VR application development is a complex process and there is a growing interest in tools that allow users to develop virtual reality applications.
The development of VR applications needs the involvement of different profiles to create the virtual world: programmers, 3D model builders, animators, graphic designers, designers, sound engineers, writers…
The actors involved in VR must be experts in human-machine interaction, since virtual reality is a technology in which, more than in any conventional application, the human factor is extremely important.
Studies and experiments aimed at introducing educational processes into virtual contexts have highlighted the benefits of the immersive VR experience. The results obtained from various experiments show a significant improvement in learning by the users involved, combining theory and practice in a sui generis process that trains the subjects involved at 360 degrees.
The search for new tools to improve the experiences of individuals makes technology a method that accelerates education 4.0.
Let’s see together, in this new journal article, how LMS combined with VR technologies fit into e-learning 4.0.
E-LEARNING 4.0: IMPLEMENTING TRAINING IN DIFFERENT
The innovative e-learning 4.0 is a significant step toward expanding training to “heavy” work contexts that are now outside the reach of traditional e-learning.
In many cases, in-company training requires a tracking of activities carried out according to internationally recognised standards and it is necessary that the fulfilment of training obligations be attested by means of certificates. This functionality, normally guaranteed in the e-learning field, is still not provided in VR contexts.
Augmented reality can be associated with e-learning in all areas: teaching, university and wider forms of training. The novelty is to connect to theoretical concepts more playful aspects that can contribute to improving and giving greater value to the learning experience, making everything more immersive and interactive. The student’s study path will then be enriched, becoming almost a live event.
How is virtual reality transforming the way LMS are developed?
- More learner interaction: No other tool can give users the feeling of "being there" better than virtual reality. VR captures learners' attention by improving their ability to retain information
- Learning through simulations: Simulated reality projects learners into a different world, allowing them to see at 360 degrees and perform actions that would be difficult to replicate in reality
- It helps to develop empathy: thanks to virtual reality we can simulate another person's experience. We can try out what it's like to do what that person does or see how others interact with that person in a given environment
MINERVA: VR INTEGRATION IN LMS
With the aim of integrating an immersive virtual reality experience into the e-learning world, two JO Group companies, P.M.F. Research and HT Apps, become front-runners of the MINERVA project.
The project involves the creation of an innovative company training platform based on e-learning systems able to integrate with training courses carried out in virtual reality (VR). The aim is to offer the user an innovative and stimulating learning environment in which digital educational content is joined with objects or tools that show real-life situations.
This new platform will allow manufacturing companies to experiment with new ways of company training, allowing the creation of immersive environments for learning business processes related to the use of machines and equipment, in order to allow employees to simulate both the simplest operations, such as mounting the components of a machine, and the more complex ones, which involve potential risks in the production process.
For this reason, the characteristics of the e-learning and VR modules will be taken into account and the mechanisms for sending and receiving data will be established that will have to be interfaced through the use of the interchange bridge, a fundamental tool to ensure the correctness of the data and compliance with the parameters. From chance to case it will be established whether the data interchange system will take place only at the beginning and end of the course or in real-time throughout the execution of virtual reality activities.
Evaluating the teaching material used in VR and e-learning systems is very complex, because it is a question of analysing (and then integrating) aspects related to cognitive and dynamic psychology, pedagogy and training sciences, technology and business organisation.
CONCLUSION
Speaking of e-learning, the companies that develop digital technologies aimed at LMS are not many in Italy and among these we can mention VITECO e-Learning Solutions, a company based in Catania, which develops intuitive and easy-to-use LMS throughout Europe, serious games and online courses converted into SCORM, the international standard for the creation of distance training courses.
Virtual reality will increasingly become an integral part of our daily life and you can see it from the different contexts in which it begins to be applied: from museums to online e-shops.