Virtual Reality (VR) For Teaching Interpersonal and Professional Skills in Special Needs Education

by Jillian Renken

March 15, 2022

With its ability to simulate real world learning exercises and ‘teleport’ students to historically accurate or imagined worlds, Virtual Reality (VR) is being used to teach academic subjects ranging from STEM to Shakespeare. These same features of VR are also being explored to teach a different type of subject matter to those with learning disabilities. One that focuses more on interpersonal development and professional skills development.

Spaulding Academy & Family Services is among multiple special education schools implementing VR into their curriculum and seeing measurable results. Their goal was to meet the needs of all their students, centering their experiences around “physiological and sensory regulation, emotional regulation, skill-building, social interaction, and transitions.” Students with limited mobility were directly catered to; their sensory needs being met by using a VR headset and essentially “tricking” the “vestibular-ocular system into feeling that it is receiving needed movement stimulation.” From an emotional regulation outlook, VR provides a calming experience if students are overstimulated throughout the day, ruling out the possibility of heightened emotions or a classroom crisis. Results have been very promising for Spaulding Academy; VR has opened the door for students to control their emotions, find a safe space when needed, and strengthen their communication skills.

Implementation goes beyond emotional control – students on the autism spectrum are also utilizing VR for job preparedness. A pilot study was conducted in an effort to improve interview skills among autistic adolescents. Participants were divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent 10 hours of interview training with a virtual avatar, resulting in overall improved interview skills and employment outcomes. Further research will likely be conducted to predict the efficacy of implementing VR training into special education programs across the country.

A study conducted back in 2018 was one of the first indicators that VR technology could be used for more than just gaming – Using virtual reality to train emotional and social skills in children with autism spectrum disorder. Researchers studied 94 children who were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and displayed poor social and communication skills. One of the most significant obstacles faced in this disorder is responding with appropriate facial expressions when in conversation. The subjects took part in “six VR scenarios depicting the daily lives of typical children in Hong Kong”, followed by a debriefing session to apply what they learned in real life. Results suggested that “children from [the] training group scored higher on emotion expression and regulation” as well as “higher on social interaction and adaptation” following the training. In the weeks after the study, “many parents expressed that their children were much more proactive in greeting and communicating with neighbors and relatives,” which led to engaging more in conversations and subsequently making more friends. Since the results of this study were released, there have been countless other studies with similar results – increased self-awareness, communication skills, and expression recognition.

Foretell Reality is a VR platform that provides safe, secure environments, customizable environments, and tools for trainers and educators to facilitate role play and simulation training for skills for the real world.

Therapy and Support, VR-Related

Study Compares Face-to-Face and Virtual Reality Interactions: What it means for tele-health.

by Michele Oberly

February 28, 2022

Tele-health options are on the rise in recent years, and have especially flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health therapy has evolved from largely in person-only to including other methods like web-based applications (e.g. Zoom) and Virtual Reality (VR) that make health care accessible in the comfort of one’s home without the constraints of transportation and other logistical barriers. Researchers are beginning to study the dynamics of virtual communication and how this medium compares with face-to-face conversation. Findings can be especially relevant for mental health therapists who seek to provide the ideal environment for patient comfort to disclose thoughts and feelings, thereby facilitating more effective therapy.

At Edith Cowan University in Australia, researchers studied social interaction in two contexts – one in which participant and researcher engaged in casual conversation, and the other in which the participant was instructed to disclose both positive and negative personal experiences to their research conversational partner. These contexts were studied within a face-to-face condition as well as a virtual condition, wherein the researcher was represented via avatar in real time through face and body motion capture.

While participants had an overall slight preference for face-to-face interaction, one of the findings is of particular relevance to mental health practitioners. In the disclosure of negative information context a significant portion of the participants (30%) preferred the interaction with the avatar over the in-person conversation, specifically on the facets of self-disclosure, comfort, and being able to relax and be oneself. The researchers suggest, “the increased sense of interpersonal distance in VR may be why some of our participants indicated such preferences for VR over face-to-face for negative disclosure”. Furthermore, they surmise that a study conducted specifically with a socially anxious participant population could yield an even greater preference for virtual reality when disclosing negative experiences.

It also makes sense to consider that participant comfort level with the avatar could be higher in conditions that more closely align with communication norms. In the present experiment, the virtual partner, represented through an avatar, was standing while the participant was sitting. This dynamic of the participant sitting while the avatar stood had the potential to lessen participants’ level of comfort and ability to relax, as it may have felt more unnatural. Ideal study conditions would have mimicked the typical conversational interaction of two people sitting and speaking (as was the case in the face-to-face interaction), but researchers had the avatar standing behind a desk in the VR condition to avoid a potentially distracting technological effect of the avatar “clipping” with the table. Clipping is a technical glitch that can be easily avoided with a careful design of the VR environment.

Also, in this study, only the research conversational partner was represented via avatar while participants were not. Participants were aware that they were not anonymous as their conversation partner could see them sitting with a VR headset on. Further studies that allow participant anonymity that shields identity through an avatar could be useful to mental health practitioners. For many suffering with anxiety and depression, their physical appearance (for example, due to hair loss associated with chemotherapy or body image issues) can be a deterrence to participating in group therapy. It may be possible that the avatar anonymity in VR could increase their willingness even more to disclose information and participate in group discussion.

Foretell Reality is a VR platform that provides safe, secure environments, customizable avatars, and moderation tools for clinicians to facilitate individual and group therapy sessions, support groups, and other behavioral health treatments.

Soft Skills, VR-Related

6 Examples of VR Increasing Empathy

by Jillian Renken

February 28, 2022

Virtual Reality (VR) is often called an ’empathy machine’ for its ability to alter ingrained perspectives and unconscious biases. Unlike watching a video, reading a book, or hearing a lecture, VR acts as a focused lens into a fully realized world and, through that lens, provides experiences that are deeply moving and difficult to ignore.

What does this mean in practical terms? Here are six examples of how VR is being used right now to increase empathy both personally and professionally.

#1: Business

With the state of the current job market, employees are leaving businesses faster than ever in search of a better company culture. According to a recent survey of U.S. employees, HR professionals, and CEOs, 93% of employees reported they would stay with an empathetic employer, while 82% of employees would leave their position to work for a more empathetic organization. Major companies like Accenture are already using VR empathy training for their leadership and employees to increase retention, morale, and productivity. And Bank of America recently launched VR training programs in 4300 financial centers for the purpose of “strengthening and deepening relationships with clients, navigating difficult conversations, and listening and responding with empathy.”

#2: International Relations

In a recent study out of France, a team of researchers analyzed the effectiveness of VR empathy training to increase global empathy and interest in learning about other counties. This included exposing U.S. high school students to cultures and environments around the world.

In that case, researchers found that VR allows “users to literally step into the shoes of others and see the world from their perspective,” which has “shown significant plasticity of empathetic abilities even after the experience by decreasing implicit racial biases and increasing of mimicry of outgroup members.” The team ultimately concluded that immersive VR experiences are a powerful tool in developing empathy, awareness, and altruistic behavior.

#3: Social Work

Social work is a profession that often requires empathy on a daily basis. A recent pilot study from a New York social work program leveraged 360 video to transport students to a realistic urban environment “with the goal of helping them learn about how its history, resources, demographics, and physical space impacts its inhabitants. The study found that participants felt that the experience, combined with reflective questions, “made them feel engaged and thoughtful, and able to better learn social work concepts.”

VR also provides the ability to virtually embody an avatar and enter a simulation with other students in order to practice various scenarios in real time. The ability to personalize the avatar opens up exploration of biases in dealing with different genders and races in a safe, practice environment.

#4: Medicine

It can be difficult for doctors to empathize with their patients for a variety of reasons. It is also essential to a healthy recover for doctors and patients to have a strong, trusting relationship . In a recent study, medical students leveraged VR technology to simulate being in the shoes of a patient with age-related conditions such as macular degeneration, high-frequency hearing loss, or even Alzheimer’s disease.

Following VR exposure, students exemplified a stronger “understanding of age-related health problems and increased their empathy for older adults” with various diseases or disorders. Another way VR is being applied in medical education is by staging difficult conversations with family members about terminal illnesses or end-of-life steps. By witnessing a variety of different reactions, doctors can tailor their delivery in order to be accommodating, patient, and prevent overly chaotic interactions.

#5: Law Enforcement

Empathy training has also been a staple for many law enforcement agencies. In a recent study, a group of police officers underwent empathy training, which significantly affected their behavioral patterns and led to “roughly 26 percent fewer arrests one week after the training.” Officers were also “over 50 percent less likely to use force in an encounter,” which increased cooperation and strengthened communication between officers and citizens. Overall, empathy training is leading to better outcomes within the community as a whole.

#6: Conflict Zones

Empathy is especially crucial in conflict zones and disaster response. The International Committee of the Red Cross recently ran an immersive VR workshop in order to generate empathy for those affected by conflict and violence. By the end of the session, participants were equipped to “understand humanitarian approaches to storytelling in conflict zones and representing people affected by violence.” Aside from the storytelling aspect, emergency responders are given the tools to understand other people’s pain and trauma responses before being thrown into a conflict zone or responding to a natural disaster.

Promising results in many research studies across multiple fields and professions show that VR is an effective method of empathy training. Now that headsets more prevalent and affordable, it is time to bring VR empathy training from studies into the forefront. Foretell Reality is a VR platform that provides safe, secure environments, customizable environments, and tools for trainers and educators to facilitate role play and simulation training for empathy and other human skills for the real world.

Soft Skills, VR-Related

Virtual Reality for Learning a Second Language

by Jonathan Collins

February 23, 2022

A recent study asked twenty-one university students who were studying Spanish as a second language to compare the experience of practicing face-to-face with the experience of practicing in Virtual Reality (VR). Students carried out three sets of two dialogues each, one dialogue in VR using a head-mounted display and one with a fellow student in a physical space. Each set of dialogues was completed with different partners and content and participants. At the end of the experience, students were asked to fill out a survey about their experience.

According to researchers, “the survey showed overall positive experiences with social VR, and comparisons between F2F and VR conversations also yielded statistically significant findings indicating that VR can be a more fun way to practice speaking that can also reduce feelings of self-consciousness. A thematic analysis of the survey’s open-ended responses supported quantitative findings by highlighting lower stress when speaking in VR, increased enjoyment of being in virtual environments, and heightened engagement when speaking in VR.”

Virtual Reality offers various features which make it a unique tool for practicing spoken language and contextual word learning. Below are a few benefits that VR provides over video and even in-person learning. As with any other learning tool, the effectiveness of the instructional design and the instructor are fundamental to engagement and retention.

Expressive Avatars

Role play is uncomfortable in person and nearly impossible on Zoom. Trying to speak another language during role play adds another level of discomfort and distraction. By wearing the mask of an expressive avatar, language learners can focus on dialogue over how they act or appear. This was noted in the aforementioned study by students who described the “lower the stress when speaking in VR.”

Beyond reducing stress, avatar customization allows students the opportunity to take on different gender and identity roles during role play offering a broader range of interactions and scenarios. And, as noted below, combining personalized avatars with a library of interactive environments allows participants to play different roles while also interacting with other people, objects and media in the scene.

Interactive Environments

It is commonly accepted that immersion into a foreign language environment accelerates learning the language. By going to a farmers market in Barcelona on a daily basis, you will learn the names of fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, and pretty much every other staple quicker and with greater retention than by memorizing a set of flashcards.

Virtual Reality convincingly replicates real world environments including objects and people you would find in those settings. Instead of flipping through pictures in a book or watching a video animation, you can walk down an aisle filled with items that you would typically find in a drug store, clothing store, or grocery store. The experience can even be gamified. For example, receive 10 points for filling your shopping bag with five specified items and then interacting with the cashier in order to complete your purchase.

And populating these same environments with other students allows for conversational learning under the guidance of an instructor. For example, the role of the cashier above can be filled by a fellow language learner who now has the opportunity to practice interacting with a customer and with the local currency.

Tools for Instructors and Coaches

Virtual Reality offers new and unique ways not only to learn but also to teach a second language. Instructors can schedule sessions in different environments for specific groups of language learners or make spaces available for all levels of students to drop in and practice 24/7. They can participate in role play or observe from afar. Innovative features like direct audio channels allow instructors to speak into the ear of one student so as not to disrupt the scene being played out. And instructors can share audio clips, images, and video as well as lead guided 360 tours that provide insights into other cultures while reinforcing language learning.

Analytics and Playback

Language learning sessions in VR generate a variety of analytics that can be tracked over time. Interactions with objects, time spent speaking, and direction of gaze during role play and other exercises offer tangible feedback on progress and can be used to gamify the learning experience. For example, a student who advances to the next level of comprehension may receive a unique piece of avatar clothing denoting this achievement. This also indicates to other students what level their peers have achieved so they can practice with those at their level.

Additionally, instructors have the ability to record any session and play it back within the actual 3D environment. This allows students to listen to themselves and their peers without being self-consciousness of how they appear in a recorded video.

Access

The most popular VR headset on the market, the Meta Quest 2 had already shipped 10 million units by last November and that was before the holiday season where it was one of the most popular technology gifts. Though often marketed for gaming or exercise, Meta has recently placed an emphasis on supporting educational and training experiences. Additionally, other device manufacturers are rapidly entering the market creating more competition both from a price and capabilities perspective.

Just as the rise of the internet and mobile devices allowed millions of people to learn a second language online, the rapid adoption of VR by consumers offers an opportunity to take second language learning to another level, one that reduces stress, increases retention, and adds an element of engagement not possible through any other medium.

Foretell Reality is a VR platform that provides secure environments, customizable avatars, and instructor tools for interpersonal skills development including second language learning. Please contact us for a demo or with any questions.

Therapy and Support, VR-Related

Benefits of VR for Five Types of Therapy and Support Groups

by Jonathan Collins

January 31, 2022

Speaking with a therapist or social worker over video has become much more commonplace over the past two years for obvious reasons. The experience, though not perfect, provides for ‘face-to-face’ communication, albeit in two-dimensional space, and it addresses the need for remote treatment which is critical.

The same cannot be said when it comes to group therapy and support. The Brady Bunch style grid of faces on a flat screen simply does not work well when it comes to facilitating open and natural group conversation.

Virtual Reality offers an alternative to video, one that realistically mimics a group setting and the dynamics of group interactions in three dimensions rather than two. Not only that, features such as personalized avatars, shared customizable environments, and moderator controls provide certain benefits not possible online and even with in-person groups.

Below are examples of five groups where VR offers specific benefits over video.

Rare Diseases

People with the same rare diseases and their families face many unique challenges including physical limitations, lack of information, and the ongoing emotional toll of living with uncertainty. Support groups in VR offer an alternative to having to be on camera whatever condition you may be in. Everyone in the group appears as a playful though expressive avatar adding levity to difficult conversations. And VR is an amazing tool for sharing information whether it is videos, websites, or even 3D models and 360 videos related to a particular condition.

Recovery

Anonymity is critical to many people seeking recovery, particularly for those who may be well known in their profession or community. This dissuades many people from seeking the support of others. VR allows complete anonymity through an avatar and voice masking while also providing the feeling of shared presence that is core to the support group experience.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

Group sessions are one of the main activities in DBT therapy. Each session follows curriculum developed by clinicians and lead by trained therapists. Sessions can cover concepts like distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness and involve sharing of videos and other materials as well as role play. VR is a very powerful tool for mindfulness exercises and it has often been called the ’empathy machine’ for its ability to change ingrained attitudes and behavior.

LGBTQ+

We wrote a recent blog post about the challenges and opportunities social VR presents for the LGBTQ+ community. Safe, secure support groups lead by either a peer, social worker, or clinician offer an alternative to those who want to remain anonymous but also still feel viscerally connected to others. Avatars also offer a unique opportunity to explore identity and empowerment without the constraints and limitations of real world appearances.

Autism

Autism is a spectrum disorder meaning it affects everyone differently. Adults and children with autism may have varying levels of challenge with behavior, social skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, and sensory and attention issues. A tailored group experience in VR lead by a trained therapist offers a focused and controlled experience not possible online. Spaces specifically designed to feel calming and comfortable can also allow for practicing social skills and interpersonal communication through avatar role play. Similarly, the anonymity afforded by an avatar facilitates open conversation and provides an avenue to explore facial expressions and gestures.

Foretell Reality is a social VR platform that provides safe spaces for therapy and support, soft skills development, and other interpersonal activities like real time collaboration and group events. Please visit our website for more information or to schedule a demo.

Therapy and Support, VR-Related

Recent Study: Social VR Provides Real Mental Health Benefits

by Jillian Renken

January 31, 2022

According to the Mayo Clinic, “socializing not only staves off feelings of loneliness, but also it helps
sharpen memory and cognitive skills, increases your sense of happiness and well-being, and
may even help you live longer.”

But what do you do if in person social interactions could be dangerous to your physical health?

A recent study out of the Netherlands analyzed the psychological benefits of using social virtual reality
platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers posited that “by offering (virtual) spaces where users can hang out, chat, and play games together in apparent physical proximity, social VR apps could be especially well-suited to foster feelings of social connection among users.”

Based off a dataset of 220 surveys of respondents who were active users of social VR platforms during the pandemic, the study looked at how both social presence and spatial presence affected three different areas – relatedness, establishing meaningful and rich social interactions, self-expansion, going into unchartered territory to widen our understanding of who we are and how we view life, and enjoyment, taking pleasure in something.

After analyzing the results of the surveys, researchers wrote that the “findings suggest that social VR can provide psychological benefits in terms of relatedness, self-expansion, and enjoyment, which are associated with the immersive properties of the medium.”

Among the study’s highlights:

Spatial presence predicts relatedness, self-expansion, and enjoyment.

A sense of spatial presence, a “users’ sense of being physically located in, and enveloped by, the virtual
environment,” was a key contributor in relatedness, self-expansion, and enjoyment. Directly
interacting with a virtual environment elevated the user experience and made social VR
platforms much more rewarding through the natural interactions that it fostered.”

Social presence predicts relatedness and enjoyment, but not self-expansion.

The feeling of social presence, “a users’ sensation of being physically co-located and socially connected with others,” was another predictor in relatedness and enjoyment but did not involve self-
expansion.

Playful activities are associated with self-expansion psychological benefits.

Contrary to popular belief, taking part in playful activities, such as gaming or
exploring virtual worlds correlated with a high level of satisfaction and obtained psychological
benefits. Socialization activities are associated with relatedness and enjoyment outcomes.

With Omicron potentially signaling the end of the pandemic, social distancing guidelines will be rescinded, but the need for social VR platforms will not waiver. Terminally ill hospital patients, people with
high social anxiety, or even shy teens can fulfill their needs for social interaction through virtual
reality. According to the researchers, in a low-risk environment that offers anonymity, “social VR
can help users satisfy their psychological need for relatedness, that is, the need for establishing
meaningful and rich social interactions, which is considered a fundamental human
psychological need.”

Therapy and Support

Needs of LGBTQ+ Community in VR

by Jillian Renken

January 19, 2022

One of the greatest advantages of using VR technology is the anonymity aspect – for the LGBTQ+ community, this is revolutionary. People who have not yet “come out” can interact with others who may be facing a similar obstacle and use the technology as a powerful outlet to receive support, create genuine bonds, and gain confidence in their sexuality.

However, one of the greatest disadvantages of using VR technology is also the anonymity aspect. With anonymity comes a lack of responsibility for one’s actions. According to a recent ARPost article, LGBTQ+ members consistently face harassment and abuse within the Meta, “taking the form of vitriolic and toxic comments about a person’s sexuality or gender” and “leaving victims suffering from trauma.”

What could be used as a powerful tool in gaining support from peers has repeatedly proven to worsen user’s mental health and self-esteem. Although efforts have been made to ward off this cyberbullying, it’s still very difficult to monitor and control a user’s actions in an open VR environment. User privacy is another critical problem in virtual reality. Certain applications may collect “highly personal biometric data, such as your fingerprints, face geometry, and/or eye scans,” but the real danger lies in the fact that these companies are able to use or sell your information however they see fit.

This could be a terrifying ordeal for members in the LGBTQ+ community, especially those living in third-world countries that have discriminatory laws in place. The lack of inclusivity in VR environments also drives LGBTQ+ users away. Although many companies boast their customizable avatars, they only represent the cisgender, straight characters, which automatically excludes a vast majority of the LGBTQ+ community. In order to have its full effect, VR applications must learn to represent minorities as well.

The good news is that there are outlets that promote safe, inclusive, and diverse environments within virtual reality. Foretell Reality is a platform that enables authentic human interactions in immersive environments designed to facilitate communication, collaboration, and learning. Sessions are HIPPA compliant, moderated, and accessible by invite only, eliminating the possibility for harassment, bullying, and selling of personal information. Anonymity in therapy and support groups allows participants to shield their identity if they aren’t ready to come out but are still seeking support and advice. If you’re interested in the power of these safe spaces, please visit our website for more information or to schedule a demo.

Mindfulness, Therapy and Support, VR-Related

VR for Overcoming the Challenges of Meditating

by Jillian Renken

December 23, 2021

We all know that meditation is good for you. With roots in spiritual and secular traditions stretching back thousands of years, meditation is a time-tested way to reduce stress and enhance mental and physical well-being. Tradition has been backed by testing in recent years, as the health benefits of meditation have been substantiated by the scientific community. Studies have shown that meditation’s ability to regulate emotional intensity mitigates both emotional distress and physical pain, and can even remedy physical ailments like high blood pressure. For these reasons and more, meditation has tripled in popularity over the past decade, with no signs of slowing down.

There is an inherent paradox with meditation, however. The common reasons to meditate–overthinking, stress, anxiety–also present a real challenge to meditating in the first place. Meditation aims to achieve a clear mind, but when effective meditation hinges on clearing the mind to begin with, it’s hard to know where to start. With our attention span collectively narrowing and a bevy of distractions constantly available to us, not to mention a global pandemic weighing on us all, meditation is at once more necessary and more difficult than ever.

Meditation in Virtual Reality (VR) addresses these obstacles on the road to mindfulness, even offering several advantages to traditional meditation. Let’s start with distractions: the all-encompassing nature of a VR headset, enveloping our senses in 360 degrees of sight and sound, eliminates some of the self-discipline required by traditional meditation. No longer do you need to practice monastic self-restraint inches away from your phone or computer, as a VR headset is just as engaging and entertaining as your devices, but ultimately works toward a productive end. The visual and auditory sensations of VR immerse participants in their meditation, allowing them to focus solely on mindfulness to an extent that’s challenging even for experienced meditators. Paired with auxiliary activities like breathing exercises, VR makes meditation more accessible for newcomers than ever before.

Guided group meditation has traditionally helped newer practitioners get into the groove of meditation, as the group setting offers several advantages to going it alone. Group accountability, relatability, and consistency are key advantages to practicing mindfulness as a group. It’s difficult, however, to effectively conduct group meditation over Zoom or even in-person, and VR not only makes group meditation possible but actually augments several advantages of group meditation. Anonymized avatars provide a level of comfort for those with social anxiety, allowing them to participate in group meditation without presenting additional stress. Even in group settings, users can individualize their meditation session to fit their personal preferences, benefitting from the social aspect of group meditation without compromising their own meditation experience.

Beyond accommodating personal preferences, customizability allows for regular meditation despite daily variations in mood and mindset. Say you want to meditate, but you’re feeling particularly fidgety or restless today. Instead of sitting still atop a vista, you can opt for a more active meditation session interacting with butterflies in a field or sea life on the ocean floor. If you’re feeling particularly anxious and want to meditate in a familiar, comforting environment, you can spend your time in the Dunder Mifflin office or Rick and Morty’s garage. Moreover, VR integration with biofeedback allows users to better understand how meditation affects them and modify their sessions accordingly. The range of environments and activities available, as well as on-the-fly adjustments made according to biofeedback results, can tailor meditation sessions for a given day, ensuring that you never miss out on the benefits of mindfulness.

The control that customizable VR meditation offers can itself be a source of comfort. Especially during the pandemic, when many felt a lack of agency in their daily lives, the ability to design your own space for rest and relaxation can do wonders for one’s mental health. The variety of environments, many of them real-life travel destinations, addresses the stir craziness many felt from stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions. Not to mention, the socialization potential for group meditation in VR allows users to feel connected and present with one another when physically shared spaces may not always be an option.

Foretell Reality is a social VR platform for mental health and wellbeing that supports both group and individual mindfulness practice among other activities including group therapy and peer support. To learn more or schedule a demo, please visit our website..

Soft Skills, Therapy and Support, VR-Related

The Metaverse Needs Safe Spaces

by Jillian Renken

December 22, 2021

I think we’ve all heard by now that Facebook has rebranded itself to “Meta.” What many of us have failed to realize, though, is the widespread implications of that. According to Mark Zuckerberg, society will use the metaverse to connect with family and friends, create their own homes, and invite people into it. Zuckerberg believes this will create “the feeling of presence: the defining quality of the metaverse.” Social VR is extremely valuable in this aspect – it’s a fun and exciting way to connect with people, especially in situations where you may be geographically too far to meet with someone in real life. You also have the ability to safely do activities that you may not be able to do in real life, such as extreme mountain biking, skydiving, off-roading, racing, or taking part in shooting games. However, with an increase in life-like realities, comes the ever-so-present threat of harassment.

Just days after Meta released their platform “Horizon Worlds” to the public, many women came forward about their experiences with sexual harassment. In a recent Bloomberg article, a woman described that she didn’t necessarily feel unsafe, but “was uncomfortable, and there were no clear rules about etiquette and personal space.” Her entire experience seemed to be tainted by the imminent presence of griefers: people who disrupt others just to annoy them. Although there are numerous moderators to protect users from this behavior as well as harassment, it is a considerably difficult task to process a spoken language, visible gestures, and body language, rather than simply scanning a text online.

In an effort to combat this, Meta offers a “Safe Zone”, but many users have not been informed of this feature, and thus do not have the ability to block their perpetrators. Zuckerberg’s promise that “privacy and safety will be built into the metaverse from day one” seems to be falling short due to a lack of investment in user education. This isn’t a new problem by any means, though. According to the MIT Technology Review, this began as early as 2016 when a woman was harassed in a VR zombie game. She recalls, “There I was, being virtually groped in a snowy fortress with my brother-in-law and husband watching.” It may not seem like a big deal, but a recent beta tester of Horizon Worlds disagrees: “Sexual harassment is no joke on the regular internet, but being in VR adds another layer that makes the event more intense.” Researchers of online harassment assert that the fully immersive aspect of 3D environments “tricks the user into thinking they are physically in a certain space, that their every bodily action is occurring in a 3D environment,” which is why “VR triggers the same internal nervous system and psychological responses.”

So how does a platform that was built on the foundation of inclusivity and an ability to meet people of all different backgrounds can become a threatening place, full of discomfort for some? The common denominator between all of these incidents is unrestricted environments and an abuse of anonymity.

The good news is that the metaverse is larger than one company and the applications for VR for positive social interactions are game changing. Foretell Reality is a social VR platform that provides safe spaces for therapy and support, soft skills development, and other interpersonal activities like real time collaboration and live simulations. Please visit our website for more information or to schedule a demo.

Soft Skills

Three Examples of VR Soft Skills Training for Today’s World

by Jillian Renken

December 10, 2021

Soft skills have commonly been overlooked in a society that values technical skills, or “hard skills.” Hard skills are more easily measured and therefore often the sole criteria for landing a job. So, the saying goes “hard skills get you hired, but a lack of soft skills will get you fired.” With a changing job market and a rise in social consciousness, employers are increasingly seeking out employees with strong soft skills – disturbed by the lack of communication and critical thinking skills within their current teams. Soft skills are applicable to every profession and give way to more meaningful interactions with co-workers. Let’s dive into a couple of the fields that have utilized Virtual Reality (VR) to strengthen soft skills.

As a police officer, you can expect to face a variety of hard-to-navigate situations over the course of your career. No amount of training can prepare you for high-risk environments involving adrenaline and the requirement to respond quickly. It all comes down to reflexes. The only problem is you can’t train your reflexes; they occur without conscious thought. What you can do is strengthen your soft skills: conflict resolution, communication, negotiation, self-control, empathy, patience, and active listening. The Athens County Sheriff’s Department is among the first of law enforcement agencies who have come to this realization, implementing VR soft skills training into their annual in-service this past fall. Rather than preparing for physical altercations or target practice, officers used VR headsets to immerse themselves in high-risk scenarios, strengthening their soft skills and giving them the tools to de-escalate situations in future encounters. By experiencing multiple different conflicts commonly encountered in the field, officers learned to avoid physical confrontation unless absolutely necessary. One scenario depicted a person in a mental health crisis, threatening self-harm. Officers were given the opportunity to analyze the situation and use soft skills to mitigate any rash decisions from the involved parties, preparing them to respond more accordingly when a similar scenario happens in real life.

Soft skills are often overlooked in career planning as well. Sandwell College, located in England, is among the first of higher education systems to acknowledge the significant absence of curriculum to train and develop the intangibles. Ben Haddock, Emerging Technologies Demonstrator, mentions: “There are a lot of things students aren’t taught about at school. Things like posture, body language, and eye contact. Employers expect work-ready job candidates and there is mounting pressure on institutions to make social skills training part of the curriculum.” The first step in solving a problem is to recognize that it does exist. Thus, the University has implemented VR technology that allows their students to record mock interviews, then switch avatars to analyze the behavior and composure that they need to improve upon. Students can become aware of their nervous ticks and shortcomings, then find ways to avoid them in future interviews. Bridgette Bennett, Head of the Professions and Innovations Academy at Sandwell, remarks: “We’re seeing confident students now going off to interviews and getting the jobs.” This comes as no surprise, considering that 84% of students reported higher confidence levels when going into ‘real life’ interviews. The trick is to observe yourself – a simple concept that would be difficult without the help of virtual reality.

Social Work is another great use case for virtual reality and one that has been recently piloted at Michigan State University. Because of the different environmental variations, trainees can experience important simulations that would otherwise be difficult to recreate – walking through a neighborhood, approaching and entering a home, and interviewing a family member. If students are able to prepare for tough situations before they enter the field, they’ll be much more equipped for the real thing. By having the opportunity to re-watch these encounters, students will also notice their mistakes or unconscious bias, making it easier to correct in future simulations. Social work is a stressful, emotionally taxing profession, but by using experiential learning tools such as VR, trainees can experience these challenges and not have to worry about making a mistake or saying the wrong thing. The beauty of VR is that you can repeatedly immerse yourself in an environment until you perfect your response.

There are various methods and approaches for soft skills training in VR. Fully immersive 360 video scenarios from different view points and role play through avatars are two powerful tools but the real power comes from the imagination of instructional designers and educators who employ these tools to make a difference in the real world.

Foretell Reality is a VR platform for soft skills development. We work with educators, coaches, and instructional designers to continuously develop tools and features that support various curriculum and teaching approaches.

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