Immersion without a 3D Environment? Yes we can!

In a previous post, I talked about design as the essence of what makes a learning experience “immersive”, not just the technology that is used as the environment where the activities take place. In this post, I’d like to take that idea a step further and discuss the possibility of encouraging that sense of immersion in our target audiences without the use of virtual world technologies. Is it possible? I think so!

The advantage of using a virtual world to create a sense of immersion is the rich visuals and aesthetics that are established in the world. It can look almost identical to the environment in which the actual practice skill takes place, therefore supporting transfer to the real world. The other great advantage is that sense of presence that is established, not only through a 360(o) view of the environment, but also through the connection that one makes with his/her avatar. That connection goes a long way to drawing you into the experience and having a vested interest in what your character is doing there.

We can all agree that the connection with a learning experience and the sense of immersion are incredibly valuable elements of an effective learning experience. However, it’s not the most critical element. What IS critical is the design of the experience, and presenting interactions that elicit the problem solving and decision-making skills that we’re trying to help our learners hone. (I just ran across a great paper that discusses the importance of cognitive realism in contrast to physical realism, which emphasizes the authenticity of the problem in the environment over the environment itself –a must read!).

When the budget/timeline/stakeholder support/all of the above are not conducive to a 3D environment, there are other strategies that can be considered instead. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), interactive videos, even live role play can be immersive if the design is rich enough. Each of these strategies uses different means of communicating storyline, events, and characters. To get that richness of design that will aid in immersing the learner in the experience, be sure to:

• Develop your characters – give them characteristics that make them feel human and that help establish empathy in your audience; give your characters some personality!


• Tell a good story –not just the facts, ma’am; add some elements to your storyline that aren’t necessarily critical, but that make the experience feel real


• Pose an authentic problem – make sure the problem presented is one that is relevant to your learners, and help them draw the lines from the learning experience to their real world tasks


• Create a sense of urgency – ever watched a movie or read a book where the plotlines were so lame that you didn’t even CARE what happened next? That’s not what we want our learners to feel, so try creating a sense of urgency by making sure learners know what the stakes are in the story, require learner input at cliffhanger-type moments… even allow them to fail

These strategies have worked well to create a sense of immersion in some recent learning experiences I’ve designed. If you have other suggestions for creating a sense of immersion in non-3D learning environments, please share! I’d love to learn from you.