As VR and AR become more advanced, the benefits can be leveraged by professionals in STEM fields.
Staying on top of STEM education is a lifelong endeavour. The industry is constantly changing and that means the methods used to teach its core elements also need to evolve with the times.
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have the potential to greatly influence how students and professionals engage with learning. So, how can the cultivation of digital realities empower people to make the most of their STEM education?
Too cool for school?
While there are a range of practical, workflow-focused reasons to implement reality augmenting technologies into an organisation, a less practical, but equally as important factor is the enjoyment it can give people. Gamified forms of learning are a brilliant way to encourage people to learn, without adding to stress and workload.
In industries where professionals may feel burned out from dealing with large quantities of data or working in isolation for extended periods of time on projects, fun alternatives to standardised training can alleviate pressure and offer an opportunity for fun cross-collaboration, all while learning.
This method may also compel younger people to get involved with STEM subjects that they may have previously thought too complicated or out of reach for their skillset. By offering people an alternative to traditional learning methods you can open up a whole new world of information.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy
Every job has its challenges, with some aspects being considerably more difficult than others. STEM however, as a rule, deals with a multitude of hard-to-understand topics and ideas. For that reason, education needs to adapt so that people of all abilities, no matter how they learn, can engage with training materials, particularly outside of the usual means, such as books, presentations and videos.
VR and AR technologies can recreate complex ideas in an audible and visual manner that allows for full immersion. While this is not going to work for everybody, it is crucial that organisations continue to consider unusual training methods, as no two minds are the same.
By making abstract ideas in tough areas such as physics, maths and quantum more tangible, students and professionals can better visualise concepts. This can enable them to give a subject a firm foundation in their own mind. Imagine if you could hold an atom in the palm of your hand and work it bit by bit to better understand nuclear fission and fusion.
VR and AR does this exact thing. It gives learners the chance to explore space, the recesses of the human body and the depths of the ocean, without leaving their chair.
Safety comes first
In STEM fields, there are many roles that include elements of danger, particularly if the person is new to the industry, inexperienced or is unsupervised. Take, for example, professionals who work with chemicals where exposure via the respiratory system or through skin could be damaging.
It can be difficult to learn in the early days, when organisations and institutions restrict access to certain aspects of the subject due to liability and the risk of injury. How can you learn to handle something with care or build up best practice if you spend much of the formative months watching rather than participating?
By creating interactive training scenarios, AR and VR can allow people to explore dangerous situations in a safe and controlled digital environment. The reduced pressure and danger can help nervous students build up the basics and become adept at keeping themselves and others safe in dangerous conditions.
What does it take?
For organisations looking to implement AR and VR technologies, there are a number of challenges, primarily the cost. For obvious reasons, it is not an inexpensive addition to the workplace. It is a resource that will always require strong investment to ensure it is maintained and of actual use.
On top of that, there may be some resistance to it as not everyone is going to appreciate such a modernised form of learning. Older employees or those less skilled in using advanced tech for example may not take to the new training methods and might prefer how things used to be run.
However, for the STEM organisations that are looking to the future and want to build a workforce that can address almost any problem, no matter how out there it might be, looking to AR and VR education could be a prime opportunity.
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