ONE of the important characteristics of education is its evolving nature that has brought about significant progress to those nations that are willing to adapt. This could be witnessed in developed nations. One of those nations that have met such criteria is the United Kingdom that has gone far in industrial technological development in collaboration with private technological institutes that has research, commercial and educational services.

Malaysia, which has historically adopted an education system similar to the British, should move in tandem in the evolutionary process of education as it seeks to move up as a higher value  economy.

One of those areas that needs great attention and has been part of the vision and mission of the current Human Resources Ministry is the upgrading and development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) and making it first class in line with developed nations.

The value adding and rebranding of TVET education that the Human Resources Ministry should embark on is the technology of Virtual Reality. Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

In my encounters with this technology in Holovis Rugby England, I was able to able to look into a virtual architecture of a ship that was derived from 3D files obtained from an actual physical structure.

While certain professions would still need actual physical presence of objects and tools that would signify the conditions of work, virtual reality would help to identify the material characteristics and defects of objects in-depth and in the most efficient manner.

For example, an old building with physical defects that is obtained from an architectural design which is saved in a 3D disk could be analysed later using virtual reality technology that has a particular virtual software that could view and analyse the entire building to detect possible defects. Students of civil engineering could use this real time experience to enhance their skills.

Simulations of driving an actual truck, planes for those who would want to be immersed to experience its motion and characteristics are possible with virtual simulation.

According to the 70/20/10 model, 70% of what people learn is experiential. Virtual reality places students at the centre of the action to experience it in real-time.

The other benefit that could be derived from virtual technology in the long-term is cost saving from reducing the need for actual physical materials for student training. In terms of assessing the effectiveness of training, education and actual problems of student learning, big data from the ecosystem of virtual reality could be used to analyse and understand student interactions with lecturers, and rate of their engagement in chosen courses.

This is to obtain information about personal learning preferences. Through comprehensive analysis, programmes could be catered to meet the actual interests and talents of students.

Many students or adults today are at a loss when it comes to choosing the right courses in pursuit of education excellence and career. The technology of virtual reality would help to meet this end and it could be reverberated in other areas of employment, training and social economic concerns where the availability of forensic data are vital.

Therefore, to build up on this learning technological landscape it is vital for the government to collaborate with technological institutions and state governments to invest in a nationwide ecosystem for virtual learning, with the objective to rebrand and move TVET education up the higher value chain.

It is hoped that such technology would propel the development of more skilled workers in the realm of TVET education. – June 27, 2019.

* Ronald Benjamin is Association for Community and Dialogue secretary and he reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.