simulationgot considerable media attention during and after the large hurricanes that hitthe US in September and October. By showing viewers the power and danger of astorm surge, the channel hoped to drive home to viewers the dangers ofhunkering down to wait out a strong hurricane—and convince them to take action.The simulation ends with an exhortation to heed evacuation orders.
It’s not all about safety, nor is behavior change the onlygoal. AR, in the form of digital holograms, is educating visitors at variousmuseums, such as the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, where visitorscan virtually meet astronaut Mae Jemison. A more poignantapplication is preserving the testimonies of survivors of historical events;visitors to the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center can interactwith holograms of Holocaust survivors, asking questions and“meeting” these aging individuals. These interactions can be more impactfulthan reading text and looking at still images.
AR enhances museum exhibits in other ways as well, addinginteractivity and animations to a longstanding exhibit at the Smithsonian’s NationalMuseum of Natural History’s Bone Hall and allowing visitors tointeract virtually with artifacts that would be destroyed by frequent handling.
