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Revolutionising staff learning and development

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Throughout any organisation’s life cycle, there will be a need to invest in some aspect of training and development. Whether your business requires staff upskilling, leadership coaching or altering staff habits, learning and development is something every business requires at some stage. As human resource-intensive as learning and development can be, the progression of technology has provided opportunities to be smarter and more creative in the way we engage staff. High speed internet, video streaming, social media and handheld devices have completely altered the way we can present learning.

An example of a fantastic use for virtual reality (VR) in the educational / enterprise space is a smartphone app for public speaking training. What better way to help address your public speaking fears than place you in a virtual room with a virtual audience? This is the promise of the SpeechCentre VR app, available on the Samsung Gear VR. Using the app, individuals can practise speaking to a virtual audience while moving around a room and getting a sense for the types of distractions that might happen while they are on a real-life stage.

Another popular method is online training tailored to your specific business. Online training ensures employees always remember what they’ve learned. By delivering on-screen, contextual guidance that allows your employees to learn and perform better and faster. Online learning tailored for your business  can shorten training times, reduce the learning curve, increase productivity, provide in house support, effective and strategic knowledge delivery, assist in monitoring staff capability and standardise business processes. Most importantly delivering training online is cost effective.

Delivery can be as simple as using Google forms right through to Learning Management Systems and in-house developed Apps. I think apps will eventually create a unique position in the training methods of corporates. Given the unique advantages, they may soon become trusted assistants of every employee in the workplace. They will eventually replace a lot of varied tools, manuals, charts, technical support, calculators and so much more. Perhaps making the mobile computing and communication device the only tool you need.

Mars in Virtual Reality

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Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step on the Moon, has launched a virtual reality movie detailing his plan to get humans to Mars.

The film – Cycling Pathways to Mars – lasts just under 10 minutes and features the astronaut as a hologram narrating the experience.

Mr Aldrin’s plan involves using the moons of Earth and Mars essentially as pitstops for people travelling to and from the Red Planet – a trip that will take about six months each way.

Speaking to the BBC, he said he hoped the film would help governments focus on a single plan to get to Mars.

“You can’t afford to do them all,” he said of competing visions. “Because it’s using up the budget that we’ve got and we’re going nowhere.”

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk is investing in space exploration and travel, but said it’s governments who must provide the guidance for achieving the goal of a Mars colony, not companies.

The film brings the viewer to the surface of Mars – surrounded by an envisioning of what a Mars colony may look like.

The film was one of many on show at SXSW’s virtual cinema, a collection of virtual and augmented reality experiences.

 

Charles Singletary from Upload VR, said he was impressed with the experience.”The production quality makes you feel like you’re standing in the middle of a high tier sci-fi film, which makes it all the more mind blowing that Buzz is guiding you through something that could realistically be implemented. “The hologram was very crisp and was presented as a projection in the virtual space, a small detail that keeps the immersion intact.”

The film is available for to view on HTC’s Vive headset – and is coming soon to the Oculus Rift.