BY WILSON SUAI MOSES
For centuries, storytelling has come in many forms. It is the oldest form of all art.
As far as anyone can remember, people gathered and told stories to each other. For some, it has been a sacred ceremony since ancient times. And now, from spoken words to written languages and performing arts such as singing, dancing, and drawings, stories have been used to entertain, educate, inform, and experience pieces of narratives.
Today, stories can be performed orally, written, or printed with sound and images. In our modern society, this is evident in our everyday lives, especially in communication, cultural heritage, and education. Paired with immersive technology in education, storytelling opens new avenues, similar to how technology transformed education two decades ago.
But why should we adopt storytelling in education, particularly with immersive technology? What are the benefits? Immersive storytelling in education offers a way to enhance understanding, engagement, and learning experiences by blending narrative techniques with interactive technology.
Stories make complex ideas easier to grasp and remember. Studies have also shown that information presented is easier to recall and practise as it is associated with emotions and context.
Narratives with relatable characters and conflicts create a more engaging, real-world connection. Narrative-based learning is often combined with interactive elements like multimedia, role-playing interactions, simulations, and sometimes virtual reality (VR) that projects users into a new, computer-generated environment, augmented reality (AR) that overlays scenes around users, and a blend of real and virtual worlds in mixed-reality (MR) experiences.
Due to these immersive experiences, learners can view issues from multiple perspectives, fostering empathy, emotional intelligence, motivation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
To achieve optimal outcomes, ‘presence’ is a key element. Presence allows users to feel fully surrounded by the virtual environment, achieving a realistic level of immersion.
As we experience immersive media with other learners and learn from each other’s experiences, active engagement in the synthetic and blended environment is essential, and the environment must be accurate and believable.
Studies have found that VR can positively improve student knowledge retention and attention span. At Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, students who learned in VR had higher average final test scores of 85 versus 78 in-person and 81 for traditional online methods. Increased attendance and engagement were also recorded.
There are many ways immersive storytelling can be applied in education. Instead of merely reading about historical events, students can embody characters from literature or history.
Derelict heritage sites could be reconstructed, allowing students and teachers to experience lost architecture and Indigenous knowledge. They can walk among dinosaurs and sense their size instead of watching them in conventional videos.
Students can safely perform virtual lab experiments, take a journey through the human body, witness biological processes, or explore the solar system from an astronaut’s view. These experiences can be accessed remotely, promoting social inclusion and supporting various types of learners.
Beyond education, businesses and industries can also benefit from immersive storytelling.
In corporate training, for example, immersive storytelling can train employees in complex skills using VR simulations of real-world scenarios. In safety training, employees can practise procedures in high-risk environments without any actual danger.
Additionally, companies are now using immersive storytelling to engage customers with interactive brand stories. For instance, retail brands use AR to help customers visualise products in their spaces before making a purchase, creating a memorable and personal shopping experience.
Immersive storytelling can also help businesses build stronger brand identities. By creating VR experiences that share a company’s journey or impact on the community, brands can establish a meaningful connection with customers.
This approach not only engages but also deepens the customers’ relationship with the brand, making the brand experience more memorable.
As technology continues to evolve and becomes more affordable and sophisticated, challenges remain.
Not all learners or educational institutions will have equal access to immersive media and its platforms. Access disparities are also a concern for businesses, as not every company can afford advanced immersive tools.
Educators, learners, and employees need proper guidance and training, as content creation time and skills vary among individuals.
As immersive experiences deepen, stories and content must align with learning goals or business objectives to be effective.
In the coming years, immersive media tools will become even more powerful with AI-driven adaptive learning, creating unique, responsive learning journeys for each user.
What’s certain is that immersive storytelling is transforming traditional education and training into experiences that make learning and skill-building fun, impactful, and engaging.
By Wilson Suai Moses, School of Design and Arts, Faculty of Business, Design and Arts, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Sarawak Tribune.
