Let’s start with the definition that the Treccani Italian encyclopedia has given to the word learning:

“The term stands for the process of acquisition and modification of behavioral capacities and abilities to live organisms, animals, and humans, in the course of experiences in the environment”. Psychology, pedagogy, and human sciences generally agree in attributing the process of a. to the responses given by organisms to external environmental stimuli, to adapt to the conditions of life; and in tracing a set of psychophysical laws constructive of individual behavior, in its essential sensorimotor, affective and cognitive aspects”. (Treccani, Learning)

When we talk about learning we can introduce two other ways of looking at it:

passive learning: reading only; watching, seeing, and listening only. These actions involve learning that varies from assimilating 10% to 50% of the information;

active learning: if, on the other hand, we want to assimilate a higher percentage of information and therefore remember more things; we talk about interacting during a conversation (70%), but the highest percentage is given to actions involving a simulation of an experience or doing something real (90%).

The information available at the link: http://www.inventawide.com/per-imparare-usa-il-cono-apprendimento/

As we have seen in the previous parts, the premises do not seem to be entirely positive about these new technological models, and many applications, especially on the gaming side, do not have positive feedback, if not pure entertainment. But reflecting on the meaning of active learning, and the fact that the highest percentage (Figure 1) is also given by simulations of real experiences, we can then not consider virtual reality in this discourse.

This reality will in some ways also be made more impactful through association with another technology, namely artificial intelligence (AI). In the text “Life 3.0” by Max Tegmark, there are three different lives, but the most insipid and dangerous could result from the relationship that use has with this type of intelligence. For this reason, the conscious and responsible use that companies, in particular, will have to make of it is important, a controlled use and diffusion, so to speak, of the services and products that will be put on the market. (Life 3.0, Tegmark)

The applications on virtual reality are different, one of them is to use it as a learning tool; from a technician who is repairing a photocopier to a worker who needs to repair a high definition power line. (Mading, 2018)

Many real experiences can be experienced realistically even if in a virtual environment. As Maxwell Maltz explains in the book of Psychocybernetics, our minds do not distinguish between something experienced and something vividly imagined. (Psychocybernetics, Maltz).

Here are some examples where technology can be of help to mankind:

• using it as a feedback tool;
• assisting at a distance, using simulations to reduce the risk of danger.

These procedures can be used as more effective learning processes, not only for purely specific and technical skills, also called ‘hard skills but also for ‘soft skills. (Mading, 2018).

Bibliography

Camera, A. (2019). Realtà virtuale e aumentata, ecco come la usano le aziende. [online] Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.it/economia/business/2019/08/06/realta-virtuale-aumentata-aziende/.

Frigelli, U. (2018). La realtà Virtuale come strumento di apprendimento. [online] Mading. Available at: http://www.mading.it/la-realta-virtuale-come-metodo-di-apprendimento/.

Inventa Wide. (n.d.). Per imparare usa il cono dell’apprendimento. [online] Available at: http://www.inventawide.com/per-imparare-usa-il-cono-apprendimento/.

James, W. (n.d.). Le leggi dell’abitudine. [S.l.]: Mimesis Edizioni.

Maltz, M. and Powers, M. (2010). Psycho-cybernetics. Chatsworth, Calif.: Wilshire Book Co.

Piazza, M. (2018). Creature dell’abitudine. Bologna: Il mulino.

Tecnologia.libero.it. (n.d.). Industria 4.0: i vantaggi della realtà virtuale e realtà aumentata | Libero Tecnologia. [online] Available at: https://tecnologia.libero.it/industria-4-0-i-vantaggi-della-realta-virtuale-e-realta-aumentata-12634.

Tegmark, M. (2017). Life 3.0. New York (New York): Alfred A. Knopf.Treccani.it. (n.d.). APPRENDIMENTO in “Enciclopedia Italiana”. [online] Available at: http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/apprendimento_%28Enciclopedia-Italiana%29/.

Author:

Matteo Zaralli – Founder

Fulbright Fellow, Author, MSc in Business Administration and Philosophy.