Virtual environments for competency-oriented education and training

Highly trained soldiers are essential for successful military missions. Soldiers have to be optimally prepared to make the right decision and act successfully under complex and dangerous conditions. An optimal preparation requires a holistic approach, taking training objectives, content, processes and technologies into equal consideration. The recent military standard for education and training, which is just being updated by German military authorities, focuses a competency-oriented approach rather than training objectives. The military standard also highlights self-organized learning and quality management as essentials. This is not learned but experienced. Virtual Simulation and especially Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Environments (VE) are seen as innovative technologies with high potential. They allow for experiencing a broad range of training scenarios in a safe environment. Especially competency-based training can be supported by such innovative technologies. This paper will elaborate the potential of applying these technologies for enhancing and supporting competencies.