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Andrew Haas
Mrs. Oberg
English 11
3/2/15
Can Virtual Reality be used in job training?
Virtual reality is a rapidly expanding type of technology, yet many
people dont know what it is exactly. Virtual reality has many different
applications, including treatment for PTSD, and can be used to replicate a
persons work environment. I wanted to learn about this topic because I think
that Virtual Reality is the next step in technology so we should start to include
it in many part of society. So in order to learn if it can be used in job training, I
must first learn exactly what Virtual Reality is, and what it is already being
used for, and then I can research if it can be used for job training.
Virtual reality is sometimes referred to as immersive multimedia. Virtual
Reality is a computer-simulated environment, which can simulate a physical
presence in either a real world place or an imagined world. It can recreate the
sensory experiences, which include the five senses. The majority of Virtual
Reality devices are displayed on computer screens or with stereoscopic
displays. Some of the simulated worlds include sounds. Many of the VR
devices also have an input for movement through a mouse and keyboard or a
more complex input such as a wired glove and Omni directional treadmill.
These input devices allow the person who is using the VR device to move

around in the recreated world. For example the Oculus Rift VR device has a
built in head tracking system that transfers head movement and rotation into
the recreated world. As stated on their website, The Rift uses custom tracking
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technology to provide ultra-low latency 360 head tracking, allowing you to
seamlessly look around the virtual world just as you would in real
life.(Occulus.com). With the smooth head tracking in real time it as if you are
actually in the imagined world since there is next to no time between head
movement and movement in the game. I found this topic one day while
reading one of my favorite magazines called Popular Science. In this
magazine, they had a very large section about Virtual Reality. It had many of
the common uses for Virtual Reality and other possibilities. This article only
left me wanting to learn more about Virtual Reality and its possible uses. That
is the reason why this is an important question.
I already knew that Virtual Reality has many real world uses. For
example it is often used for people who design planes. This is due to the fact
that it is far less expensive and time consuming to design a three-dimensional
plane and test it in a simulated world then it is to build several prototypes and
test them in real time. It is also far easier to change the three-dimensional
design than to change a real planes design. Another use of VR is for surgeons.
VR is often used by surgeons and is used as a training aid. It enables a
surgeon to perform a surgery on a virtual patient or to view inside the body of
a patient. For example, They learn skills and techniques without causing

harm to patients and receive constant feedback as they do so(vrs.org). This is

very important to the trainees because it is a much more interactive and safe
way to learn surgery. For the trainees it is far less stressful since they arent
practicing on real people.
What I learned was that VR could be used as Job training for many other
jobs too. For example virtual reality can also be used in cook training, for
example one company made a VR game where you are encouraged to
experiment in the kitchen. The game talks the player
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through many different recipes and how to cook them. The whole basis of the
game is to help people who have a fear of experimenting the kitchen. This
game can be turned in to a job-training device simply by changing the recipes
in the game in to the ones that are used for whatever type of cook you are
planning on becoming. The developer said, Youre involved with every stage
of the cookery process. Why learn from a video when you can practice handson and without a single bit of waste?(Develop-online.net). VR can easily be
used for many other types of job training such as training to be a pilot. Many
commercial pilots are now trained on simulators because it cuts down costs
and risks. Although the Virtual Reality is very useful in the job training of these
pilots it can never actually replace actual flight experience since it cant
simulate everything that can happen to a plane in bad weather. But is often
considered very helpful. For example, A navy study found that student pilots
who used Microsofts Flight Simulator program were 54 percent more likely to

obtain above-average scores in real flight tests than pilots who had trained
without the program.(Scienceclarified.com).
In conclusion, Virtual Reality is a very useful tool that can be used in job
training such as in pilot training, or for cook training. It is already being used in
many jobs such as surgery or airplane designing. It uses a computer-simulated
environment to let people experience something with out doing it or being
there. VR is a rapidly growing area of technology that has a huge amount of
different real world uses. So overall, VR can easily be used in Job training and
has been shown to be very useful. I think that my search was successful. If I
was to do anything different, I would probably spend less time researching
what Virtual Reality is and more on what it is used for.
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Works Cited
"Virtual Reality." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web.
"The Virtual Classroom: Virtual Reality in Training and Education." Science Clarified. N.p., n.d.
Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Virtual-Reality/The-VirtualClassroom-Virtual-Reality-in-Training-and-Education.html>.
"Virtual Reality in Surgery." VRS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtualreality-healthcare/surgery.html>.

Batchelor, James. "Starship Releases Demo of Virtual Reality Cooking Simulator." Develop
Online. N.p., 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.develop-online.net
%2Fnews%2Fstarship-releases-demo-of-virtual-reality-cooking-simulator%2F0203644>.
"Oculus Rift." Oculus. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2015. <https://www.oculus.com/rift/>.