Dubai: As education entities, two of our fundamental responsibilities are to prepare children for an uncertain future and build a culture of lifelong learning among today’s youth. To achieve this, it’s important to draw on all available new technologies and systems, and that includes immersive learning.
Findings in the World Economic Forum’s ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2020’ help put into perspective why immersive technologies can benefit the education ecosystem and why immersive learning stands to play such a big role in the future of learners.
Incorporating virtual reality, mixed reality, AI and more
The report found that “84 per cent of employers [are] set to rapidly digitalise working processes” and that the adoption of big data, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies proliferating in workplaces is creating an even wider skills gap – which continues to grow as in-demand skills change across industry sectors.
Experiencing fully simulated extended reality (XR) environments, learners will be able to interact with ‘real life’ scenarios and take part in soft skills training in sectors critical to the future of work – skills that are already transforming sectors such as health care and STEM-related fields
The notable takeaway is that the learners of today need to be equipped to plug these skills gaps as soon as they enter the workforce. Future employers will seek talent that has the experience and knowhow to work in environments that incorporate virtual reality, mixed reality, AI [artificial intelligence] and more.
It is for this reason that I believe immersive learning not only holds the key to plugging the skills gap – by better equipping students for the future and making learning more inclusive – but it will also enable the education sector to undergo a remarkable evolution. This evolution will in turn open avenues for potential collaboration with developers and different partners and stakeholders. However, the priority must always be students and their futures.
For the future
Most importantly, immersive learning enables educators to better prepare and equip students, who are, after all, the future generations who will need to adapt, live and work in a world transformed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The issue with textbook and digital learning is that it does not fully prepare students to face real-world challenges. Immersive learning, however, by its very definition, can answer that problem. Through duplication of real-life experiences made possible by the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, virtual reality, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, learners will not only be more job-ready, but also have the necessary skills to bridge the skills gap that exists between secondary and tertiary education and the professional world.
Experiencing fully simulated extended reality (XR) environments, learners will be able to interact with ‘real life’ scenarios and take part in soft skills training in sectors critical to the future of work – skills that are already transforming sectors such as health care and STEM-related fields. Simulations, role play and learning labs are some examples of how application-based immersive learning can propel learners to better retain information, practise on their own and, critically, understand concepts beyond a textbook.
In fact, studies have shown that when using immersive technology, retention rates can reach an impressive 75 per cent. Additionally, assessments and guided hands-on exercises will be able to gauge the level of learning comprehension, whereby the learning journey can be adapted accordingly.
This ability of immersive learning to enable more inclusive and customised learning – which in turn is transforming the very nature of education – leads me to my next point.
Evolution of education
From a micro perspective, immersive learning offers us the ability to assess and customise learning environments to suit different learners. Doing so allows educational institutions to be much more responsive, inclusive and, crucially, better equipped to welcome students with a wider variety of learning needs.
For example, immersive methods can help create flexible environments that can be adapted to the preferred learning style of SEN (special education learning) pupils. These immersive spaces can be controlled in a variety of ways: For example, to be soothing or stimulating to the pupils, empowering them to learn in a way that is most comfortable and meaningful to them.
From a macro perspective, this hyper-customisation is spurring a dynamic and profound evolution for the education sector. A global adoption of immersive learning will eventually result in a momentous revision to curricula, timetables and ways of teaching – an evolution which is already underway. As a tangible example of this change, we need only look to GEMS Education.
As we aim to better integrate immersive learning styles to support students, GEMS is also focused on pushing the development of the education industry. As a response to both these goals, we’ve established five ground-breaking Centres of Excellence designed to deliver outstanding provision of future technological and digital learning experiences and prepare students for a constantly changing world.
Operated in partnership with key industry players in the public and private sectors, these Centres provide students with game-changing opportunities in areas such as artificial intelligence and robotics. Through hands-on activities we’re bridging the gap between businesses and educators with a distinctive capability to harness the intellectual energy of the academic world with state-of-the-art technologies.
Such use of partnerships with other entities is another reason why educational institutions must embrace immersive learning. By exploring these opportunities, we can evolve the education sector while keeping out students’ interests at heart.
Building connections
Integrating advanced technologies in education allows educational institutions to forge partnerships with investors, stakeholders and technology developers to design digital tools using VR/AR/AI that are tailored specifically to certain learning environments.
This creates a plethora of opportunities for educators to expand and diversify their products and services, involving engagement with a wider pool of stakeholders and the ability to partner with investors and tech developers alike. This is important for the educational evolution I have already mentioned. Furthermore, as the fierce competition among educational institutions increases, a global market for delivering more sophisticated training resources grows.
It is clear how advanced technologies have the power to make immersive learning transformative to the benefit of learners of all abilities, as well as to the education sector at large. What is left is for us to embrace this as rapidly as we can to ensure we are giving our students the best platform from which to thrive in their future.
-- The author is Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education and The Varkey Foundation.
