But what if you really could<\/em> deploy virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) professional development to your employees to give them \u201chands-on\u201d experience with your company\u2019s core operations? That scenario may not be too far off: VR and AR are on the leading edge as possibilities for PD, offering your workforce a virtual experience without bringing them back physically to the office, the hospital, the plant, etc.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone can pick up a VR headset from their local Walmart,\u201d says Ohio University\u2019s Charles P. (\u201cChip\u201d) Linscott, PhD, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the J. Warren McClure School of Emerging Communication Technologies, and Audio Director of The GRID Lab at Ohio University. Linscott firmly believes VR and AR are accessible training sources for almost any company that wants to immerse its employees in the experience of day-to-day operations.<\/p>\n Ohio University\u2019s GRID Lab<\/a> (short for Games Research and Immersive Design) marries state-of-the-art training and education with outside resources to immerse students in the creative art of VR and AR experiences. But it\u2019s not about games. The GRID Lab finds grants and other public funding for opportunities for students to work on actual training and education programs. Students get hands-on knowledge and skills to research and develop virtual, augmented, and mixed reality ideologies and technology to build real-world PD for a variety of industries.<\/p>\n The potential for VR\/AR technologies is not just a pandemic-driven reaction for employers. Rather, it is the most promising example of how the immersive nature of VR\/AR is the perfect way to present professional development to your employees.<\/p>\n Imagine if you had a library of immersive, interactive, and engaging PD courses to help employees ease into your team and allow them to experience the physical realities of your organization\u2019s objectives, strategies, and goals. For example, healthcare facilities use VR\/AR to show medical students what they\u2019ll face in emergency rooms and elsewhere. VR\/AR training is the next best thing to being there. Now imagine how you could decrease the learning curve for new hires with immersive VR\/AR experiences that let them see themselves working and succeeding in their new position.<\/p>\n The concept is so promising that Ohio University excels in identifying outside funding for research development projects. Through grants and public funding, they\u2019ve worked with the Department of Defense and Homeland Security and almost every major healthcare system in the state of Ohio. They’ve even worked with the Zuckerberg General Hospital in San Francisco.<\/p>\n The Ohio University GRID Lab doesn\u2019t focus on VR\/AR for commercial use. Instead, Linscott says, \u201cThe commonality has been to use emerging technologies to push the envelope and, with an emphasis on social conscience, to make the world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n The Harvard Business Review<\/a> stated in early 2021 that companies are seeing a gap in skills for new recruits. Fifty-nine percent of hiring managers and 89 percent of executives surveyed reported problems hiring employees with soft skills. As most companies know, soft skills<\/a> are becoming essential.<\/p>\n But how do you train a new hire on these skills when your workforce is remote? A VR\/AR combination training helps you show employees an actual situation and how they\u2019re expected to handle it. Professional development of this nature is hard to create, but virtual and augmented reality helps you address the situation with a hands-on experience for all employees. Think about your current PD construction. Without access to in-person training and development, what can you do to develop these vital skills?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how gaming and VR\/AR help users learn and understand complex environments and unique situations,\u201d said no parent ever. But the truth is, VR\/AR can help learners grasp abstract concepts and gain hands-on experience in low-risk virtual scenarios. Let\u2019s consider for a moment how your company can help your employees be more cognizant of what your customers are feeling. Now consider how instrumental that VR\/AR training would be for introverted employees<\/a> who don\u2019t normally seek close, interpersonal interaction. With your VR\/AR PD courses, you\u2019ve just connected a new hire with the idea that he, she, or they can learn how best to respond in those situations. VR\/AR gives your employees the confidence to react to any situation they may face.<\/p>\n Whether it’s through STEM courses, medical simulations, technical education, or arts and humanities projects \u2014 VR\/AR PD courses help new employees and others in your organization get up to speed quickly.<\/p>\n Linscott believes nearly anyone can benefit from VR\/AR development and training. “Everybody from social workers to police officers, doctors, nurses, audio production folks like me, coders, digital artists, cinematographers, screenwriters, theater, actors, and other professionals are coming at it from a different angle,” he says, “but the commonality is that they all work together on these different projects.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"tech](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1284836641-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEndless possibilities<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nGoing virtual to build skills<\/h2>\n
Applications for nearly every industry<\/h2>\n
![\"tech](\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/GettyImages-1182292574-1024x683.jpg\")
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