Big names like Bank of America, Walmart, and Harvard are already using VR for training, and they’re seeing amazing results—lower training costs, better performance, and reduced time to proficiency across the board.
But remember, these organizations didn’t succeed by simply buying some VR headsets and loading up a few training modules. Creating high-quality, effective VR training content was the key to their success.
In this ArborXR guide, we’ll introduce you to VR training content, explain what makes it unique, and show you how to create effective content for your training program.
What Is VR Training Content?
VR training content refers to educational materials delivered through virtual reality. It uses immersive 3D environments and interactive simulations to create realistic, engaging learning experiences that stick with trainees long after the training is over.
VR training has been successful in all kinds of industries, including:
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing and maintenance
- Military and law enforcement
- Aviation
- Corporate training
What Makes VR Training Content Unique?
Immersion
Immersion is one of the driving forces behind VR’s popularity and efficacy as a training aid. By fully immersing trainees in a 3D environment, they can experience realistic scenarios and learn by doing—not simply seeing or hearing.
Interactivity
Speaking of learning by doing, interactivity is a major selling point for VR training content. In sectors where muscle memory, quick decision-making, and hands-on skills are crucial, VR offers a way to practice in a low-risk setting.
Safety
Live, in-person training is both immersive and interactive. However, some industries simply can’t afford to put trainees into real-world situations until they’re fully prepared. Surgery is a great example—practicing on real patients is often too risky, so VR training is the next-best option.
Cost
Finally, VR training can significantly reduce your training overhead. One piece of training content can train tens of thousands of employees over its lifespan, which is an incredible value from an ROI perspective. Plus, VR training content allows you to cut out a number of related expenses, like:
- Transport
- Consumables (e.g., fire extinguisher fluid, taser cartridges, etc.)
- Expensive equipment (e.g., flight simulators)
- Insurance
How to Create VR Training Content
1. Define Your Objectives
Clearly defining your objectives is essential before you start creating VR training content.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who is the content for?
- What skills and knowledge do you want to impart?
- What learning outcomes do you want to achieve?
This might seem basic, but clear objectives guide the content creation process and ensure your VR training is as focused and effective as possible. Plus, if you’re working with an outside developer or ISV, you’ll need clear answers to these questions for briefing purposes.
2. Plan Your Content
Next, it’s time to plan the training content.
There are a few pieces to this puzzle:
Format
This is how your content will impart skills and knowledge to your employees. Lots of VR training content is simulation-based—employees are placed in a virtual environment that replicates a scenario they might face on the job.
Other formats include:
- Interactive presentations
- Videos
- Games
Storyboarding
Storyboarding involves mapping out the flow of scenes, interactions, and transitions in your training content. You can do this with a tool like Storyboard VR or even pen-and-paper sketches.
This visual planning helps you:
- Structure the VR narrative: Sketch out the sequence of events, environments, and character interactions.
- Identify key learning moments: Visually depict crucial points where learners will acquire new skills or knowledge.
- Refine the user experience (UX): Ensure a smooth flow within the VR environment, avoiding confusing jumps or jarring transitions.
Scripting
Just like a movie script details dialogue and action, your VR training needs a script to guide the narrative, instructions, and character interactions. A well-written script serves as the blueprint for the entire VR experience, covering elements like:
- Voiceover narration: Guide learners through the virtual environment and reinforce key learning points.
- Character dialogue: Create a realistic and engaging atmosphere for immersive, interactive scenarios.
- On-screen text prompts: Provide clear instructions that minimize confusion to allow learners to focus on core information.
Interactivity
VR thrives on interactivity. As we discussed, it’s something that’s hard to replicate in other forms of training content, so you should try to take advantage of it.
Determine the level of interactivity that best supports your objectives:
- Object manipulation: Allow learners to pick up, examine, and manipulate objects within the VR world.
- Decision-making scenarios: Present learners with choices that impact the VR experience, fostering critical thinking skills.
- Navigational freedom: Grant learners control over their movement within the virtual environment, enhancing the sense of immersion.
3. Choose Your Development Approach
Now that you’ve meticulously planned your content, it’s time to choose the development approach that best suits your needs and resources.
You have a few options here:
VR Development Services
This is the route we recommend for almost all the companies who come to us for help at this stage of the process. Why? Because working experienced independent software vendors (ISVs) and VR content creators are the easiest, most reliable way to source VR content.
So, how do you find these ISVs and content creators? Our VR developer directory is a great place to start. We’ve partnered with hundreds of reliable enterprise VR ISVs who are able to provide both pre-made and custom VR content for almost any use case. Moth+Flame is a great example.
The company has created impact across dozens of industries with expert-level training content targeting all kinds of topics:
A great ISV like Moth+Flame or Futurus will also guide you through the process of implementing your program—from designing the content to initiating a pilot program to launching at scale. This is a major selling point if you’re new to VR content management.
Need help finding an ISV for your specific needs? We’re always here to help.
DIY VR Videos
This option is ideal for creating basic VR experiences without spending much (if anything). All you need to do is record 360-degree training video content, make some minor edits, and plug it into your VR headset.
The biggest drawback? Your content won’t be interactive.
VR Authoring Tools
VR authoring tools like Motive, Facilitate, and Sketchbox allow you to create highly detailed, interactive VR experiences. You can add interactive elements, animations, game-like features—almost anything you can think of.
There are a few things you’ll need to create if you take this approach:
- 3D Models: You’ll need to create or buy 3D models to include in the content. realistic environments, characters, and objects using software like Blender or Autodesk Maya.
- Audio: You’ll also need to add in audio elements like voiceovers, music, and sound effects to enhance the experience.
- Interaction Scripts: These are instructions that tell the VR environment how users can (and can’t) interact with objects in the world (e.g., picking things up).
- UI: Finally, you’ll need a UI that lets trainees navigate the content.
This method is very customizable, but you’ll need some development or game design skills to execute it effectively.
4. Test and Refine
Before releasing your VR content, it’s important to put it through its paces. This testing and refinement stage ensures a smooth, engaging, and effective learning experience.
Here’s how to go about it:
- User Testing: Put together a test group made up of your target audience and ask for direct feedback on the quality, charity, and effectiveness of the training content.
- Performance Testing: Test out the content on different VR headsets (if you’ll be using them) to ensure the experience is consistent and efficient.
Then, iterate the content based on the results.
5. Deploy and Monitor
Once your VR training content is ready, it’s time to get it in front of learners. Whether you’re managing 1 device or 100+, you’ll want to find an XR mobile device management (MDM) tool like ArborXR.
Why? Because managing content across your VR device fleet can be a real headache without a great device management tool.
Here are a few of the things you can do with ArborXR:
- Build out a library of content. Creating content libraries helps you keep your training content organized and makes it easy to deploy specific apps or experiences to different groups of devices or users.
- Analyze usage. You need data to understand the effectiveness of your VR training program and make informed decisions. ArborXR lets you track engagement metrics, completion rates, and learner progress to refine your content.
- Manage devices at scale. Efficiently managing large XR headset fleets is a massive roadblock for enterprise training programs. With ArborXR, you can remotely configure, update, and monitor multiple devices at scale to reduce admin work and logistical headaches.
- Install and update content remotely. Manual installs with cords are a hassle—ArborXR lets you manage the process remotely for hundreds (or thousands) of devices at once.
- Control the headset experience. With ArborXR, you can customize what users see when they put on the headset. Create a tailored launcher that only shows approved apps, lock devices into a single app with kiosk mode, and restrict access to device settings.
- Create release channels. Release channels give you granular control over who (and what devices) have access to which versions of your content. Create channels for production, beta testing, and development to keep things organized.
- Control the headset experience.
- Add notes to apps. Add context, instructions, and more to help guide users through the VR content you’ve created.
Receive apps directly from content creators. Speed up your content pipeline dramatically by receiving apps directly from ISVs and developers.
ArborXR lets you manage all your VR devices from one location, deploy training content at scale, and update it as needed.
Plus, our platform is super flexible when it comes to content types. Lots of native home environments (like PICO Home and Meta Home) can only display apps. ArborXR Home supports apps, videos, and WebXR content.
This means you can centralize all your training content, regardless of format. It also means trainees don’t need to jump through hoops to find the content they’re looking for—everything’s right there, ready to launch with a single click.
Creating the Perfect VR Training Content
Creating VR training content can be complicated, but it’s incredibly rewarding. Follow the steps outlined above, and you’ll be on your way to developing immersive VR training experiences that drive results.
Want to deploy and manage VR content at scale? ArborXR has you covered. We give businesses a centralized hub for all things XR—from managing user experiences to securing and tracking individual devices.
And the best part? You get started with a 30-day free trial.
