Participating in seminars with your own avatar in the metaverse or preparing trainees for their careers - since spring 2023, the optical and acoustic specialist "Neusehland" has been relying on in-house training in the virtual learning environment "Gather Town". Discover now how training in the metaverse works and how the Confidos Academy and blink.it support "Neusehland" in bringing employees together virtually!
Training in the metaverse - at first glance, it sounds like science fiction. However, the latest blink.it use case clearly shows: To experience digital training as if it were "real", costly VR technology is not required! Virtual learning environments can also be realized from home via remote work. Thus, the Confidos Academy has created a virtual learning world for the optician and acoustician Neusehland, which has been used for internal training since the beginning of the year. The application, which serves as the playful online meeting place, comes from the American company Gather, which is why the resulting implementations are simply called "Gather Town".
The integration of the blink.it platform into the virtual seminar room Gather Town allows trainers and participants to meet virtually under relaxed conditions. Participants can quickly and easily switch between online courses on blink.it and the interaction space in Gather Town. The playful character of the digital learning environment contributes to participants having a positive learning experience.
The Confidos Academy - The partner for digital and analog knowledge transfer
The Confidos Academy specializes in developing blended learning courses and training for companies in virtual worlds (Gather Town). The central goal: to promote and develop the potential of employees through sustainable and tailored solutions.
Confidos is an official "Gather Ambassador"
The academy is one of 24 "Gather Ambassadors" worldwide who design virtual learning and working environments with Gather's software. You can find out how the virtual learning environment is set up now!
Training in "Gather Town" - Here's what it involves!
Virtual seminar room of the Neusehland Online Academy // Image: Neusehland
You see: Gather Town is structured like a virtual office. In this virtual world, rooms can be designed and customized - for example, by placing interaction items behind which links are hidden. With your personalized avatar, you can move freely in Gather Town and participate in meetings, complete online courses on the blink.it platform, or hold a conference by clicking on the links. There are even garden areas, coffee lounges, and meditation rooms.
In short: the Confidos Academy has created a virtual learning environment with Gather's software that enables learners to exchange ideas and share experiences, just like they would in person.
Immersive learning – Neusehland as a pioneer in training
Neusehland has been using the blink.it platform for blended learning training for years. Therefore, the question arises: Why invest in a virtual learning world?
The medium-sized company has nearly 500 employees spread throughout Hesse. Nevertheless, for training purposes, branch managers and employees of the company should be brought together at one location. To make this possible, Neusehland decided to use "Gather Town" in a pilot project to bring employees together outside of in-person events.
Info: This is immersive learning
Immersive learning is a learning method in which learners immerse themselves in a virtual or real environment to learn through interactive experiences. It's about creating a learning environment that is as realistic as possible to provide learners with an intense and deep understanding of the topic. Immersive learning can be achieved through technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality, or simulations. "Gather Town" adheres to this principle and enables employees to realistically experience training virtually - all without a VR headset.
This is how the 8-week pilot project went
Neusehland created two different online courses for two target groups for the project:
First training:
Ursula Fleckner-Jung (trainer at the Confidos Academy) trained employees on how to lead teams in a contemporary manner - "from Generation Z to Baby Boomers." The training took place both through the in-house blink.it platform and via Gather Town. The trainer particularly focused on the question: How can young employees be better understood and motivated?
Second training:
Parallel to the first training, trainer Peter Gerst (trainer at the Confidos Academy) taught applicable "happiness techniques" for everyday work. Staying balanced and coping better in stressful situations - this particularly appealed to employees in sales and consulting.
The blink.it course "Leading Contemporary" is available to participants through the Neusehland Online Academy with direct access to the virtual seminar room // Image: Neusehland
Employees of the company were able to work on the content in blink.it courses according to the blended learning format and then discuss it in Gather Town. The advantage: Instead of long travel routes across Germany, employees can exchange digitally as office life becomes virtually tangible. At the same time, the experience and knowledge transfer remains the same as in an in-person training.
Implementation of a blended learning course of the Neusehland Online Academy on the learning platform blink.it as well as in the virtual training room // Source: Confidos Academy
The Metaverse – The new way to learn?
The 8-week pilot project from Neusehland has shown that it is possible to design virtual training to be as realistic in many areas as in person. Thus, employees were able to use "Gather Town" as a digital meeting point that also invited spontaneous exchanges: "When I first heard about trainees voluntarily meeting in the Gather world, it was a great sign for me." – Jonas Fachinger, responsible for trainees in acoustic technology
Training through the virtual learning world - this is not only a well-thought-out concept, but it was also well received by the employees: “Joint work and learning can look different. The trainees could also have just called each other, but this way, they met digitally. It’s about creating connection.” – Jonas Fachinger
Nevertheless, the pilot project has shown that the metaverse - despite the opportunities for quick and easy exchange - cannot fully replace in-person meetings. "Ideally, participants should also see each other live on site." – Thomas Kupka, HR manager
A challenge for the company was also to convince all team members of the new virtual learning environment. “Of course, it is an important aspect in times of skilled labor shortages to present yourself sustainably. The application is fun for most employees, according to our experience, and of course, as with all developments, you can never convince 100 percent.” – Thomas Kupka
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Working together at the whiteboard: Image excerpt from the Neusehland workshop // Image: Confidos Academy
The use case clearly shows: To make training virtually more realistic than in person, you don't need expensive VR technology! Low-threshold immersive training can become an alternative to in-person training depending on the use case.
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