Creative Ways to Use 360-Degree Videos in Your Employee Training Courses

Designing Digitally

08/06/2019

 360-Degree Videos

It’s mind-numbing to try and imagine what the world looked like 50 years ago. Our parents’ youth embodied roller skates and Walkmen. Now here we are, watching 360-degree videos on computers, tablets, and phones. Needless to say, technology is booming as we speak. New technologies are popping up with lightning speed and hi-tech devices of science fiction are becoming our reality. Corporations and companies around the world recognize the opportunity for growth through tech integration. Thus, the idea of using 360 videos for employee training is gaining traction.

Using 360-degree videos brings together: gaming, education, and discovery. An experience in which we redefine reality while sitting at our desks, eating ice cream on a park bench, or observing the architectural design of a building, brings with it enjoyment. Overall, it is humankind's quest to better itself. Thus, 360-degree videos provide a rich self-improvement experience by blending fun and learning together.

360-Degree Videos in eLearning

Elearning is fast becoming a broad term. Online courses, MOOCs, tutorials, VR and AR applications are only a few ways through which companies help their employees grow. The importance of 360-degree videos in eLearning is obvious: people are visual creatures and our minds learn better when doing. When you are able to visualize an environment fully, it's easier to grasp, understand, and remember the information.

Compared to other platforms or tools, 360-degree videos are easier to implement and require less tech knowledge from the learner to navigate the scene. You can provide useful, job-specific information in bite-size chunks. This means the employee is more likely to have a successful session and that the learning will last long-term.

Ways to Use 360-Degree Videos in Employee Training Courses

Now, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. How exactly can you use 360-degree videos in your employee training? It sounds like a complicated process, right? Wrong! If you do your homework, set up the right teaching module to fit your business and employee needs, and modify the course material as you go, everything will fall into place easily.

The only perceivable hindrance might be the need to buy a special camera. The camera turns any setting into an experience you won't easily forget, ergo, the boosting of knowledge retention. So, it's well worth the initial costs! Here are 5 ways you can use 360-degree videos in your corporate employee training: 

  1. Online Tutorials and Webinars

360-degree videos transform online tutorials and webinars into immersive learning tools. This experience allows the learner to interact with the environment, take a closer look at the tools involved, and grasp the task requirements on a deeper level. A panoramic view allows the learner to remain focused and engaged. 

  1. Virtual Exploration

Mixing VR with 360-degree videos enhances the element of storytelling for your training course. You'll be able to create life-based scenarios and case studies that immerse the user completely. These scenarios can then be explored in new and interesting ways and the employee will connect to the content on a deeper level.

You can also use 360 videos to give new employees virtual tours of your facility. The purpose is to help the trainee familiarize themselves with the business' grounds, tools, machinery, and other important location-related details. 

  1. Immersive Gamification and Game-Based Learning

Game-based training and workplace gamification are both widely used by companies worldwide. Introducing your workforce to gamified and game-based learning solutions that include 360-degree videos will increase their engagement. This makes learning fun and adding immersive videos give more depth to the experience. One way to use this video type in GBL is by hiding clues in the environment. The learner will need to find the clues, solve the 'mystery' and level-up. 

  1. 360-Degree Branching Videos

Branching video scenarios allow the learner to choose how the story progresses. Applied to corporate training and together with 360-degree videos, this type of immersive learning affords many benefits. Your employees will be able to take control of their learning experience, will feel empowered and confident, and they'll retain knowledge easily. 

  1. Online Demos and VR

Online product demos are essential for employee in-depth learning. The idea is that the learner will gain a better understanding of a specific product if walked through a demonstration of the said product. Enter 360-degree video! The resulting experience is immersive and adds a visual element to plain text. The gained skills and knowledge will easily lend themselves to customer service interaction and problem-solving.

Conclusion

Using 360-degree videos in employee training converts your teaching model into an immersive experience. Employees get to enjoy a visual panoramic experience, enrich their knowledge and skill base, and have fun too. To learn more about 360-videos and how they can integrate with your business, contact our Learning Solutions Specialists today. You can also take a 360 virtual tour of our offices and see for yourself what this technology can do.