We perceive art in virtual reality to be an exciting technological advancement most useful to video games and entertainment pieces, but what about VR in eLearning?
It’s true. Virtual reality is fun. It brings you to an entirely different world, and it lets you interact with realistic characters and objects. All this without you setting foot in the outside world.
But there is more to virtual reality art than meets the eye. Researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) found people recall things much better when
So if you’re not seeing the results you want your eLearning course to produce, then virtual reality art could be the change your digital product needs.
How Virtual Reality Art Helps Students Learn Better
It’s no surprise that video games and entertainment media are the first to use virtual reality art. Its main technical characteristics, which digital artist Craig Barr specifies as believability, interactiveness, capacity for exploration, and
Apply these concepts to an eLearning course, and you get an audience that’s more engaged than ever. In the same study conducted by UMD researchers, the following results show how effective virtual reality is for recall:
- The virtual reality approach showed an almost 9% improvement in recall accuracy among the 40 participants.
- A total of 16 participants recalled information better by 10% when immersed in the virtual reality environment.
- About 95% of participants easily navigated the virtual environment, showing its potential for intuitive use.
To add to these findings, technology integrator Jon Spike shared during IDEAcon 2020 some of his recommendations that will help applications using virtual reality-based eLearning engage students better. These recommendations include collaboration, narratives, and puzzles.
His presentation’s main example, Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, illustrates how virtual reality art adds value to students’ learning experience. Not only does the application allow users to solve a puzzle, but it also requires them to collaborate to defuse the bomb accurately and on time in a very engaging way.
By incorporating Spike’s recommendations into your eLearning course and maximizing the main characteristics of virtual reality art, you get an audience who will be able to internalize your course better, as well as have fun the entire time they’re learning.
Applications of Virtual Reality Art Graphics in eLearning Today
Now that you know how virtual reality art helps people learn, particularly when it comes to engagement and recall, you’re probably wondering if this approach is the norm
While organizations have started using virtual reality to instill new knowledge into students in the eLearning space, this practice is not yet as widespread as you’d expect. However, some industries have been using VR technology — sometimes out of necessity.
Studying Spaces through Virtual Reality Art
Visiting certain sites is hampered not only by travel restrictions today — some historical places are physically impossible to reach. Destruction, whether caused by war, natural calamities, or time, has plagued culturally and historically rich sites, preventing learners of history and archaeology from seeing these spaces with their own eyes.
Because of this lack of access, learning institutions like Yale have turned to virtual reality to replicate these places and allow students to explore them as realistically as possible.
Of course, this learning approach still needs assistance from instructors. Or perhaps built-in guides. This will help students internalize the correct information.
And with virtual reality’s ability to inspire interaction and exploration, it can promote an upward trend in a person’s learning curve, researcher and academic Linda Daniela says in her paper Virtual Museums as Learning Agents.
Virtual Reality Art in Healthcare
Time and again, new studies report the same thing — virtual reality and 3D digital art help medical students understand subjects better. Medicine is a highly complex field that greatly requires accuracy. No wonder, then, that virtual reality has been used as a supplementary tool in medical training.
Several studies have shown that:
- Greater accuracy results from integrating virtual reality into learning among medical groups
- Learners tend to understand anatomies better when rendered through virtual reality-based technologies
- Motivation and competency for learning tend to be higher among medical students when virtual reality technology is used, as opposed to video- or text-based learning
Medical training, however, is not the only advantage virtual reality art brings in the field of healthcare. Therapy programs have begun to use virtual reality technology to help patients cope with anxiety disorders, PTSD, and even surgeries.
The BBC reports the story of a surgeon in Mexico City who, instead of administering sedatives, transported his patient to Machu Picchu with virtual reality art.
What happens is astounding.
The patient’s blood pressure dropped during the sedative-free surgery. And it’s all because she traveled to an immersive world, despite being in a white hospital gown surrounded by medical equipment.
Through virtual reality art, patients can recalibrate the way their brains process events. As a result, they can learn new thought patterns and potentially adopt healthier behaviors.
How You Can Create a Visually Stunning, Effective, and Immersive Course with Virtual Reality Art
At this point, you’re probably wondering how your eLearning course can take advantage of this wonderful piece of technology.
In order to create compelling virtual reality art that supports your audience’s eLearning endeavors, you need the following items:
- A solid background in 3D digital art creation
- The proper software and hardware
- An understanding of how virtual reality art assets behave with the technology they’re intended for
- A grasp of how these art assets will interact with the end-user
- And a good eye for art and detail
You will also need to fulfill several steps to get your virtual reality art to display the right balance of functionality and creativity. It has to be correct to be believable and artistic enough to be engaging.
What kind of steps are generally involved in the process toward VR art assets? For one, you have to know how to model and sculpt as finely as possible on various 3D art software. Details are important for an immersive experience.
Next, you will need to make sure these virtual reality art graphics are optimized. This will prevent users from experiencing slowness on your VR application.
Then, you need to add the right textures, colors, and shading to your VR art assets, too.
There’s a lot of skill and experience needed for you to render virtual reality art.
But you don’t have to develop your eLearning course on your own.
How to Get VR Assets for Your Educational Course
Three-dimensional graphic artists are the backbone of any VR application. These creatives are the “experience architects” who are responsible for crafting worlds, objects, and characters users see.
Without a team of highly skilled 3D artists by your side, you probably won’t see the results you’ve been hoping your virtual reality-based eLearning course will produce.
So if you want your course to immerse, engage, and leave a lasting impression, partner with a 3D digital art team who is as experienced as they are talented.
Want your eLearning course to engage learners better? Outsource your virtual reality art development to NarraSoft to achieve your goal. Message us on our chat box, fill out the contact form, or send us an email at sales@narrasoft.com.
Get amazing virtual reality art assets with zero hassle by contacting our team.