Brett Nel, Ulink. Photo: Karolina Komendera

Immersive learning uses technology like virtual reality (VR) to simulate real-world scenarios. In action, this approach to teaching is being utilised to give students the opportunity to meet people from around the world and learn different languages; it’s being leveraged to allow people to take a realistic trip to Mars and it’s even being used to help people learn the actions required to perform lifesaving procedures like CPR.

Although it may be tempting to think of this way of learning as being all about technology, Glenn Gillis, CEO and co-founder of Sea Monster Entertainment, is quick to point out this isn’t the case. “We often think that technology can solve all our problems, but it doesn’t. Yes, these new technologies give us incredible opportunities to do things differently, but we can’t just digitise the syllabus we’ve been using in classrooms for so many years and expect this to make an impact. We actually need to go back to basics and use technology to do things that aren’t possible in the real world,” he notes.