Immersive learning trends are shaping the education industry worldwide and here’s the list of key trends that will shape the fortunes of the industry in the coming years.
Way before all these new-age technologies evolved, Albert Einstein once remarked: Learning is all-about experience; everything else is just information. Fast forward to today and we are at the cusp of a revolution heralded by immersive learning in the education sector. This new approach is scientifically evolved to help aspirants imbibe knowledge by experiencing it first-hand. By integrating the latest technology with conventional methods, immersive learning is proving instrumental in taking the understanding of students to a next level.
Assume a teacher explaining the functioning of the human heart to students in a classroom. The use of conventional methods such as theory and diagrams won’t help much though bringing in immersive learning can change the entire scenario. With the help of a VR headset and System apps, students can get virtually inside the human heart, experience heartthrobs, and feel the right and left ventricles in a way they would have never experienced before.
Having explained the potential of immersive learning, we now focus on top trends that will redefine its prospects in 2023 and beyond. Here's the list to watch out for:
1) Microlearning: Breaking a large chunk of information into smaller, discrete data points is the basic premise behind the fast-emerging approach of microlearning. The perspective is particularly helpful for Gen Z whose attention span has reduced significantly compared to millennials and Gen X. Microlearning filters the information and passes on only relevant content, leading to enhanced clarity and engagement. The microlearning sessions are relatively short (10-20 minutes max) and specifically designed to boost the retention ability of students.
2) Gamified Learning: Who doesn't like to play games if the experience leads to enhanced learning, what else do you need? Students are big fans of the method too as their quest for knowledge is met here in a most engaging environment. The gaming elements not only offer immersive learning but also turn the entire experience into fun. Even for the most complicated and tedious subjects, Gamified learning can significantly enhance grasping power and help aspirants with social skills and risk-taking capabilities too.
3) Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): By virtually taking aspirants into different realities, AR and VR have the power to completely transform the learning experience. Both these technologies are revolutionary and allow aspirants to have hands-on experience through digital avatars, enhanced simulations, and virtual environments. The use of these inventions can also significantly boost learners’ access to the information besides helping them to channel their creativity and imagination in the right direction. AR and VR have a wide scope of applications and can be applied in an array of fields such as on-job training, virtual surgeries, and critical skills training among others.
4) Artificial Intelligence (AI): The revolutionary potential of AI couldn't be overemphasized today. In the field of learning and education, AI is proving a game-changer by identifying and predicting learning curves for different categories of aspirants. This, in turn, is helping mentors to make customised lesson plans in accordance with the unique learning abilities of users. From developing smart content to data accumulation and from virtual assistant to automatic grading, AI can be used for a variety of purposes for facilitating immersive learning experiences across various educational segments and categories.
5) Mixed Reality (MR): MR brings to the table a unique perspective by interspersing virtual aspects of reality with real-world situations. Especially from the perspective of breaking emotional barriers, MR is proving enormously beneficial in helping students experience a different perspective by mixing realities. The technology is also opening new avenues of opportunities by offering learners a platform to collaborate and dive deep into the intricacies of concepts and subjects.
6) 360-degree Videos: Taking the visual experience to a new level, 360-degree is likely to take the baton of immersive learning forward in the future. Owing to its immersive and interactive capabilities, 360-degree videos liven up the entire experience of exploration, understanding, and comprehension. The format captures the entire sphere of action so that learners can fully explore the concept from all possible directions. This, in turn, leads to a deeper understanding of the subject matter through live and visual representations. Another distinctive advantage of this format is its capability to live-stream captured videos so that students can experience the action as and when it unfolds.
7) Adaptive Learning: No two learners are the same. The intellect, learning capability, and grasping power of learners vary significantly and this is exactly the premise of adaptive learning. By allowing aspirants to learn at the pace that suits them the most, adaptive learning in conjunction with AI offers a more immersive and personalized learning experience to students.
With learners aspiring to go beyond conventional methods to enhance their understanding and knowledge of the real world, immersive learning technologies are now increasingly becoming the mainstay of the modern education system. The adoption is only going to expand in the future and to realize the full potential of these techniques, the entire ecosystem of education has to come together and strive for creating a win-win situation for all stakeholders. Especially, the role of technology developers and policymakers is going to be critical as they can prove instrumental in making or breaking the fortunes of this fast-emerging segment in a way no one else can.
