IDEA VR
VR is revolutionizing professional development by immersing learners in practical scenarios without risk of their real-world consequences. At UNC Blue Sky, an emerging technology startup at UNC Chapel Hill, we maximized this technology to create an immersive training tool for various workplace settings: IDEA VR. Offering personalized simulations, this tool advances inclusivity in the workplace by refining learners' decision-making, interpersonal skills, and cross-functional teamwork.
Use cases
Corporate training
We partnered with The Kenan-Flagler School of Business to create simulated workplace scenarios where undergraduate students practiced interpersonal skills and responded to real-world challenges in corporate settings.
Patient-centered care
We partnered with BELIEVE to develop a simulated patient care case where practioners cross-functionally treated a birthing person and practiced patient-centered decision-making in a hospital setting.
Designing learning in
virtual reality
Design for Virtual Reality Using a Blended Learning Model, SITE 2024.
VR environments require unique considerations for safe, inclusive, and impactful learning. As an instructional designer at UNC Blue Sky, I carefully researched and executed these environments according to industry best practices.
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Our practice was rooted in the belief that virtual reality should be employed when it is the best medium for designated learning objectives, rather than a replacement for conventional training, for maximum ROI.
Read more about this design process in VR below.
01
Microlearning
Because head-mounted displays can induce cybersickness, or nausea from prolonged use, learning in VR is most optimal when it is 'bite-sized.' My colleagues and I used microlearning design principles to convert our experience into episodes, no longer than 10 minutes. This enables users to reflect on their experience more intentionally over several learning sessions while designers mitigate health risks.
02
Universal design
Learning experiences are only as powerful as they are inclusive. Because head-mounted displays are not conducive to all learners, we prioritized building an alternative learning experience via web for our diverse learners. The VR experience itself also included accessible features like guided instruction, captions, and headphones. These features are critical to ensuring a high-quality learning experience that is a better alternative than instructionalist content
03
Personas
We designed learner personas for each learning solution to define learning objectives and required accommodations. However, they were especially useful to encapsulate evidence-based, human-centered characters and situations. We consulted SMEs and script developers to inform and execute our real-world scenarios for maximum impact. Because VR scenes are meant to immerse learners as though they are in the real world, we carefully considered how our characters would behave: speech, mannerisms, and actions, played by commissioned actors.
04
Feedback loops
In IDEA VR, learners can interact with the scenarios and characters they are immersed with. Users respond to the situation within each "scene" through a series of multiple choice questions, one being the "correct" response. Learners then watch how the characters responded to their selection. Even if learners answer incorrectly, they reap the value of productive failure that enables feedback and course correction; rather than make mistakes at the expense of their relationships and colleagues in the real world, these learners can observe how their selections play out in the privacy of the experience for maximum learning.
Blended learning in VR
User mapping
Client services
How I grew 💡
Accessibility