People learn differently so immersive learning needs to be designed to match their individual preferences.There is a large amount of research that demonstrates that people prefer different ways of learning. Really ? – I hear you say incredulously !
My own journey through adult education transcends the ‘chalk and talk’ (short haircuts) didactic period, through the ‘let’s just sit in a circle and facilitate the answer’ (longer hair and comfortable shoes) period, and on to the ‘well we put it on the intranet so of course they should know it’ (defensive pointy fingers) period.
In truth, like most things in life, no option is 100% right, or wrong. What is right, is that some people like to:
- read about something before having a go, others find reading boring and just want to try their hand
- learn visually, through lots of pictures and diagrams, others like to listen to lectures
- learn in a group, others very much on their own
- leave learning until the last minute, others like to browse in advance
I could go on, but really, there is a huge amount of supporting research if you want to look on the internet. Although of course you might not. And that is rather the point isn’t it ?- we all like to learn differently.
This is what attracted me first to utilising an immersive learning platform to train people. From many years of experience as a police trainer, then national evaluator of police training and finally to working with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, I could see that sending staff to classroom based training was no longer affordable, and yet e-learning wasn’t addressing the training deficit either.
At Droman, we have developed an immersive learning platform. In short, a self-directed training aid based on a series of apps, usually sitting on a tablet or mobile phone that allows staff to:
- navigate their own route through training; they can first read up on the relevant knowledge through our reference pages, or just dive into the scenarios and learn from experience
- complete the training in one session or progress through it in segments
- go back and refresh their knowledge at any time
The scenarios are designed to replicate real-life, workplace operational issues. They test staff in a way that is engaging and that cements knowledge and skills. As an employer, key management information is instantly available about organisational preparedness relative to risks and likely operational effectiveness. For instance:
- How many people have reached the competent level ?
- How recently ?
- What areas are strongest and where are there weaknesses ?
Nice to know, when events cause strategic managers to ponder these questions. And when things change, of course we don’t need to send thousands of staff to a classroom, instead we just update their own personal training account, in minutes.
We are currently piloting cybercrime training with Police Scotland using this immersive learning platform. We are also responding to a range of expressed needs in subjects such as induction training, Health and Safety and GDPR.
Interested ?
Read more about our cybercrime training with Police Scotland and view our ‘fly-through’ video here https://dromansolutions.com/product/
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