Few days ago, I was at an interesting knowledge event in Mumbai. It was a meeting of Technology and Learning with a curious theme of ‘Immersion in Learning’ by means of Virtual Reality (VR). The speakers/panel was a healthy mix of expertise from both technology and training domain.Sharing below 4 key points that I gathered there; very relevant for anyone in the field of learning or that of technology.1. Immersive learning is similar to what we trainers referred to as 'Experiential' learning. VR technologies offers a platform (hardware and software) to immerse the learner in a simulated environment. More real the simulation feels deeper the immersion for the learner.2. Business Motivation Two key scenarios that have motivated businesses to invest in and use immersive Learning:

• Threat to Learner's health and life: Flight Simulators are a great example here. Trainee pilots flying real plane would be fatal!
• High Cost of learning resources: Take the case of Diamond Polishing. You can't play (or learn) with real diamonds, can you? :-) Beginners better get themselves graduated on a simulator first.

Those two and few other preferences for VR were nicely put across; point to point by Sucheta Sivaraman3. Success Stories: Muralitharan V from TCS demonstrated 3 VR solutions. These are successfully deployed for industrial operations.

1. 'Velu the Weldor' This award-winning welding Simulator is used by vocational training institutes
2. Diamond Polishing simulator for training polishers in Gems and Jewellery industry
3. Drone Simulators for Indian Forest Guards in an Eastern State. To monitor expansive forest areas the guards have been givens drones. First few drones broke down real quick as guards didn’t know how to ‘land’ them.

4. What about Soft Skills? You might have noticed that all examples I have mentioned so far are 'Motor' Skills (Polishing, welding etc.). At the event, we were hoping to hear about applying VR to develop soft skills. However, it was mostly untouched, with one or two exceptions.I perceive that, when it comes to soft skills, VR is still in the early days. The tech needs to advance a lot to make the experience authentic. But that shouldn’t stop us from dreaming of the possibilities!I can imagine VR solutions where a committed individual is able to learn managing anger, work on phobias of height or stage fear and even prepare for Interview/presentations before the actual day. Today we do role-plays. With expertise now available in this field, we can; look forward to developing next-generation role-plays with Virtual Reality.One exceptional mention on soft skills front was by Craig Rebello. Craig referred to a VR solution used to train medical practitioners in the UK. The doctors and nurses are learning; with VR; 'How to Break Bad news?' to patients! WOW!! I got curious and found more about this online. You can check it out - Virtual reality in medical education to teach empathy.Overall, it was an engaging session on the intersection of Learning and Technology. A BIG thanks to Anand G and his team Vammr for co-hosting this knowledge series!Feel free to share your take on VR for learning/ education, perhaps you are already using it or see an area of potential.