Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Mobile, video, and games are just a few of the methods that have disrupted the world of organizational learning in recent years. In a constantly changing environment, how does an individual stay innovative? How do you balance the technical knowledge needed to understand new technologies with the creative energy required to explore what these technologies make possible? In this energetic opening session, you will learn how artist Liza Donnelly handles the challenges of maintaining innovation in a state of constant change, and how she deals with a common problem experienced in any creative field: what to do when you’re stumped at coming up with new ideas. Ms. Donnelly will share the tips and tricks she has learned in 30-plus years as a cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine, including how to get out of a rut, how to redirect thinking in response to change, how to disrupt via innovation, and how to inspire creativity in your work.

Designing great user experiences for your learners is critical to their success in engaging with or using your content, tools, and apps. This session will break down what’s important in designing great experiences and provide you with resources to get started, from mobile to desktop and beyond. The discussion will cover design strategies, what works and what doesn’t, and how to plan and prototype, with several great examples. You’ll get more than 10 resources and inspiration to take your experiences to the next level.

Your goal is to provide learners with a terrific learning experience on whatever device they might be using. But spending countless hours tweaking content for various screens when there’s a fast-approaching deadline doesn’t seem like a great solution. Articulate is here to help! Come find out how mobile eLearning development just got easy with the hot new apps in Articulate 360.

Your goal is to provide learners with a terrific learning experience. Increasingly, those learning experiences are occurring on multiple devices—smartphones, tablets, laptops, you name it! How can you deliver that terrific multi-device experience when you don’t know how to code and you don’t have time to spend endlessly tweaking and adjusting your courses to suit every screen size for every device?

In this session, you’ll explore strategies for multi-device eLearning and how to put those strategies to work using Articulate’s tools. You will learn why multi-device eLearning is critical in today’s workplaces. You’ll discover objective criteria for exploring your authoring tool options. You will leave this session with tips for streamlining your multi-device development processes.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why your eLearning needs to work on whatever device your learners may be using
• About three objective criteria for choosing the right tool for creating multi-device eLearning
• Easy tips for streamlining the creation of multi-device eLearning
• How to use Articulate’s tools to create one course that works on every device

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate 360.

Technology required:
Laptop, tablet, or smartphone.

Anyone who has been in the eLearning business over the past 10 years and who works with mobile technology has run into this major issue: Flash. Many legacy programs were either authored using Adobe Flash or an authoring tool with SWF output, and many of today’s mobile devices are unable to support them.

In this session, you will explore a number of different methods to adapt legacy learning programs for mobile HTML5-compliant devices. You will learn how to access resources in previously published Flash files in order to create a new learning experience. You will also discuss how to rebuild courses into HTML when FLA source files are available. Come explore how to create a learning strategy to redesign legacy courses and adapt them for a mobile world.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a learning strategy to redesign your legacy courses
• How to rebuild courses into HTML when FLA source files are available
• About different methods to adapt legacy learning to mobile HTML5-compliant devices
• How to access resources in previously published Flash eLearning

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced developers, project managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Swiffy, Adobe Animate, JPEXS, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Captivate, Trivantis Lectora, and PhoneGap.

Technology required:
Laptop and web browser.

Designing eLearning can be challenging enough, but designing eLearning for mobile platforms presents its own set of obstacles. In order to move your projects into the ever-growing mobile world, you need to know how responsive design differs from traditional eLearning design.

In this session, you will explore some of the common pain points associated with responsive design, and you’ll discover that these aren’t as painful as you may think. You will explore the full scope of a responsive project, including planning, design, and development. You’ll learn several tips and tricks for rapid responsive design to help you move your eLearning into the mobile realm.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to leverage the tools available to create responsive eLearning
• How to plan, design, and develop responsive courseware
• How to present the idea of mobile learning to the decision makers in your organization
• How to select the proper tool for your mobile eLearning design

Audience:
Intermediate designers, developers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate 9 and Articulate Storyline 2.

Your company may have implemented a mobile BYOD solution, but that doesn’t mean you can automatically use those devices for mobile learning. In order to implement mobile learning on a large scale, you’re going to need to partner with your IT department.

In this session, you will learn from one organization’s experience partnering with IT on a BYOD mobile learning strategy. You will explore the struggles, successes, and what still needs to be done to implement mobile learning on a global scale. By attending this session, you will learn what to expect when partnering with IT, and you’ll walk away with tips that will prepare you to launch your next mobile learning project.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the questions you need to ask your IT department
• How to determine what questions you need to answer for IT
• About a basic framework to begin your journey supporting mobile devices
• How to effectively interact with IT as a partner, not a customer

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile device management (MDM), BYOD environments, Adobe Captivate, and TechSmith Camtasia.

Do you need a simple mobile-first or responsive performance support solution? Today’s mobile workers often don’t need training; what they need is quick access to a knowledge base to find an answer. But the organizations putting these resources in place need something more than page views to measure their effectiveness.

In this session, you will learn how to leverage WordPress and xAPI to build a responsive performance support and learning platform. You will discover how such a tool can provide your workers with the information and guidance they need. You will also learn how to build a tool that will work on all devices and be optimized for speed.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the tools you need to build a prototype
• About basic xAPI functionality
• How to publish content in responsive formats
• How to convert existing content to a responsive or mobile-first format

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
WordPress, GrassBlade xAPI Companion, knowledge bases, and custom post types.

Today’s L&D professionals are tasked to create more video without breaking the budget. There’s also increasing pressure to ensure that these videos are effective at supporting learning and performance goals. What are some of the metrics used to track instructional video, and how do you make sense of those numbers?

In this session, you will explore different parts of the video equation in order to understand the complete picture. You will discover some of the elements that make for effective video. You will learn tips for keeping the video price tag reasonable. You will examine numerous examples, both effective and ineffective, and break down some of the elements of those videos. You will also explore common metrics to determine whether your video achieved its planned objective.

In this session, you will learn:

• About elements that you can include in videos to increase instructional effectiveness
• Tips and tricks for saving time and money when creating video that focuses on instruction
• About different types of engagement methods (passive and active) that can impact video effectiveness
• About common metrics associated with video and how you can use them to measure impact

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Videos (YouTube, various websites) and Google Analytics.

Producing videos can be a complex endeavor for learning professionals attempting to bring their courses to life. By incorporating appropriate project management principles, instructional designers can create a smooth process for video production and avoid having to reshoot critical footage they need for a course.

In this session, you will learn the questions you need to ask before creating a video production timeline. You will learn from examples of challenges that might come up that can affect production schedules or video quality. You will discover how to set up dependencies to create a time estimate for production. You will leave this session with tips and tricks for managing the review and editing process as well as implementing a QA schedule.

In this session, you will learn:

• About challenges that can affect production schedules or video quality
• How to set up dependencies to create a time estimate for production
• Some tips and tricks for managing the review and editing process
• How to implement a QA schedule
• About the people and types of technology needed to create quality video

Audience:
Novice designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Project management platforms Wrike and Smartsheet, as well as other platforms that might be similar. Frame.io for preview and approval. Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, and Telestream ScreenFlow depending on production timelines.

Video has traditionally been difficult, time-consuming, and expensive, but it doesn’t need to be. Today, eLearning professionals can produce live-action and animated videos easily, quickly, and on a budget. But which do you choose, live-action or animated? It can be challenging to determine which option will best tell your story and engage your learners while also making the most sense given your budget and time constraints.

In this session, you will learn how to determine the best choice between live action and animated video for your learning projects. You’ll explore when and where it’s best to use live-action video. You’ll discuss the pros and cons of animated videos. You will also explore how to shoot live video, how to create an animation, and how to incorporate both together for best results.

In this session, you will learn:

• When and where to use live-action video
• When and where to use animated video
• The pros and cons of live-action and animated video
• How to incorporate both live and animated videos together
• How to prepare to shoot live video and create animations

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Recorded live-action videos; animated videos created in GoAnimate.

Training comes most commonly in the form of a webinar or in-person presentation with a slide deck. You get a lot of information, presentation of complex topics, and a two-way communication street where questions from the audience can be addressed as they come up. These are all good things. But sometimes you don’t want to know how to build a watch—you just need to know what time it is.

Video can be an effective a la carte component of microlearning. Having digestible content available for your learners is key, and video is an important component of any a la carte learning strategy. This session will present some real-world examples and cover the ideation, strategy, and creative process that go into making a video for a microlearning application. You will have a chance to ask questions and share examples of what has worked for you. Come ready to learn and share.

In this session, you will learn:

• About microlearning from a sales training perspective
• About the strategy that goes into creating a video for microlearning
• A better understanding of the tools necessary to implement microlearning video
• How process and technology can translate between fields

Audience:
Novice to intermediate  designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
In Plants vs. Zombies2, you are a homeowner who must grow, then use, various plants to prevent an army of zombies from entering your house. Each type of plant has special abilities for offense or defense, and each row of the game board requires strategy to protect your home.

In this session, you will explore Plants vs. Zombies 2 and how it shows ways to adjust in different scenarios. You will examine its game structure as a model for how to improve learning of content for success as well as learning through failure. 

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Smartphones are everywhere, and one of the most common uses for these phones is to play games. Their smaller screens require more skill to create a strong learning experience, game experience, and user experience.

In this session, you will explore various mobile games and discuss the decisions that influenced their game design, learning design, and UX. You will examine the differences in each of these areas of design. You will discover the important role prototyping plays in game design. You will leave this session with an understanding of the basic principles you need to follow when designing games for smartphones.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the differences between game design, learning design, and UX design
• About basic principles to consider when designing games for smartphones
• Criteria for evaluating game design, learning design, and UX design
• About the importance of paper prototyping mobile games before doing digital design or development

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

It’s not unusual to find gamification elements in software applications across nearly every industry, but only a fraction of these platforms prove to have significant impact on performance. While individual gamification elements may increase engagement and enhance performance, they often are not designed with the user in mind, and there are not enough analytics integrated into the process to assess effectiveness.

In this case study session, you will explore the design process of an award-winning gamification product at Sears Holdings. You will discover how a team designed this project using continuous prototyping and constant engagement with its intended users. You will explore how the team continuously leveraged user-generated data to optimize the gamification experience. You will walk through the entire business case and understand the business problem that the gamification product was designed to solve, and the specific framework the team used in order to ensure the product would impact associate performance.

In this session, you will learn:

• About a prototyping framework to help you ensure gamification is properly implemented in your learning and performance management tools
• How to leverage user testing methods to ensure gamification is effective
• A better understanding of how gamification analytics is done at SHC
• Lessons from a real business case that leveraged gamification to solve a crucial business problem

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

The use of online video to support performance is a hot topic these days. But when is it a viable solution? How can it improve performance? And, most importantly, how can you build a solution that uses it effectively?

In this highly interactive and practical session, you’ll learn how to plan, develop, and maintain a convenient, user-friendly, video-based performance support system. You will learn the process to develop video content that’s meaningful to your audience. To build your experience, you will complete a hands-on challenge where you serve in one of four critical roles: subject matter expert, project manager, multimedia developer, or learner. This activity will walk you through the steps needed to create effective video content, including the planning you need to do before you even pick up a camera. But content like this can only be effective if people engage with it, so you will also learn how to track the ways your audience actually uses video content.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the iterative video development process works in practice
• How the four critical roles (subject matter expert, project manager, multimedia developer, and learner) contribute to creating great video content
• What steps you’ll need to create thoughtful video content, including how to develop a shot list to help you produce your video
• About tools you can use to develop and house your video performance support solution

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Camtasia Studio and Articulate Storyline.

Technology has made it possible to offer scalable, experiential, and collaborative learning across the globe, while instructional videos can serve as a key delivery mechanism for content from instructor to students. Nevertheless, instructional videos often are too long, too dense, and offer little room for learners to interact with the content.

In this session, you will discover a process for designing and producing instructional videos to achieve learning outcomes. You will examine examples of effective instructional videos in MOOCs, online programs, blended courses, and distance learning sessions. You will also explore the use of 360-degree videos and virtual reality in digital learning. Join in to explore the future of instructional videos for better learning.

In this session, you will learn:

• About an instructional video design process
• About best practices for producing instructional videos
• About the possibilities of 360-degree video for teaching and learning
• About the possibilities of virtual reality for teaching and learning

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video, 360-degree video, virtual reality.

Mobile devices are ubiquitous and now an essential tool in everyone’s pocket or purse. But are these devices truly helpful, or are they more of a hindrance to how people connect, communicate, and collaborate with peers, teams, and organizations?

In this session, you will learn about several proven approaches to introducing and managing mobile devices as a significant part of today’s modern blended learning environment. You’ll explore how best to use PDFs and EPUBs as support for learning on the go; the best approaches to surveying and using interactive whiteboards to promote greater collaborative learning; and how you can use both video and game mechanics to help spur increased mobile usage.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to leverage mobile for pre-work before a scheduled ILT class
• How to use digital documents (PDFs, EPUBs) to replace traditional support materials
• How to increase content consumption before, during, and after a blended curriculum
• How to incorporate video and game mechanics to drive mobile usage
• How launching surveys, polls, and interactive whiteboards can increase collaboration

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
PDFs, EPUBs, survey tools, and virtual whiteboards.

The mobile learning landscape is continually growing and shifting. As intimidating as those changes may be, organizations must be prepared to formulate and execute strategies to harness this growing technology. An understanding of the various devices, the appropriate content, the impact of mobile on traditional training and development, and how to make a business case for mobile in your organization are of key importance in navigating today’s mobile learning landscape.

In this session, you will explore the mobile learning landscape. You will discuss the various types of mobile devices and how these affect your training approach. Additionally, you will explore optimal content types for mobile learning, and the connected discussion around mobile design approaches and the differences from traditional instructional design. Finally, you will help build the business case for mobile in your organization—the “why” of mLearning today!

In this session, you will learn:

• About the various types of mobile devices and how the differences affect your training approach
• Which types of content are optimal for mobile deployment
• How to make the business case for mobile, and why you should incorporate mobile into your organization’s strategy
• Approaches to mobile design, and how it may differ from your typical design process
• Ideal approaches to mobile development using tools you likely already have
• Common examples of mobile deployment and security

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

This session will use practical case studies to explore the wide range of user engagement models in learning apps. The discussion will include one-to-one matching and tutoring, multi-party classrooms, student working sessions, broadcasts on social media, and dynamic social-learning environments that go beyond the classroom. You will learn about the design and performance characteristics of different live video models, the pros and cons of PaaS cloud platforms vs. build-it-yourself development approaches, and how to think about video in the context of end-to-end student experiences.

Today’s learners want short, focused, and bite-sized chunks of content in easy-to-consume learning modules. While microlearning is not a new concept, it is better understood and implemented these days. Join this session for a closer look at microlearning and why it should be part of your eLearning strategy. The discussion will unpack what microlearning really means and what to look for in a microlearning platform. You’ll also learn why mobile plays such an important part in microlearning—and some dos and don’ts of mobile deployment. Discover the challenges facing today’s learners, and find out how microlearning can overcome them.

The use of games in eLearning is growing. However, most eLearning designers struggle to know where to start with games. Building an interactive game can be difficult without skills and practice in coding software.

In this session, you will explore some of the new features in Storyline 360 that help put the power of gaming into your hands. You will examine a few basic examples of games in eLearning and then put these ideas into practice. You will practice using new motion path trigger events, animations, sliders, and dials to build gaming functionality that you can easily use in your eLearning courses.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to build motion paths and animations in Storyline 360
• How to work with new motion intersection trigger events
• How to build custom dials and sliders
• How to design and develop unique animations

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline 360.

Technology required:
PC or Mac with Windows, running Articulate 360.

You want to create, edit, and enhance microvideos, but you don’t want to spend a lot of money on software or time on learning a complex program. You also need to collaborate with others on projects—and you need a way to organize your raw footage and media files. What are your options?

In this session, you will create videos and then edit them with a low-cost web video editing tool. You will also learn how to collaborate with others on joint editing projects or edit on the go with mobile apps. In addition, the tool that you use will also allow you to manage media including video, images, and sounds.

In this session, you will learn:

• The basics of video editing
• How to enhance your video
• How to import PPT files to create a video
• About the advantages of collaboration with video editing

Audience:
Novice designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video creation, video editing, and exporting video for publishing.

Technology required:
Laptop or tablet with Internet access.

Traditional video is an important and engaging component of training programs and curriculum development. However, traditional video only allows learners to see the linear path of video projects. What if you could give learners the ability to fully immerse themselves into the videos they’re watching? With 360-degree video, you do just that.

In this session, you will explore the use of 360-degree video in training to immerse learners into the content. You will learn what it takes to capture and edit 360-degree video, and how you can view and share your 360-degree video content. You will also examine and discuss examples of 360-degree video that are being used for training and development today.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the technology and knowledge necessary to get started with 360-degree video
• How 360-degree video is being using in existing training development
• How to create a 360-degree video recording
• About common pitfalls associated with developing 360-degree content

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
360-degree video recording; Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere; Kolor auto stitching software; immersive video; Git2 Pro Action Camera; and 3-D printing.

Have you heard the saying “If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million”? Video content can explain very complex concepts, but usually lacks good navigation or interactivity. eLearning, on the other hand, delivers a great user experience, but often comes up short at conveying meaning with just words and pictures. Combining eLearning with video can give you the best of both worlds.

In this session, you will learn how to take large, unmanageable videos, break them into useful segments, and knit them into an eLearning template. You will discover how this enables your audience to navigate your content in a meaningful, organized fashion. Along the way, you’ll see how mixing different types of video content, such as conceptual and step-by-step instructions, with interactive elements can enhance the learning experience. You’ll also look at how to manage different types of content you receive from your team members and keep track of all the various elements as you produce your final product.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use Camtasia Studio to take a large video and publish many smaller files
• How to build a Storyline template that seamlessly displays multiple videos in a specific order
• How to add navigation elements (next/previous buttons, chapter tabs) that allow a user to navigate to any part of your video content
• How content providers, who don’t have experience using an eLearning development tool, can provide video content for use in the final product
• Tips for getting various media elements (audio, screen recordings, graphics) from different members of your team
• How variables allow you to build a template that you can use to easily produce courses with varying numbers of videos
• How mixing content of different types (Camtasia, GoAnimate) works to enhance the learning experience

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline, Camtasia Studio, GoAnimate, and JavaScript.

Your company keeps growing, but your training department doesn’t. You feel like your current course development methods are making it harder to keep up with compressing development timelines, and yet you’re being asked to create more courses, different courses, smaller courses, and courses that are easier to access. Sales doesn’t like logging in to the LMS every time they need to take some training. And you’re getting tired...

This session will guide you through a case study that explores situations where video should and should not be used. You will learn about the tools, methodologies, and techniques you can use to develop professional-quality video training on a budget. You will discover great options for hosting, delivering, and tracking your video content. The group will round out the session together by discussing the future of video, sharing ideas and questions about how to leverage video for training.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to make a video training plan
• Which tools you need to succeed
• How to compress and encode video content
• How to discuss video training with your colleagues
• About lighting tools and techniques

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Premiere, Encore, Media Encoder, and Captivate; Encoding.com; YouTube; Watershed LRS; and xAPI.

The common approach, when introducing live video into virtual learning applications, is to create an online lecture room where participants watch and can be seen by the lecturer and can easily join the conversation. But this is just the tip of the iceberg! eLearning teams must build on the dramatically changed expectations of new generations brought up in a social revolution that has put live video communication in the hands of over three billion people around the world.

In this session, you will examine practical case studies from Cambly, Chegg, Learntron, Kip McGrath, and others to explore the wide range of user engagement models in learning apps. The discussion will include one-to-one matching and tutoring; multi-party classrooms; student working sessions; huge broadcasts on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitch; and dynamic social-learning environments that go way beyond the classroom. The future will be different.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to think about video in the context of end-to-end student experiences
• About the range of alternative approaches for using live video effectively in eLearning
• How to appreciate the significant impact of social networking models and apps
• How to understand the design and performance characteristics of different live video use-models
• About the pros and cons of PaaS cloud platforms vs. build-it-yourself development approaches

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual classrooms and social media platforms (YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch).

Workplace learning is a two-way relationship between a company’s desire to stay competitive and employees’ need for information to engage job functions. With the struggle for competitive advantage expected to only accelerate, it pays dividends to create a flexible and technology-enabled learning ecosystem that can foster the future generations in the workforce.

In this session, you will discuss the best practices that organizations need to consider in order to support today’s workforce and remain competitive. You will explore examples including the use of mobile technology, the adoption of social learning tools, increased alignment with corporate objectives, the use of adaptive learning principles, and the ability to measure effectiveness. You will also learn about short-term and long-term approaches to workplace learning, including virtual reality, gamification, serious games, and augmented reality for the workplace.

In this session, you will learn:

• About best practices to ensure a successful approach to corporate training and workplace learning
• How to ensure employees stay ahead of the curve with training
• About best practices to ensure that you are equipped to approach future learners and generations entering the workforce

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Leap Motion, Microsoft Kinect, Oculus Rift, Google Glass, Mozilla Open Badges, and Pokemon Go.

When videos, presentations, and slide shows start to look ho-hum and just aren’t holding your learners’ attention anymore, it’s time to step it up. Say goodbye to boring bullets and static graphics, and give your audience something to keep them watching.

In this session, you will discover how animation can add activity and life to otherwise dull and static conceptual explanations and demonstrations. You will explore how to create animated video to add to your eLearning content and courses. You’ll examine the types of content that are well suited to animated video, and then explore a start-to-finish lesson in developing material using GoAnimate cloud software. You will design custom characters, add audio, create an animated segment, and produce a final MP4 video. You will leave with a plan for implementing animation in your next project.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use GoAnimate software
• How to sync audio and video to create animated segments
• Which types of content are best suited to animation
• How easy it is to replace dull presentation content with vibrant video
• How to create custom characters

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
GoAnimate animation software.

Games and gamification are new ideas to many organizations. Executives may perceive games for learning as child’s play, or may struggle to understand how they’re different from the scenario-based learning you already have. Furthermore, some see gamification as an artificial reward system that will have no long-term benefits.

Moving your organization forward with new approaches to learning and development can be challenging—especially when the new approaches involve nontraditional ideas or technologies. Join our panel of experts as they discuss how you can overcome the most common barriers to games and gamification and ramp up your organization’s performance.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
In The Trail, you set out as a pioneer on a long journey across an unknown countryside. Your mission is to reach the town of Eden Falls, but along the way you have to explore, collect items, learn to craft things to help you survive, and create items you can trade. But reaching town is only the end of the first phase of your journey.        

In this session, you’ll examine how The Trail game concept could apply to onboarding a learner to a new environment and how to offer clear short-term and long-term objectives and a personalized experience through the choice of challenges and a customized storyline. The game also reminds us that repetition must be meaningful, not just redundant, in order to keep learners engaged.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

There’s no doubt that augmented reality (AR) is a very popular technology right now. Most of the applications making headlines are focused on entertainment, such as games, video and movies, and other “time wasters.” What are organizations to make of the potential of AR for business in the face of growing consumer use and interest?

There are many considerations in using augmented reality for your business. When done well, the technology can be impactful, cost-effective, and groundbreaking. In this session, you will explore some of the strongest use cases for augmented reality in the workplace, and you’ll learn how to measure these experiences’ effectiveness for real-world business outcomes.

In this session, you will learn:

• When augmented reality will help you the most
• About the value of augmented reality in business
• How to maximize AR’s effect for your organization

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Augmented reality.

The pairing of 360-degree video and virtual reality has hit the mainstream, with numerous companies launching new tools to view and even create this content on a constant basis. Yet it’s difficult to fully understand the possibilities of this technology without clear examples of how to use 360-degree video for education and training purposes, what tools are available to develop this content, and how to test whether it’s actually effective at sharing content.

In this session, you’ll experience 360-degree virtual reality projects created for a wide range of learning situations, including secondary education, professional acclimatization, and graduate medical training. After experiencing 360-degree video training firsthand, you’ll then discuss best practices and equipment needs for this kind of content. This will include discussing what costs are involved in producing 360-degree video, what learning domains to measure, and what techniques and processes can help you implement it quickly and effectively.

In this session, you will learn:

• How 360-degree video is already being used for situations such as clinical training scenarios, medical procedure walk-throughs, and middle school science classes
• How effective 360-degree video training is for different scenarios
• About best practices and equipment that can help you create and share 360-degree video simply and affordably
• About the costs involved with implementing 360-degree video

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, managers, directors, and senior leaders (VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:
Kodak 4K 360-degree video cameras; Ricoh Theta 360-degree still cameras; YouTube 360-degree video via Google Cardboard; Homido 360-degree video viewing headset; and various 360-degree video apps and equipment for smartphones.

From Gutenberg to Google, the old model of training that was disconnected from real-world practical experience has been: Read and remember. However, with the hardest skills, which training method is almost universally recognized as effectively impacting learning and retention of workplace skills? Hints: _____ makes perfect.  _____ is the best teacher.

With the hardest skills, how you learn determines how well you learn. This session will look at a new model of high-impact blended training enabled by online video. This approach to training simulations is staged to explode over the next decade: learning by doing, implemented effectively with blended learning solutions that use a variety of media types.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to select and sequence methods and media, similar to precisely arranging puzzle pieces, to have maximum real-world impact
• How to choose among a wide variety of one-to-one as well as one-to-many course relationships
• How to master the risk-opportunity continuum so your training is not just added “noise” for people who are already busy and overworked

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

How do you implement virtual reality–based training in an organization without breaking the bank? This session will provide a practical guide to implementing virtual reality, mixed reality, and game-based training solutions, and will bust some common myths about hot new technologies like VR and AR. The session will demonstrate impactful, interactive, gamified learning simulations from around the world and show you how to integrate these tools into your training in a cost-effective, practical, and powerful manner.

Eight seconds: the time you have to grab an employee’s attention. Five minutes: the time you can keep it. Both down by 50 percent in 10 years. What’s causing this societal attention problem? Every day, hundreds of emails, chats, texts, notifications, calls, and meetings compete for your employees’ attention and divert their focus. What tool can you use to grab and keep their attention? Training games. Games complement and improve the effectiveness of traditional training. Come learn more, play the Jump Game, and see data in action. High score at the game session wins a $250 gift certificate!

Poor-quality explainer videos can distract your learners and prevent them from getting the message. Many L&D professionals operate on a tight budget and do not have a lot of video editing experience. How do you create professional-level videos that can be delivered on any platform or eLearning tool?

This hands-on session will cover practical, easy, and cheap tricks to help raise the quality of your explainer videos. You will explore the importance of adjusting your screen size to the best size, and how to make different parts of your screen pop as you talk about certain sections. You will learn how to avoid an amateur look in your videos, and even how to set up your videos for easier translation. You will leave this session knowing how to make higher-quality explainer videos with the tools you already have.

In this session, you will learn:

• About optimal screen resolution for explainer videos
• Tips on using ScreenFlow
• Tips on using Camtasia
• Tips on compressing your video
• Tips on exporting for web use

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Telestream ScreenFlow and TechSmith Camtasia.

Technology required:
Laptop running ScreenFlow or Camtasia for Mac, or Camtasia for PC.

Building mobile interactions for learning is challenging. Adobe Captivate 2017 offers two approaches to mobile development: breakpoints and fluid boxes. When building interactions, you need to put some thought into how to place the objects on the screen. Knowing the rules of how to work with breakpoints and fluid boxes will give you a big head start and help you avoid a lot of mistakes.

In this hands-on session, you will begin creating responsive eLearning interactions in Captivate 2017 using both breakpoints and the new fluid boxes. You will learn best practices for when to use breakpoints and when to use fluid boxes—and why. For both approaches, you will also learn great tips to save time and avoid frustration. At the end, you will publish the course as a single project that automatically delivers the most appropriate experience for your learner’s device.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create responsive courses with Captivate using breakpoints and fluid boxes
• How to modify the size and position of objects
• How to lay out fluid boxes for best results
• How to make your interactions work flawlessly on all devices

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate.

Technology required:
Laptop running the latest version of Adobe Captivate.

Many organizations are eager to utilize mobile learning to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce who may not have access to desktops yet all have mobile devices. However, stringent corporate policy concerning mobile phones often makes this tricky. The more organizations understand the dynamics of legal, corporate, and security-based issues, the more equipped they will be to make a compelling business case for mobile learning.

In this session, you will examine how to launch a mobile strategy that works within your organization’s phone policy constraints. You will explore mobile phone statistics and trends in the workplace. You will learn about the common legal and policy constraints for non-exempt employees and explore security concerns for conducting work-related business on a personal mobile device. You will leave this session able to conduct a mobile learning risk assessment to help you diagnose the level of risk you will face when making a business case for mobile learning.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the legal and security constraints that often inform corporate mobile phone usage policies
• How to assess the risk for mobile learning use cases for your organization
• About best practices for implementing mobile learning based on your organization’s risk profile
• About future trends that will shape mobile phone policy
• About success stories from other organizations that have navigated these issues

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile phone carrier plans, apps, mobile-optimized websites, and messaging.

Verifying that a new hire is ready for operational responsibilities is a continual challenge, but in the technical support world where “first time fix” is such a crucial measure of customer satisfaction and efficiency, it is vital. Theory tests only go so far; the adoption of mobile devices by this technician community presented an opportunity to gather data in the field to validate understanding and correct application.

In this case-study session you will learn how, while building a mobile-first learning resource for field teams, Prosell realized that the true power of mobile lies in its ability to create active learners through the curation of photo and video records. Additionally, the team learned that encouraging new hires to immediately reflect on experiences was extremely impactful. You will see how devising activities that invited technicians to capture evidence of their learning quickly spawned ideas for how to verify competence in the field. The session will show how this approach has created a new model of competence assessment at Prosell’s client, Comcast.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to accelerate learning by having learners use a mobile device to reflect on experiences as they occur
• How to assess competence in the field without the cost of continual supervision
• How a mobile-first scaffolded curriculum can propel learners through multiple cycles of “learn, check, apply, verify” to significantly improve knowledge retention and increase confidence
• Why mobile devices are brilliantly suited to facilitating learning, rather than pushing content
• How to engage coaches, mentors, and managers in facilitating new-hire development using mobile-first approaches

Audience:
Novice to advanced project managers, managers, directors, and senior leaders.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile devices.

Induction and onboarding has become one of the key business challenges of the moment. How do you successfully recruit and induct staff to become high-performing and fully integrated, at a speed that matches the speed of change in business? The answer may rest in the power of the mobile devices that are already in everyone’s hands.

In this session, you will explore how mobile can play many critical but different roles in an effective program design. You will examine a tried-and-tested strategic induction and onboarding design methodology, and explore where and why mobile has an important part to play. You will explore different approaches such as tools, games, and knowledge and learning apps, and you’ll see real examples of mobile in induction and onboarding programs delivering learning, recruitment, support, brand awareness, and many other important aspects of best-practice delivery.

In this session, you will learn:

• About a best-practice onboarding methodology
• About the role of mobile in induction programs
• From examples of different mobile programs that are part of best-practice induction
• About innovative approaches to induction delivery

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile apps, tools, games, and learning.

Proper lighting in your video makes a world of difference in how your viewers perceive your product. But good lighting can be a challenging aspect of video production. Have you found yourself asking the following questions: “How do I know which lights to get? How do I determine the correct lighting placement? How many lights should I use? Should I buy or rent them?”

In this session, you will examine the secrets of achieving a professional look to your instructional videos. You will participate in an actual scenario of lighting someone on camera. In this exercise, you will learn how excellent lighting doesn’t have to be expensive; you can use many items from your local hardware store during this stage of video production. You will leave this session understanding that with a little creativity, proper planning, and the right tools, you can achieve stellar results in your next video.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to light instructional video
• The basics of how light works
• About the essential tools you need
• What a three-point lighting setup is
• How to light hair
• What colors of clothing to avoid
• How to soften skin tones
• How to plan for proper lighting

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Fresnel tungsten lights, LED Ice Lights, stands, and Blackmagic production cameras.

Everybody has experienced video training—the good, the bad, and the ugly. But by taking a "real-life" approach to video content, you can up retention and create a unique training experience that goes beyond just training on ideal situations. 

In this session, you will learn how to effectively create custom video content. You will learn how to teach with video, using real-to-life scenarios to demonstrate best practices and behaviors, and you will explore how video can easily blend with other learning tools to support collaborative learning environments.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a balance between screen time and social learning
• How providing real-to-life scenarios offers your audience a multi-perspective experience
• How to determine a strong methodology that will result in rapid development and deployment
• How creating real-to-life scenarios sets realistic expectations for the learner, rather than presenting “ideal” situations
• How to use video as part of an overall learning tool to create an impact that results in a shift in company culture

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

There are many opinions, myths, and facts that surround what mobile technology can or cannot do to influence, educate, and enable users. The problem is that many adult-learning professionals do not understand mobile technology and often end up developing a curriculum that fails to take advantage of mobile’s strengths or even ends up highlighting weaknesses.

In this session, you will learn the basics of how mobile technology works and a broad understanding of the options you have, like native mobile vs. responsive HTML5, custom vs. out-of-the-box, etc. You will learn how to ask the right questions and even call bunk when your IT department says such-and-such “isn’t possible.” You will learn tips, tricks, and what mobile usage habits mean for effective training content.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the basics of mobile technology
• What questions to ask the IT department
• How mobile usage habits will affect the success of your training content
• From examples of custom mobile solutions that have successfully transferred knowledge and improved the formation of positive habits among users
• How to find a community of experts who can answer your questions
• What questions to ask L&D pros who also are mobile developers

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
HTML5, iOS, Android, Articulate Storyline, laptops/desktops, smartphones, and tablets.

At one point or another, you’ve probably been forced to endure some kind of training that made you want to pull your hair out. You click through the slides as fast as you can, or you stare blankly at the lecturer reading bullet points from each slide. What if you could transform those mandated training programs into something engaging and entertaining instead?

In this session, you will explore how you can use video content to evoke an emotional connection between the audience and the class material. By examining a case study of diversity and inclusion training, you’ll explore how a few minutes of video can turn a subject that might otherwise be boring into one that is engaging and memorable. You will leave this session understanding when it is best to integrate video content into existing training, and when to develop entirely new training programs around videos.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the importance of audience engagement
• How to foster an emotional connection between your audience and your subject matter
• The basics of shooting an interview with a DSLR camera
• How you can use video and audio editing tools to edit and augment existing content

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Audition, and basic DSLR videography.

Video is a great medium for learning content; however, designing and developing great videos can be challenging and labor-intensive. Additionally, gaining stakeholder buy-in on a curriculum based on microlearning, like videos, can be a challenge.

In this session, you’ll hear how a team of learning designers at a major investment brokerage started with a simple video and ended up having their curriculum featured in prime-time TV spots. You’ll learn what makes a great video and how to create one (even with limited resources). Most importantly, you’ll learn how you can use a microlearning video strategy to gradually build a library of stellar learning content and ultimately prove the value of education in your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the qualities and characteristics that make for great educational videos
• How to design an extensive curriculum from modular video content
• About best practices for creating videos with limited resources
• Strategies to gain buy-in from stakeholders on your video content

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
YouTube, Adobe After Effects, TechSmith Camtasia, iMovie, and Windows Movie Maker.

After years of existing mostly in the world of science fiction, virtual reality is finally ready for its close-up. With VR normalizing itself within the consumer culture, the interest in using these technologies for learning and performance is growing. But where can curious learning professionals go to learn more about the power and potential of VR? The answer is simple: gaming.

In this session, you will explore how the world of VR gaming is shaping VR’s use for training. You will examine not only how VR gaming is creating new types of experiences, but also how it is transforming existing game paradigms. You will look at multiple examples of VR in gaming, and examine lessons for the training world in each example. You will also learn some of the questions to ask to determine whether VR is right for your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the gaming world is blazing a path for VR
• About the lessons for trainers that are present in VR gaming
• How to determine whether VR is right for your organization
• How early adopters are using VR for L&D

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR.

Encouraging experts to create useful content for others in the workplace is a practical and effective way to extend knowledge in an organization. Video is rapidly becoming the medium for sharing demonstrations, quick tips, and longer-form overviews. But how do you fit user-generated videos into your overall learning strategy? What are the best ways to launch and support them as well as measure their use overall?

In this session, you will explore how to add user-generated videos and screencasts to your learning strategy, using best practices and guidelines for getting the most out of this learning modality. You will learn the best tips to launch screencasts and other user-generated video assets and discover the best platforms to host and distribute access.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to add user-generated videos to your learning strategy
• How to provide people access to the videos and reporting (platform considerations)
• How to get started and set users up for success
• About tools and tricks to successfully launch user-generated videos and screencasts

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Thanks to the increase in easy-to-use tools and software, everyone now has access to cost-effective tools to create animations and video. Unfortunately, just because content is shared as a video doesn’t magically make it great, and these simple tools can also create a flood of ineffective and boring video content. If you’re not careful, weak content can kill the implementation of video in your organization and cause your audience to dread yet another bad video.

In this session, you’ll look at the simplest, yet hardest, thing to do with video: crafting a compelling structure and story for your content. You’ll go through the process of learning to quickly identify key messages and themes, build out a proper structure, then turn it into a compelling video. You’ll also take a closer look at how you can use the visual aspect of video to strengthen your storytelling and streamline your content. You’ll leave this session knowing how to make the videos you create both more entertaining and better at conveying the information your audience needs.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why taking time to craft a strong story and structure makes your videos more effective
• How you can create a compelling story
• What animation and film principles can make a story more compelling and make the video shorter
• How to use visuals in place of dialogue and narration
• What visual styles and themes work best for educational videos

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

You have a phone and tablet, and you use them for four or five tools and applications, but there is so much more you can do with them. Mobile devices present fantastic opportunities to create and modify photos, videos, and graphics. You are only limited by your own imagination.

This session will introduce you to several new tools for working with graphics and images, right on the device you have, and walk you through how to take advantage of them. You will learn best practices, tips, and techniques to apply immediately to your production process to get fantastic results in recording audio and video, creating animation, and capturing better photos for use in your projects.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to turn your mobile device into a portable production platform
• How to capture better photos with tips and techniques to frame and improve the quality
• How to plan and select a device (if you don’t already have one)
• How to create graphics and edit video
• How to compose and animate on your mobile device
• How to capture audio and video

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
The apps Explain Everything, Marvel, and Adobe Capture.

Technology required:
An iOS or Android mobile device running Explain Everything, Marvel, and Capture.

You want to make sure your learners are engaged, and you have an idea for a learning game that will help you achieve that goal. You know that it needs to be focused on the content and the learner’s needs and not something you’re going to throw in just for fun. You’re excited to build this, and you think you will be able to repurpose it for other lessons, learners, and content. Suddenly, you hit a wall because you haven’t acquired the higher-order skills in Captivate yet. What, exactly, do you need to know?

This session will focus on the elements in Adobe Captivate that you need to know to create a learning game. We will go under the hood of a Captivate-created learning game to better understand the functions and features leveraged to make it work. You will learn more about the role of variables and actions, how and why decision points were made, and the design behind the development.

In this session, you will learn:

• How a game is planned and designed
• How to determine what kinds of media and interactivity you need
• How to use variables and actions to track game progress and levels
• How to create decision points and navigation branching
• How to use your superior skills to make eLearning something learners love!

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate.

Technology required:
A laptop running the latest version of Captivate (a trial version is okay).

Mobile, games, and video are all meaningful endeavors offering unique value propositions, but how do they fit together? Each can be linked, but has unique properties as well. How do you make sense of the opportunities?

In this session, you’ll explore the properties of each of the elements from a cognitive perspective, which includes social, engagement, and more, and place them in the context of organizational needs. You’ll look at the full suite of ways in which organizations learn and work, and characterize how these activities can be facilitated. Then you’ll look at the role mobile, games, and video play in these activities. With this contextual framework, you’ll be better equipped to address these elements strategically, not just tactically.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the full suite of performance ecosystem opportunities
• How technology can facilitate a broad range of opportunities
• Where mobile, games, and video fit in the larger picture
• How to develop a strategy around technology for organizational success

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced managers and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile, games, video, portals, authoring tools, learning management systems, social media platforms, content systems, and xAPI.

A team working with major electronics in public areas—installing slot machines in casinos—needed to follow several safety processes. After a year or longer of monthly safety emails and talks at all-hands meetings, the company took its safety program for field service technicians to SMS bimonthly delivery. What happened next?

This case-study session will explore development of the SMS Safety campaign, the decisions made on delivering it, and results from the first eight months of the yearlong campaign. You will learn about both quantitative and qualitative results drawn from the messages, responses, and safety records. This case study explores one organization’s culture of going mobile and how its technicians are adapting.

In this session, you will learn:

• About considerations for designing a yearlong SMS campaign
• How to adopt culture change in transitioning to a mobile workforce
• About lessons learned from the campaign
• About the impact on technicians’ perception of SMS and safety
• About the impact to on-the-job safety

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile Coach.

Not responding well to responsive course design? Frustrated with the nuances of responsive course development with rapid authoring tools? Tired of trying to get your courses to look great on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices? Need a way to deliver information awareness training that doesn’t require LMS tracking? As responsive course design becomes more prevalent, you must continue to come up with innovative ways to deliver memorable learning experiences.

In this session, you’ll learn how to make a mini-course harnessing the power of the Bootstrap 3 framework. You’ll explore how editing a basic web page template will transform a simple web page into a learning experience that captures the attention of on-the-go, tech-savvy learners. Tapping into the concept of spaced learning, your learners can review content whenever it’s convenient and access small, mobile-friendly chunks of information from anywhere.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the Bootstrap 3 framework
• Where to find Bootstrap 3 resources
• About types of training suitable for mini-course delivery
• How to edit a mini-course (single web page) Bootstrap template
• How and where to test your mini-course
• How to publish your mini-course

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Bootstrap 3 and HTML editors.

Gamification is about using game elements to drive motivation and engagement. Although gamification is most effective when used to drive intrinsic motivation, it is frequently abused as an extrinsic reward system, which hinders learning. Studies have shown that learners seek more rewards in demotivating environments and that players lose interest in an activity after receiving extrinsic rewards. How do you combat bad game design and find the right balance to maintain motivation?

This session will review the most effective practices for gamification, supported by academic research and practical experience. Instructional designers will leave better equipped to leverage gamification in future courses. Some of the best examples of gamification will be highlighted, include role-plays, simulations, and interactive models. Additionally, you will explore the idea that gamification is increasingly being designed as a journey, with meaningful elements such as a narrative, open paths, fun activities, and opportunities to reflect.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the academic and scientific underpinnings of gamification and intrinsic motivation
• How to apply gamification techniques in online and offline courses
• What gamification techniques to avoid
• About actionable steps you can take to improve your next course

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

A government office was going through a major reorganization; there was confusion and concern about the future organization. Each division had been working with minimal contact with other divisions, which resulted in a culture of lack of trust and personal connection with other employees. The problem was intensified because employees worked in various geographic locations and time zones. Learning leaders needed to help the employees understand the new organization and purpose.

In this session, you will find out how learning leaders helped employees overcome their concerns and learn about the new organization. They created a fun solution to help overcome the anxiety of change, based on what people already experienced: an “on-demand TV series.” Season one consisted of nine episodes featuring an unedited video interview with each future division director, who all shared information about themselves and their divisions. To encourage viewership (and increase ratings), the team incorporated several gamification techniques. Come to this session to learn how they did it with magic wands, hidden clues, and “Emmy Awards.”

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use gamification techniques to engage learners during change initiatives
• How to create an environment to produce engaging video interviews
• How to write engaging video interview questions

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video, Articulate Storyline 2, and LMS (Cornerstone OnDemand).

Consultants face challenging career transitions while working in fast-paced environments with high performance standards. Learning that supports such transitions requires simulation of the complex mix of skills and trade-offs that consultants face on the ground, yet traditional digital simulations often fail to incorporate that complexity.

In this session, you will explore how to leverage game mechanics to introduce the pressures and constraints of real work and to take learning and engagement to the next level. You’ll discuss how to create more engaging and realistic learning experiences for high-performing, time-crunched learners. You’ll see examples of learning games where consultants faced the same time pressures, capacity constraints, and dynamically changing contexts they would in the real world, and you will gain insights into learner behavior and performance.

In this session, you will learn:

• About one firm’s journey from simple digital simulations to more complex serious games for learning
• How to leverage game mechanics (not just gamification features) to create an engaging learning experience for high-performing, time-crunched learners
• About aspects of gaming that L&D can embrace to attract the attention and engagement of learners
• How to leverage advanced analytics behind the scenes to visualize game-play and set authentic benchmarks on performance

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Learning simulations and games, and back-end analytics outputs.

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 606.

In business, you are often faced with problems that don’t have neat or clear solutions. There are often multiple solution paths and some solutions that are more optimal than others. How do you simulate the types of complex problems that you face in your career? How do you create interesting game-based learning that allows learners to explore different types of solutions?

In this session, you will examine a single case study in the use of BranchTrack. Throughout, you will learn about creating game-based learning interventions through a choose-your-own-adventure–style game development program. You will first explore the value of game-based learning, simulations, and failure in education. You will then examine one particular use of BranchTrack simulations in training passport acceptance agents. Afterward, you will learn about the features of BranchTrack that make it easy for instructional designers to develop simulation-based learning interventions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify complex problems within your organization
• About the value of game-based learning, simulations, and failure in education
• How to create game-based learning interventions to teach complex problem-solving skills
• How to design a learning intervention using BranchTrack

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
BranchTrack.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
Apples to Apples is an easy-to-learn game that is different every time. You deal everyone a hand of response cards (often nouns or phrases). When it’s your turn, draw a situation card. Everyone plays a noun response card and the dealer chooses the best answer.             

In this session, you’ll explore the reality that the answer is often “it depends,” or that there are several possible right answers. These situations create an opportunity to discuss the possibilities as a group. This has worked well in various areas, including leadership, project management, and training.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

What separates amateur video from professionally shot and edited video presentations? Many in eLearning would be quick to blame small budgets and lack of equipment for less-than-professional video. However, the real problem is that many who shoot, composite, or produce video for learning aren’t visually literate. In other words, they don’t know the basics of visual design and how to apply it to the video medium.

In this session, you’ll learn about basic principles common to all visual design and how they apply to creating high-quality professional video. You’ll discover how understanding and applying concepts like composition, contrast, negative space, and even typography can greatly improve video quality and watchability. These concepts can be applied whether you’re shooting with an expensive professional camera or an iPhone. You can improve your video quality whether you have a professional editing suite or iMovie. Visual literacy is a critical component of quality video, and after this session you’ll be able to identify weaknesses in your own videos and fix them.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to apply design concepts to video
• How to identify and apply negative space
• How to make good typographical decisions
• How to compose video shots according to the rule of thirds
• How to identify common mistakes in video
• How to identify the components of information graphics integrated into video
• To understand and apply the concept of balance

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video editing software (Camtasia, Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects), Adobe Photoshop, and video compositing.

360-degree video is a new and engaging medium. Allowing the user to explore a 360-degree space allows for a deeper immersion and broader sense of involvement. However, it does have inherent differences from traditional video—mainly, the story is no longer in the control of the creator, but of the viewer.

In this session, you will see how adding interactive elements to 360-degree video can help you tell your story. The session will cover everything from guided user journeys to branching, dynamic hotspot placement, and heads-up displays in order to help add to the way you think about 360-degree videos, and how leveraging interactivity can make them the future of your eLearning.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to help guide storytelling in a 360-degree video
• About the use cases for, and difference between, in-video and heads-up interactions
• How 360-degree video is being used in the training and education space
• How to leverage multiple scenes in 360-degree video

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
360-degree video, interactive overlays, HTML, CSS, and JS.

Most instructional designers have experience creating storyboards prior to developing eLearning solutions. The storyboarding process enables the designer to work through a concept and test various ways of structuring content. Storyboards are also used to communicate design concepts to eLearning developers when working in teams to build training solutions.

In this session, you will learn how the design process is similar and different for mobile. You will learn to apply a step-by-step approach to mobile design and the common approaches to creating design documents that translate well in a mobile environment. This approach may be incorporated into some existing storyboard processes. Yet, you will likely change the way you view design for all forms of eLearning!

In this session, you will learn:

• About the differences between traditional eLearning design and a mobile design approach
• Practices to create a mobile sketch
• To develop a simple wireframe using standard templates and tools
• About mockup tools to help you test and demonstrate your design’s functionality

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
A variety of mobile design tools to support everything from wireframing to mockups.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

The goal of most learning programs is to create an experience that engages the participant in a way that enables learning. Mobile, video, and games are just three of the tools we use to support these types of experiences. However, understanding our tools is only half of the equation; in order to use them effectively, we also need to understand what it is that causes people to engage with content in today’s digital world. In this keynote, web psychologist Nathalie Nahai will explore why and how we use online content in the way we do, every hour of every day. She will cut through the common misconceptions about Internet use, calling upon online behavior research that examines real rather than theoretical information. Ms. Nahai’s keynote will help you discover the scientific rigor that can be applied to your design and decision-making processes to achieve better engagement.

Time is money, and so are happy clients! Come spend some time with the Articulate team and learn how you can speed up your workflow, help your budget, and increase your productivity with the tools in Articulate 360.

This session provides a comprehensive introduction to video compression and how to optimize content for delivery to mobile and desktop. It’s an overview of everything you need to know about preparing and delivering the highest-quality video and audio to your audience. The discussion will cover techniques and interactivity, as well as the latest standards. Learn how to take advantage of open-source, free compression tools and the latest applications for getting the smallest file sizes and the highest quality. You’ll also learn how you can create your own in-house studio for under $1,500.

You love the idea of using mobile, but you’re not sure how to get started, how to test a concept, or how to improve the design to be on the same level that mobile users are used to with their latest apps.

In this session, you will learn four primary methods for designing a mobile experience. You’ll also learn how to take a concept, sketch, or prototype and design for an amazing learner experience. You’ll actually walk through using paper, then mobile tools, and finally doing everything from your desktop based on your preference.

In this session, you will learn:

• About four primary delivery methods for designing mobile experiences
• How to sketch and prototype using just your phone or tablet
• How to use a web browser to prototype
• About best practices for sharing and gathering feedback
• About resources and tools to help you get started
• How to create advanced prototypes

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Sketching techniques and mobile and web-based apps for prototyping, such as Marvel, Marvel Pro, and Proto.io.

Technology required:
Android or iOS phone or tablet, and a laptop with a modern web browser (Chrome, Safari, IE11, or Edge).

Most people interact with social media via their smartphone on a continual basis throughout the day. Smartphones and social media are integrated into daily life. Interactive and social learning can maximize learning opportunities by engaging in actions that people are already accustomed to.

In this session, you will explore the creation of an interactive microlearning session for deployment to mobile devices. You will create a less-than-one-minute interactive video using your phone or laptop, be able to post your videos on social media channels, and direct the video to individuals or groups. You will learn how to best utilize techniques to focus your microlearning and integrate social media in order to leverage the everyday use of smartphones and create an environment for smart learning.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to integrate the use of social media into learning
• How to create an interactive video
• How to leverage mobile learning opportunities

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Android or iOS mobile phone, Adobe Premiere Clip, HapYak, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Technology required:
Laptop and mobile phone with Internet connection.

The digital world is entering your learners’ world in a big way. Augmented reality is reshaping the way they interact with systems and websites, entertainment, and of course, education, and this change is ultimately coming to your organization!

In this session, you’ll explore the connections between some of the most popular AR experiences out there today and your corporate learning strategy. The session will cut through the hype and draw correlations between them and their success, relating how you can use their design patterns and sticky user experiences to create valuable, easy-to-use mixed-reality experiences that produce results and happy learners!

In this session, you will learn:

• How popular trends in AR can apply to learning strategy
• How to analyze AR products and identify common design patterns
• How to plan for user experiences and expectations in order to align user acceptance with organizational goals

Audience:
Intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Augmented reality, design patterns, usability, and user acceptance.

With the ADL’s release of cmi5 in June 2016 as the xAPI profile for LMS/content communication, a wave of early-adopter authoring tools have embraced the specification. Other authoring tools have been slower to adopt cmi5, opting to rely on xAPI-enabled SCORM modules to extend tracking beyond the limited data points of SCORM.

In this session, you will explore commercially available authoring tool adoption of cmi5, including the structure of xAPI statements generated by those tools. More importantly, you will review how to use those statements for reporting on a variety of interactions within an online content module. In addition to reviewing authoring tools, the session will discuss critical differences between cmi5 and SCORM, including the advantages of cmi5 and possible migration plans for adopters.

In this session, you will learn:

• About cmi5 support for various authoring tools
• About the benefits and limitations of xAPI-enabled SCORM content
• About options for cmi5 adoption within an organization
• About the infrastructure needed to support xAPI and cmi5 within your organization

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Authoring tools, including iSpring and Obsidian Black; learning record stores (LRSs), including the ADL LRS and Watershed ADL Statement Viewer.

The innovative use of mobile learning products in education has significantly increased in recent years. Mobile applications are meant to be engaging and reach beyond the walls of a classroom. Instructors and educators can use these mobile apps to increase student learning. However, the value of integrating them into the overall training is unclear. Are there added values if the organization invests in mobile apps?

In this session, you will learn about a return on investment (ROI) evaluation case study, which determined the value of the mobile applications to the organization. You will explore each level of the ROI evaluation and learn strategies to overcome challenges associated with determining the value of the mobile apps. You will learn about the strategies that were implemented and the unanticipated values gained by integrating mobile apps into the organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to develop an action plan to overcome challenges of integrating mobile applications into the classroom
• About options for determining the impact that mobile apps and interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) products have on student learning and performance
• How to effectively collaborate with instructors and subject matter experts to develop a mobile app and/or IMI products
• About the unanticipated benefits of integrating mobile apps and IMI products into the training environment

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, managers, and directors.

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 1012.

Video is the engagement medium today, yet the all-too-common “play and walk away” issue still dominates—i.e., not having engrossing material that engages viewers. Interactive video increases response rates, view times, and viewer satisfaction. Engaging viewers with in-video questions, knowledge checks, and choose-your-own-adventure adaptive paths allows instructors to better ensure knowledge transfer. Who is doing this right? How can you move away from boring video design?

In this session, you will explore 30 of the best interactive videos in the eLearning and training space. You will discuss viewer engagement tactics, best practices, and adaptive experiences. You will also look at branching, scalability, production quality, data collection, and integration into existing learning strategies.

In this session, you will learn:

• About best practices of interactive videos
• How other educators are leveraging interactive video in their curriculum
• How to scale interactive video strategies
• How to leverage data obtained from viewer engagement with interactive video

Audience:
Novice to advanced developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Interactive video from a variety of sources and technologies, displaying on laptop, tablet, and mobile.

According to the Pew Research Center, 92 percent of adults ages 18 – 29 reported watching videos on a video-sharing site. This is becoming a norm for learning and obtaining new knowledge. Live-action videos with SMEs are not always possible because of the costs and time associated with this practice. If you think advanced animation that is engaging, entertaining, and fun seems out of reach for most eLearning professionals, think again!

In this session, you will learn how to use a variety of low-cost animation software tools, crowdsourcing platforms, and outsourcing strategies that will allow you to develop animated videos on a shoestring budget. This session will also allow you to mix and match software applications to create interactive video animation tools. And finally, you will walk away with instructions on how to produce an engaging, highly animated one-hour video course for under $1,000, using all the tools discussed.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to combine software to produce highly animated eLearning videos
• How to combine Adobe After Effects and CrazyTalk Animator to create cartoons (real ones!)
• How to find and manage voice-over artists inexpensively
• About various eLearning tools to help you produce fun courses
• How to get access to highly talented labor for under $10 an hour

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline 2, Fiverr, Reallusion’s CrazyTalk 8 and CrazyTalk Animator 2 and 3, Adobe Creative Suite, and Lynda.com.

mLearning developers spend a lot of time developing courses. Often, the programming is needlessly repetitive, which makes the work inefficient and increases costs. In other cases, the programming leads to undesirable trade-offs because engaging interactions can be difficult and time-consuming to develop. An investigation of how to reduce repetitiveness and improve engagement might lead one to think this problem could be easily resolved through tools or templates. However, it’s not that simple.

This session will draw on a mixture of practical mLearning development experience and widely accepted computer science principles to uncover the pros and cons of various mLearning authoring tools, templates, models, and patterns. Some of the approaches discussed will include reusable functions, separation of content and functionality, debugging functionality, selection of proper level of abstraction, and selection of appropriate level of rigor for reusability. The session will present real-world examples from actual mLearning courses and tools.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the strengths and weaknesses of tools, templates, models, and patterns
• About pros and cons of various authoring tools
• Tips for improving mLearning programming efficiency using authoring tool composition
• Tips for efficient mLearning programming in a variety of authoring tools

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Studio, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, and JavaScript.

The industry is saying that video is the way to go for online learning—great. But before you get started, it is important to think strategically about why and how video will create the most value in your course. This session will explore the best questions to ask before you incorporate (or don’t incorporate) video into your courses.

In this session, you will learn to identify the top video types that are best for courses, as well as the best questions to ask to determine whether video is the right solution for your project in the first place. You’ll learn how to determine whether video will improve your learners’ experience and explore the best way to start incorporating video into your courses, even if you don’t have a big budget.

In this session, you will learn:

• Which video types are best for online courses
• Which questions to ask to determine whether video is right for your project
• How video affects the learner experience
• How to get started with video in your courses, even on a small budget

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, and managers.

Performance support videos are everywhere. From YouTube to the workplace, you can learn pretty much anything by watching a step-by-step video. Some of these videos are good; others, not so much. So how can you be sure that the video you are producing for your client or organization is high-quality—and effective?

In this session, you will learn 10 tips and tricks for producing a video that will have impact. These tips will help you through various stages of the development process, including pre-production, production, and post-production. You’ll get tips on tools, working with SMEs, equipment, output delivery, accessibility, and maintenance. And, time permitting, there may be a few bonus tips. This session won’t show you how to make your video. Instead, it will help you make your video better!

In this session, you will learn:

• How to determine which tools to use
• Tips for working with subject matter experts and clients
• Ideas for developing your video to suit the delivery method
• Tricks to assist you in every step of the production process
• Small ways to make a big difference in your video’s effectiveness

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Camtasia Studio, Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, Audacity, and Adobe Audition.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:

This is a game designed to build a mobile learning strategy. It was created by Kris Rockwell and Alicia Sanchez and first appeared at mLearnCon 2011. In it, training and performance challenges are presented to two or more players, who can then play technology, hardware, and expert cards to offer up a potential solution. Both players state their case, and then they can either debate or they can have a third party judge their proposals. Game of Phones is a simple game style that can be expanded, replicated, or added to for team members to create a wide range of strategy or solutions.

Audience:

Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Chances are that your favorite characters are your favorites because of what they taught you. How can you ensure that characters in your games are effective in supporting learning?

This session will explore the impact of characters on learning outcomes; and, more importantly, you’ll learn how you can incorporate powerful, memorable characters into your games to make learning last. Join this hands-on session to get started creating meaningful characters in your learning games!

In this session, you will learn:

• About the deeper impact of characters in learning
• About examples of powerful characters in media and literature
• How to create characters to support learning

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Should you turn on your webcam during virtual training classes? Or does the webcam detract from the learner experience? What about using pre-recorded training videos in your virtual platform—how do you ensure they actually work and provide value to the learning outcomes?

In this session, you will learn how to incorporate video into your virtual training classes. You’ll first learn the importance of advance planning for video using a three-step process. You’ll observe firsthand how to set up your platform, your learners, and yourself for a seamless video experience. Next, you’ll explore the common challenges with virtual training videos and learn two simple techniques to eliminate them. In addition, you’ll learn when to use webcams for live video (and when not to), along with three keys for quality streaming. You will leave this session with practical tips for using video in your next virtual training class.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use a three-step advanced planning process to seamlessly play pre-recorded video in virtual training classes
• How to apply two simple techniques to eliminate video challenges during virtual events
• How to incorporate live video effectively into virtual training events

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Many organizations try to address their learning needs with intranet content, eLearning courses, and reminder emails, but these efforts often fail to get the desired results. Busy employees just don’t have lots of time for learning content, particularly when it feels like a content dump. So how do you cover what employees and managers need to know and do without writing even more text? Short multimedia presentations and videos are one of the best ways to simply and quickly convey concepts and context, influence behavior, and, best yet, reduce text overkill.

In this session, you’ll learn more about how to write and produce short yet powerful video content for your audience. With examples from the Canada Revenue Agency, you’ll learn how to produce quick videos that deliver microlearning bursts for your eLearning or performance support systems. You’ll leave this session with strategies you can use to craft videos that will increase people’s engagement with your content, without adding to the feeling of text and content overload.

In this session, you will learn:

• How video can convey content more effectively than text
• How to create stories specifically for learning or training purposes
• About formulas and templates that can help you write engaging scripts
• How to create simple video storyboards for web developers

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video production.

New hires feel excitement, uncertainty, enthusiasm, and discomfort. It can be a roller coaster ride! Line manager engagement has a significantly beneficial impact on new hires’ learning curve and sense of belonging; however, managers are often stretched with multiple responsibilities, and new starters’ needs are relegated. This session will outline a project that utilized mobile device features to shift the new-hire experience from one of passive consumption to active participation while simultaneously making the managers’ role more time-efficient and impactful. The solution delivered better performance, earlier, while reducing attrition.

How do you know your content is ready for a global audience? Will you be able to translate it? What kind of issues will you run into? This session explores the design and technical challenges of getting your content properly internationalized and ready for consumers worldwide.

Interactive videos increasingly are seen as one of the most effective ways to demonstrate a desired behavior while maximizing learner retention. However, the high cost of external video production combined with expensive interactive video authoring tools often means that this solution is out of reach for many organizations—but it doesn’t have to be.

In this session, you’ll see how easy it is to develop effective interactive videos using the equipment you have in your pocket and the computer you use every day. Don’t think you have what it takes? You’ll find out that you do by developing your own interactive video within the session! First, you’ll be walked through a branching and quizzing template. Then, you’ll learn about the basic setup required to shoot your video. Finally, you’ll find out how to bring it all together with a commonly used eLearning authoring tool.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why interactive videos are more effective than standard linear videos
• How to plan and script your own interactive video
• About the basic video production techniques required to produce a video in-house
• How to use a standard eLearning authoring tool to develop interactive videos

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline and Adobe Captivate.

Technology required:
Laptop running an eLearning authoring tool (Storyline 360 or Captivate).

Microlearning is a way of teaching and delivering content to learners in small, very specific bursts. Microlearning videos can teach people how to use different systems within an organization effectively and efficiently—including systems for travel, finances, document management, procurement, and more.

In this session, you will learn how to create an animated instructional microlearning video from scratch. Together we will develop a microlearning video using a script and files provided by the instructor. You will walk away with your first microlearning video ready (or almost ready)!

In this session, you will learn:

• How to script a short video
• How to create graphics to illustrate your video
• How to convert your script into an audio file
• How to render and view video
• How to publish to a video platform (YouTube, Vimeo)
• Techniques to record final audio for your video

Audience:
Intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
GoAnimate.

Technology required:
Laptop running GoAnimate.

HBO has an app. So do other major TV channels like Comedy Central and ESPN. With major media brands like these distributing content via television-based apps, and an increasing number of people cutting the cable cord, television-based app development is a rapidly growing segment of media. Learning media and content isn’t far behind; in fact, it’s already happening. However, most developers have little understanding of the television app ecosystem and how L&D can benefit.

In this session, you’ll learn about opportunities to distribute learning content using television-based apps. You’ll find out what universities like Harvard and Georgetown and businesses like Lynda.com and Coursera have discovered about teaching on TV and why it’s changing the direction of these companies. You’ll discuss the major ecosystems for television-based apps, such as Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Google TV. You’ll then explore how learning organizations can exploit the explosion of smart TVs and TV-based apps.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the major TV-based operating systems and the app distribution process for each one
• How major media companies are already using TV for training and learning
• What resources you’ll need to develop educational TV apps
• How to optimize your video for TV-based apps
• How small companies can benefit from TV-based learning

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced developers, managers, directors, and senior leaders (VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:
Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Google TV, and OTT (over-the-top) television.

Many professionals developing eLearning content focus on SCORM or static content. Video is often thought of as an expensive and difficult modality, and is outsourced to agencies and external production houses. It’s so helpful for teaching others to use software, yet there is a fear of getting started with video and committing valuable time and resources to its creation. Constant changes in software interfaces add to these concerns.

In this session, you will learn how to create video for software tutorials in five steps without breaking the bank. With this workflow and the proper planning, you’ll have no problem introducing video into your training strategy. The session will cover helpful techniques for improving the quality of your production with each step, and introduce affordable planning, recording, and editing technologies to keep your process as efficient and agile as possible. You’ll receive resources to help you with the process as you try it yourself.

In this session, you will learn:

• A framework for creating software tutorial videos from start to finish
• An easy, step-by-step process for producing your next video
• How to best plan for video creation so it’s a fast, enjoyable process
• About resources for improving your video development skills
• Tips for creating video when the software you’re supporting changes frequently

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Smartsheet/Excel Gantt charts, Blue Microphones’ Snowball and Yeti microphones, Camtasia, ScreenFlow for Mac, Wistia video hosting, and content hosting platforms.

Have you seen videos where a green screen or blue screen wasn’t used properly? There’s a thin green line around the edge of the actor or a green hue on their clothes, which makes the video less authentic and usable. Filming someone on a green screen can be a challenging aspect of video production.

In this session, you’ll explore methods for using chroma key effectively in your production. You’ll see examples of good keys, as well as costly mistakes to avoid. To begin, you will create a straightforward game plan: setting up the camera, positioning lights and actors, selecting the right green screen material, and completing the effect in your editing software. This is a hands-on approach, so be prepared to help set up a green screen!

In this session, you will learn:

• About the basics of green screen
• How to light a green screen
• How to remove the green screen in editing
• How to set up a green screen
• How to light actors in front of the green screen
• About the correct camera settings for green screen

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Light stands, green screen material, the Blackmagic Production Camera, and LED video lights.

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 409.

In business, you are often faced with problems that don’t have neat or clear solutions. There are often multiple solution paths and some solutions that are more optimal than others. How do you simulate the types of complex problems that you face in your career? How do you create interesting game-based learning that allows learners to explore different types of solutions?

In this session, you will examine a single case study in the use of BranchTrack. Throughout, you will learn about creating game-based learning interventions through a choose-your-own-adventure–style game development program. You will first explore the value of game-based learning, simulations, and failure in education. You will then examine one particular use of BranchTrack simulations in training passport acceptance agents. Afterward, you will learn about the features of BranchTrack that make it easy for instructional designers to develop simulation-based learning interventions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify complex problems within your organization
• About the value of game-based learning, simulations, and failure in education
• How to create game-based learning interventions to teach complex problem-solving skills
• How to design a learning intervention using BranchTrack

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
BranchTrack.

You got the message about the value of games in helping people learn—and you buy in! Perhaps you’ve even built some games or selected a gamified learning platform. Having a good game or a well-designed gamified initiative is only half of the equation you need for success. The other half is a comprehensive, well-thought-out implementation strategy. Without it, your likelihood of deriving business value or learning results is low.

This session will focus on maximizing the value of your game-based or gamified learning initiatives. You’ll explore the factors to consider and the components to include when formulating a strategy. You will explore the common risks in gamification and learning game implementation, and how to minimize and mitigate them.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify where you are trying to fit on the gamification continuum, from execution of a single gamified initiative to a gamified learning ecosystem
• How to distinguish between a great game-based learning solution and a great strategy for implementing a game-based or gamified learning solution
• How to recognize common risks of failure in gamification or learning game implementation, and how to minimize risk
• What information you need to gather in order to formulate a strategy and use a template to guide strategy development

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Everyone plays games, so why not use that interest to help them improve their performance? This session will address how instructional designers and learning professionals can develop a gamification culture in their organization. By describing and experiencing the difference between gamification and gaming, you will learn how to incorporate gaming techniques into traditional eLearning designs.

In this session, you will hear about one team’s experiences in making this transition; as learning professionals in a Fortune 500 company, they were charged with taking a traditional instructor-led approach and making it blended, with all kinds of games. This session will include details on tools and execution at two large companies, including the development tools used along the way.

In this session, you will learn:

• About roadblocks for a large-scale implementation of a new approach
• The difference between games and gamification
• About key design considerations for developing games
• About the steps to move from an instructor-led approach to a game/mobile approach to learning

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Microsoft Office Professional, Gomo Learning’s responsive authoring tool, and Articulate Storyline 360.

Visual directions provide the framework upon which producers, editors, and animators base their content production, and many IDs introduced to today’s expanding eLearning departments lack familiarity with and experience in writing targeted visual directions for video scripts. This can result in increased costs in the form of ongoing revisions and can undermine the quality of the final product.

In this session, you will learn strategies and best practices designed to improve the effectiveness of script-based visual directions. These strategies will increase IDs’ success when adding targeted visual directions to SME materials, and they will increase interdepartmental collaboration among producers, editors, and animators in order to create a more effective and visually engaging educational product. You will also discover some best practices for adding targeted visual directions to video scripts, including strategies for adding storyboarding elements to assist with script-based visual direction.

In this session, you will learn:

• Writing strategies for composing effective visual directions for video scripts
• Storyboarding best practices that assist producers, editors, and animators
• Scene tagging strategies that ensure variety and engagement throughout instructional videos
• Production strategies that increase efficiencies and minimize cost overruns

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Computers, tablets, mobile devices, YouTube, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Photoshop.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
Hanabi is a cooperative card game for two to five players where you can’t look at your own cards, but can see everyone else’s hands. Players take turns giving clues to other players about what cards to play, with certain constraints. Players often have to make choices with imperfect information, and it’s difficult to get a perfect result.               

In this session, you will explore Hanabi and how its format is useful in helping decide which information to give to whom. You will look at the game in terms of how to address teammate mistakes and frustrations. This game also lends itself to project management and dealing with having imperfect information.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Smartphones are well regarded as the “go-to gadget” for knowledge workers in the modern workplace, and learners increasingly rely on them to interact with learning communities and access developmental resources. But what technologies lie beyond the smartphone that can accelerate learning and engage your audience?

According to industry analysts, the growth of the “wearables” market—spanning wristwear, headwear, eyewear, footwear, and more—will dwarf the learning market over the next five years, as intelligent devices of all sizes and purposes appear as logical endpoints in a hyper-connected world. Many of these devices have already arrived and are starting to reshape how employees interact and engage with co-workers, managers, organizations, and customers. Join this session to see how progressive teams are applying wearables to learning in intuitive and innovative ways.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the emerging wearables market and how these connected devices are changing the ways people communicate and connect
• About the myriad challenges surrounding the introduction and use of wearables for learning, including access, security, integration, and user adoption
• How to assess your own organization’s readiness to introduce wearables into your learning programs
• About practical use cases that leverage the power and convenience of wearables to deliver learning in the moment of need

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Smartphones, smartwatches, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality/virtual reality, and machine learning.

Chatbots are becoming more and more commonplace for consumers to help automate simple tasks and make life easier. But what about using chatbots to facilitate learning?

In this session, you will see examples of common chatbots on Facebook and Slack that are transactional and responsive in nature, and you’ll contrast them with programmatic chatbots that drive a learning experience. You will also see examples of the various channels in which you can reach learners through a chatbot, such as SMS, Facebook, or even your corporate learning mobile app. Finally, you’ll brainstorm creative ideas for how this form of artificial intelligence can transform your digital learning infrastructure!

In this session, you will learn:

• What a chatbot is
• About common uses of chatbots
• What a programmatic chatbot is
• How to use a chatbot to support corporate learning and development
• About examples of chatbots that support corporate learners
• How to develop and author a chatbot
• About ideas of where artificial intelligence is headed for the future of corporate learning

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Facebook and Slack’s bot framework.

So, your boss wants you to produce a video for a training project. Great! Well, aside from the fact that you’ve never worked on video production and don’t even know where to begin. If you’re in a situation where you’ve been tasked with creating video content, but have never actually been involved with formal video production before, there can be a lot of pressure to create something polished despite your lack of experience. But amateur videos can be surprisingly easy to create with a few tips and tricks to get you started.

In this session, you’ll explore a wealth of useful tips that can help any accidental video producer create a training video from start to finish. You’ll take a closer look at the most common pitfalls in an amateur video production and ways you can avoid them. You’ll also investigate how the video production process works and what steps you’ll want to take to step up your own. You’ll then get tips and resources for how you can make your videos look polished and professional. By the end of this session, you’ll have the skills you need to make your video production run smoothly and create a fantastic final product.

In this session, you will learn:

• About common mistakes new producers make and how to avoid them
• What a solid video production process should look like and consider
• How to make your videos look more professional
• About post-production tools that can help you add even more polish to your videos

Audience:
Novice designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Premiere Elements.

Come see, hear, and do as you explore three levels of interactive learning experiences. This session will share three different use cases with increasing levels of interactivity for learners. You’ll hear about an eLearning course designed to improve a highly technical skill in learners; an interactive gaming experience that allows learners to record themselves and get involved; and a virtual reality experience that allows learners to interact with products directly. You will learn about approach, technology, and user experience, and you’ll gain tangible ideas and action items for creating your own interactive experience.

By making the transformation from the ordinary world of uninspiring online learning to the special world of deeply immersive and compelling online learning elements, you can create games that learners will engage with willingly, repeatedly, and excitedly. Embrace the call to adventure in this session, and return to your job with elixir!

Organizations often spend a lot of time and money to create awesome videos for learning, but don’t track how effective the videos are. How do you know if your videos are effective? Are learners watching the videos? For how long? Having this kind of data would help you create better and more effective videos, so how do you track these types of measurements?

Luckily, you can track them simply by using xAPI statements within your videos. You can trigger statements when the video starts, if a learner completes the video, if they pause the video—as well as tracking where in the video they paused and even where in the video they left the page. All are valuable insights into how well your videos perform. In this session, you will follow along while you learn how to send over xAPI statements from any HTML5 video or even a YouTube video.

In this session, you will learn:

• About xAPI statements
• About jQuery video events
• How to send a statement to an LRS
• How to see the data from the LRS

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
HTML, JavaScript, and xAPI.

Technology required:
Laptop running Sublime Text or any text editor.

The mobile learning landscape is continually growing and shifting. As intimidating as those changes may be, organizations must be prepared to formulate and execute strategies to harness this growing technology. An understanding of the various devices, the appropriate content, the impact of mobile on traditional training and development, and how to make a business case for mobile in your organization are of key importance in navigating today’s mobile learning landscape.

In this session, you will explore the mobile learning landscape. You will build basic mobile skills through hands-on activities. You will leave with a stronger understanding of the processes and tools, as well as with guidance to begin designing and developing your own mobile projects by immediately applying the concepts covered.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the various types of mobile devices and how they affect your training approach
• About the various content types that are optimal for mobile deployment
• How to make the business case for mobile and why you should incorporate mobile into your organization’s strategy
• About approaches to mobile design, and how it may differ from your typical design process
• About ideal approaches to mobile development, using tools you likely already have
• From common examples of mobile deployment and security

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

Audio is easily neglected in online multimedia, especially for learners viewing on mobile devices with relatively substandard audio playback hardware (tiny speakers or earbuds). In fact, audio has not undergone the same rapid stylistic change that video has in the YouTube era—viewers still expect rich, clean, and well-balanced audio. Poor audio is always the first signal of an amateurish production.

This session is designed to give attendees the tools they need to record high-quality voice-over or on-screen audio, and to edit together not only a rich soundtrack that matches modern stylistic expectations, but perhaps more importantly, a soundtrack that is quite intelligible for learners viewing on limited audio playback hardware, such as mobile devices. You will learn about sound frequencies and the human voice; recording strategies that maximize signal-to-noise ratio and audio quality; tips for “cleaning up” and improving recorded sound; and recommendations for creating rich, authentic soundtracks without detracting from the quality of your learning content.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the audio components of the human voice and the spectrum of human hearing
• How audio editors use layers of sound to create a sound space
• Specific methods (software agnostic) to clean up audio, including normalization, noise reduction, equalization, compression, and expansion
• How to get a tasteful balance between music and voice audio in your productions
• Specific tips for good audio recording practices

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Microphones and recording devices (cameras or audio recorders), audio editing softwares, and audio components of video editing softwares.

As instructional designers skilled in eLearning design begin offering mobile experiences to learners, the ways in which they approach instructional design and development need to change. What works for a full-screen desktop experience doesn’t work on a mobile phone. So how can you shift your thinking to consider things like screen experience and what that means to learners? And once you’ve considered new design concerns and approaches, what development platforms should you consider to make your mobile design come to life?

In this case study session, you’ll follow an instructional design and development team’s thought process and deliverables on a mobile course from start to finish. This course was originally designed for desktop only, but was then adapted to two different mobile development platforms (Adobe Captivate 9 and dominKnow Flow), leading to a total of three different user experience approaches. You’ll find out what the designers had to consider when adapting content to mobile; about the differences between how Captivate 9 and Flow approach the mobile experience; and how the team used user feedback to guide their choices. Apply these lessons to your own projects to save time and heartache along the way.

In this session, you will learn:

• About design considerations when moving from desktop to mobile and responsive screens
• What’s different about responsive screen development approaches and their development timelines
• How to select a development platform for mobile that will work for your project
• About the differences and similarities between mobile experiences in Adobe Captivate 9 and dominKnow Flow

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate 9 and dominKnow Flow.

Each year, PG&E Academy was spending nearly $1 million on printing costs to support required instructor-led training programs. Large binders of student materials had to be manually updated, and often would never be referenced again after training. PG&E Academy was driving to web-based training (WBT) and blended solutions that could leverage mobile devices; however, the organization needed to cover the costs of student tablets for use back on the job.

In this session, you will learn how mobile workbook cost savings paved the way for mobile devices to be rolled out to employees, enabling other mobile training and support programs. You’ll learn about the mobile workbook program, how it was implemented, and the tools needed for its development. You’ll also learn how the other mobile training initiatives, such as mobile WBT and field exams, benefited from getting mobile devices into the field. Finally, you’ll receive tips on identifying the right audience, easing the transition to mobile, and gathering metrics and feedback.

In this session, you will learn:

• How multiple mobile initiatives, including workbooks, training, assessments, and job aids, can be aligned as mobile use grows
• About calculating the cost savings and other program benefits of going digital
• About the change management requirements in moving from paper-based to digital workbooks
• About the operational needs before, during, and after the classes using iPads
• About the conversion of instructor-led materials to mobile devices

Audience:
Novice developers and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
iPad, Smart Utility Systems, apps for taking course notes, Adobe Acrobat, Author-it, and Metrics that Matter (survey tool).

Shooting video according to the script is one thing, but what about when the content is the conversation, or an interview with live Q&A? What about when there is no power to call “Cut!” and start again? No fixing it in post? No webinar agenda? How can you best leverage live interactions without compromising the recorded asset?

In this session, you’ll explore several different models of live streaming used for L&D. Programming formats, platforms, getting the word out, and your individualized organizational needs will all be addressed. The session will leverage lessons learned from live streams like the daily “L&D Talk,” the monthly “YouTube Certified Online Partner Hangout,” and others. You’ll learn how to keep your cool when everything goes wrong, and why this kind of content is becoming more familiar and important to learners. You’ll also look at some of the most common technologies and terms used for live streaming in the modern age.

In this session, you will learn:

• What is important in your live stream, and what isn’t
• About the top five most common mistakes and how to avoid them
• About technical setups that work
• About live-streaming strategies for L&D
• Critical communication tactics

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Cameras, microphones, and live-streaming platforms.

According to the “Five Moments of Need” model set forth by Bob Mosher and Conrad Gottfredson, there are moments when a learner requires certain bits of information in order to perform assigned tasks more efficiently and effectively. Just-in-time video is a great solution for those moments. But who will create those videos?

In this session, you’ll explore how subject matter experts (SMEs) can create short, just-in-time performance support videos for specific conditions or situations in which people require instruction or assistance. You will see a demonstration of the production process and receive a roadmap for success.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the process that makes the best use of everyone’s time
• How to fit the moment-of-need model into your organization
• How to identify the right approach for each moment of need
• About a concrete example to share with your SME team
• Tips for coaching and support

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video production and process.

Sales reps struggle to have quick and easy access to their product and services portfolio at the point of sale. Marketing, sales management, and L&D struggle to provide sales reps with the most up-to-date, consistent, and synthesized product messaging in an ongoing way. They also struggle to understand the impact their training is having on their sales reps.

This session will focus on three essential concepts: (1) how to align the strategies and messaging of sales, marketing, and L&D for sales reps; (2) how to better empower sales reps at the point of sale through mobile sales enablement and just-in-time learning; and (3) how to leverage real-time data and analytics to measure sales behavior, sales engagement, and the impact of training programs. The session will cover best practices, and a detailed case study of Pitney Bowes will serve to illustrate these points.

In this session, you will learn:

• About best practices for deploying a mobile sales enablement program
• About the value of just-in-time learning as it pertains to increased sales
• How technology can bridge the gap between sales, marketing, and L&D
• How to leverage user-generated data to gain powerful insight into the impact of your marketing and training materials
• How Pitney Bowes uses sales enablement tools and technology to provide its reps with a consistent, relevant, just-in-time and offline sales and learning platform

Audience:
Intermediate developers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile and tablets.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
Spaceteam is a game that challenges up to eight players to work together as a team to repair and control a rapidly deteriorating spaceship. Unique orders appear on each device relevant to other players’ control panels. Players must then verbally communicate these orders to crewmates who can complete the task in order to progress.

In this session, you will explore the importance of providing clear, task-specific instructions in fast-paced, chaotic operational situations. Spaceteam emphasizes working towards small goals and thinking rapidly. Using group exercises, the game simulates communication challenges on a cross-functional team in a high-pressure environment. It’s a great jumping-off point for discussions about workplace communication, interdependency, team-building, trust, leadership roles, maximizing productivity, and prioritizing in high-pressure environments.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

In the beginning, gamification was shiny and new and full of promise. But its reputation quickly tarnished when people misused it as a quick fix to create learner engagement. There was too much focus on extrinsic rewards and on elements like points, badges, and leaderboards (PBLs) in ways devoid of meaning to the learner. But gamification is alive and well for those who dug deeper.

In this session, you will see how the application of a re-envisioned set of PBLs—pathways, bunches, and lodestones—can provide a fresh look at the topic and boost engagement and learning results. You’ll see that by rebooting your approach to gamification, you can help learners truly win through a process of leveraging collaboration, providing better feedback and clearer goals, and promoting curiosity through better-designed experiences that keep the learner challenged.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to transform ideas from mobile games to course curriculum
• How creating clear pathways to progress can increase learner motivation
• How you can leverage micro-bundles of content to increase knowledge retention
• How to make your content more attractive in ways that will bring learners back again and again

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Many training professionals are reluctant to start developing game-based learning. They may mistakenly believe their success depends on being able to code as a programmer, being proficient in developing animations or virtual worlds, being able to illustrate as a state-of-the-art graphic designer, or being an expert videographer. By devaluing the effectiveness of low-cost, low-tech solutions, they lose the opportunity to convince key stakeholders to fund more ambitious projects.

You can start implementing game-based learning using highly impactful solutions that are not complex functionally or graphically. In this session, you will learn about a wide variety of platforms and methods that you can use in implementing end-user interactivity and engagement to produce measurable real-world results. Areas of focus will include: learning to know vs. learning to do; awareness of the risk-opportunity continuum; focusing on the long game—learning objectives vs. institutional objectives; tips and techniques enabling anyone to develop effective simulations; and reproducible lean development practices.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to develop high-impact game-based learning that you can effectively deploy using low-cost, low-tech solutions
• About reproducible lean practices for courseware development
• Tips and techniques for developing effective simulations
• How to persuade stakeholders to approve time and cost investments for more ambitious projects

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Feeling like you can’t get past gamification? Tired of matching, memory, or Jeopardy-style games? Everyone hits creative road blocks. Maybe you see a great example of a learning game online, but feel held back creatively by learning objectives. How do you create a serious game while ensuring you meet your learning objectives?

In this session, you’ll learn about common game mechanics and how to apply them to serious games in learning. You’ll walk away with real gameplay and game-based learning examples that can achieve almost any learning objective.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why serious games perform better than gamification
• How to interpret game mechanics in gameplay
• How to apply game mechanics in your design
• How to achieve almost any learning objective with game-based learning

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers.

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 904.

In the past, the self-paced content created by L&D often took the form of eLearning courses. But there’s a growing recognition that more learning takes place outside an organization’s LMS than in it. As a result, learning content—and the time and effort that goes into it—needs to be more flexible in order to be effective as it performs the critical role of supporting both formal and informal learning.

In this session, you’ll focus on how to design and create content for use on any device, no matter where your audience is. This approach allows you to provide content in the manner your audience needs it most—whether they need formal learning, such as courses in your LMS, or informal learning opportunities like performance support, job aids, or knowledge bases. You’ll review instructional design processes to guide you through planning for single-source, multipurpose content, as well as development strategies to ensure that people can find and use this content no matter what device they use.

In this session, you will learn:

• About strategies that can help you evaluate what your audience really needs in order to carry out their roles
• About instructional design approaches to help you plan for single-source, multipurpose content to meet these needs
• Strategies to develop and deliver this content
• How to kick-start a learning and development process in your organization that supports single-source, multipurpose content creation

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Numerous mobile devices.

You would like to design and develop animated videos, but you’re not sure how to get started or apply the tools you have to create new content. You may have a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud but may not be sure how to get started with Adobe After Effects.

In this session, you will learn how to get started building and designing animated motion videos and compositing to improve your video-based deliveries. You will learn the finer points of audio, video, and effect creation and the best practices for compositing green screen. Finally, you will learn how to export your video for anytime, anywhere use.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to get started with Adobe After Effects
• About graphics, audio, and effects that can help create dynamic videos
• Best practices for compositing green screens
• Techniques and best practices for working with motion elements
• How to prep, animate, and export videos for delivery everywhere

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe After Effects and green screen technology.

Technology required:
Laptop running Adobe After Effects (if using trial version, sign up for Creative Cloud trial 20 days prior).

Building learning for mobile devices is not the same as building an eLearning module. At its most basic level, it requires tools and features with specific options that support mobile development. But it also requires you to take a different approach to how you should design your content. Great mobile content takes into account the needs of your mobile learners as well as the unique features that mobile learning can provide to them.

In this session, you’ll explore how the combination of thoughtful mobile design and the flexibility of Articulate Storyline 360 can help you build powerful solutions. Storyline has become a popular eLearning development tool, and recent updates have given it significantly more functionality for creating mobile content. This session will help you master the new features in Storyline 360 that make mobile learning development easy and effective.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to build mobile-friendly interactivity
• About the mobile publishing options that are available in Storyline 360
• How to design and test features on the adaptive player
• How to have more control over how the user experiences your mobile modules
• How to test mobile gestures for screen manipulation and navigation

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline 360.

Technology required:
PC or Mac with Windows, running Storyline 360.

Years of momentum have resulted in numerous use cases for teams seeking to leverage xAPI to better track, measure, and manage their mobile learning efforts. It’s clear that xAPI can improve the ways you create and deliver mobile content, track interactions, and measure performance. Armed with knowledge and the proverbial “Swiss Army knife” of xAPI functions, you can begin to “slice, saw, tweeze, and pick” your way through mobile training challenges.

In this session, you’ll discuss what xAPI really is, how statements are structured, and how it’s already being used to power mobile initiatives. You’ll explore how teams use xAPI and cmi5 to improve learning, streamline tracking, automate tasks, and drive engagement via modern authoring tools and an LRS—as well as how LMSs are undergoing transformations to support these trends. You’ll also look at the basic challenges teams face in implementing xAPI. Finally, you’ll learn how authoring tools, LMS platforms, mobile apps, and IoT endpoints are being connected to leverage the power of xAPI.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the basic structural and design tenets of an xAPI-based solution and the best-practice approach to implementing those solutions
• About new use cases that can show how to apply tracking to non-traditional learning assignments and interactions
• What technical challenges you’ll need to overcome with LMS integration, security, mobile (when offline), and more
• How to determine the best authoring tools and learning platforms to take advantage of xAPI
• The importance of cmi5 and its future impact on learning

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Experience API (xAPI), content authoring tools, integrated and remote learning record stores (LRSs), and mobile technology.

Professional development generally means taking time away from your work to go and learn a concept, then return to your team, who may have a “What are you going to make us do now?” attitude. Take a moment to think “what if.” What if professional development were delivered where and when it was important to you? What if you did not have to leave your team to participate in behavior-based professional development? What if your professional development created greater cohesion within your team? What if your professional development were focused directly on issues and content that were meaningful to you and your team?

This session will explore methods of creating mobile professional development that produces greater team cohesion, changes behavior, and allows participants to engage in the development process while they remain on the job with their team. You’ll learn how mobile learning gives participants the unprecedented ability to gain new perspectives and connect with their team in a meaningful way while engaged in the professional development process. Finally, you’ll learn the findings from a recent study and real-time implementation of these strategies.

In this session, you will learn:

• About mobile professional development strategies to create greater team cohesion
• About learning strategies that have the greatest effect with mobile professional development
• How to determine the right amount of content to deliver for the greatest effect on a mobile device

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Flipgrid, HapYak, the Adobe suite, and Google Drive.

Everyone has seen truly terrible training videos at some point—everything from awkward educational films that put you to sleep in school to unintentionally hilarious training videos that have you laughing more than learning. It’s abundantly clear that just because content has been put into video form doesn’t mean it’s something people want to watch. But while these training video failures may not be fantastic at what they were designed to do, there’s a surprising amount that we can learn from their mistakes.

In this session, you’ll learn how to make engaging video content by taking a look at some impressive examples of what not to do. You’ll watch samples of some of the most amusingly odd training videos and then critically discuss why they didn’t succeed and what you can do in your own work to avoid their mistakes. And while the videos you’ll watch will make you laugh, they’ll also help you better understand how to use this medium more effectively.

In this session, you will learn:

• What can make your audience tune out of your video content
• How to share information in a way that doesn’t leave viewers cringing
• What to avoid when trying to make a training video that actually works
• How to separate what’s not working in a video idea from what is

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video.

Today, anyone with a smartphone has video capabilities—just look at the number and variety of videos posted on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. In addition to phones, you now have drone capabilities and cameras that you can attach to yourself and your pets or embed in your doorbell. The possibilities are seemingly endless. So how do you take advantage of these options for training?

Join this session to learn how a team at Farmers Insurance has been exploring new ways for using video technology to enhance training for employees and agents. You’ll explore options for using tools like drones, smartphones, and GoPro-style cameras to record video, going beyond the bells and whistles to look at how to use these tools in ways that aren’t just cool, but also make a real difference in how effective your content is. You’ll review options for how you can use these recordings in your courses, performance support, and testimonials. And you’ll also look at how to add interactivity to your videos using software like Captivate and Storyline, giving you even more options for what kinds of projects you can create.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use drones, smartphones, and GoPro-style cameras to record video for your projects
• How to use these recordings to enhance your courses, performance support, and testimonials
• How to add interactivity to your videos using Captivate, Storyline, and other software
• Tips and tricks to help you create your own videos for training

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Captivate 9, Articulate Storyline 2, and Camtasia.

The da Vinci Surgical System was an important medical innovation, but not necessarily one that was quick for hospital staff to learn to use. With such a complex product, hospital OR staff needed not only training on how to transport the system, set it up, and use it during surgery, but also follow-up support to help them master interacting with it in the hospital operating room. This support needed to be quick, so staff could quickly access the information necessary to work effectively with the system, and it needed to be available at any time and on any device. The solution was to blend video and performance support, creating a video portal staff could access at their exact time of need.

In this case study session, you’ll learn how you can shift from an online module model to a video format by taking a closer look at the launch of the da Vinci System Video Portal. You’ll discover how to rethink content for the video format, including how to repurpose existing content as well as chunk information for new videos. You’ll also explore the team’s planning for the portal itself, from the initial wireframes to the prototype to the final version they piloted with customers. This session will help you consider which situations a performance support video portal may be right for, and what you’ll need to do to make launching one a success.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to plan for a content format conversion
• How you can repurpose your existing content into video
• How to appropriately chunk content in the best way for video
• How to mock up your concepts for a wireframe video portal
• How to create a prototype video portal for testing and piloting

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, managers, directors, and senior leaders (VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, Microsoft SharePoint, Sony 4K cameras, Brightcove Video Cloud, and Brightcove Gallery.

Many people in the eLearning realm are attempting to use gamification and serious games to spark employee engagement and drive learning retention. And while the intent is to make the best serious games that will enhance the learning objectives and help people retain content, unfortunately, they don’t always go as planned. Common issues with these unsuccessful serious games and gamified learning experiences include little to no planning, tough-to-pinpoint metrics, little to no implementation strategy, and insufficient or nonexistent post-deployment support. So what can you do to ensure your game-based project actually works?

In this session, you’ll discuss what makes a serious game a success or a failure. You’ll look at the proper steps to take throughout each phase of your project to ensure its effectiveness. This journey will include investigating best practices as well as highlighting common pain points throughout the development process and how to address them. You’ll leave this session with a better sense of not just why games can be a powerful tool for learning, but also what steps you’ll need to take to develop effective ones.

In this session, you will learn:

• What gets in the way of creating serious games that work
• Best practices to ensure successful implementation of a serious game
• About the first steps to take when creating serious games
• What other organizations’ serious game projects can teach you about the development process

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, managers, directors, and senior leaders (VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile games; motion tracking with Leap.

Gamification is not just a trend. It works—when done well. Unfortunately, many organizations get caught up in the “let’s gamify everything” hype and fail to properly align game mechanics to meaningful objectives. L&D professionals continue to face stakeholder and employee objections when attempting to introduce game-based concepts. They also run into conflicting priorities when multiple game ideas are implemented without a holistic vision for employee engagement.

In this session, you’ll explore real-world examples of how reputable organizations are effectively applying gamification and realizing measurable business impact. You’ll dig into a variety of game mechanics and explore how you can best use them to drive employee engagement. You’ll discuss common objections to game-based concepts and share both talking points and data to help L&D professionals overcome these challenges. You’ll examine simple ways to prove the potential of gamification in your organization before making a considerable investment. And you’ll learn a set of best principles to help you drive gamification impact over the long term.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why much of the existing gamification research fails to reflect real-world potential
• How to leverage the right game mechanics to achieve your learning objectives
• How casual gameplay can facilitate user engagement during learning experiences
• How to sell your stakeholders and employees on the concept of gamification

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Axonify, Confluence, Duolingo, Gamify, and Swarm.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
Story Cubes is a creative story game using dice imprinted with pictures. Each player rolls nine dice and tells a story based on the dice pictures facing up. There is no winner, just great fun to be had listening to improvised stories.

In this session, you will explore opportunities for designers and developers to decide how unique pieces of content fit together. You will examine the idea of looking for common threads, deciding what the purpose of a story is, and determining its beginning, middle, and end. Finally, you’ll learn how the Story Cubes structure could be useful in the scriptwriting process.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

As technology continues to evolve, it creates new opportunities to let people play, explore, and learn from games that include video, animation, and biometric data, and from one another. How can these new technologies support immersive learning and enable you to re-create “real” experiences in learning games?

In this session, you will explore a future vision of workplace learning, from onboarding to leadership development, from job skill training to coaching and mentoring. Come experience “a day in the life” of learning at work in the not-so-distant future, and consider how you think about game-based learning today and tomorrow.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the various applications of new technologies that can be used in games to solve current and future workplace problems
• How learning and development can change today to better prepare for the future of workplace learning
• How data, curation, immersive technology, biometrics, personalization, ubiquity, and social learning intersect in the future

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Suggesting a mobile learning program can still raise some eyebrows in even the most progressive organizations. Concerns about security, cost, device type, and use are just a few of the barriers that can stall your efforts.

If you’re struggling now or anticipating resistance to mLearning, join our panel of experts as they tackle the big questions, and find out how you can overcome the most common barriers to mobile learning in your organization.

Virtual reality has exploded over the last year, extending to conversations in the mobile, gaming, and video landscape. There’s a rapidly rising interest in how to use this new technology for learning and performance. With “VR” now one of the hottest buzzwords, how much is hype and how much is substance?

In this session, you will explore the current state of virtual reality in 2017. You will see examples of virtual reality in practice in both the consumer and enterprise markets. You will examine what’s working—and what’s not—and how you can apply those lessons to learning and development.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the critical components of a virtual reality experience
• How early adopters are using VR for L&D
• About common mistakes to avoid
• What questions to ask to determine whether VR is right for your organization
• How consumer-led VR is shaping VR’s use in training

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, managers, and executives.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate 360

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Kick-start your day with Morning Buzz, the ever-popular “Early Bird” discussions. This is your chance to grab a cup of coffee and meet other conference attendees in a relaxed, casual environment, so you can share your best practices, insights, and tips while learning from one another’s experiences.

Developing mobile learning solutions can become complicated if you’re not careful. One wrong turn can leave you mired in extra work you didn’t anticipate. Sometimes this happens due to design decisions. In other cases, the problem stems from choosing the wrong tool, failing to set up templates properly, or any number of other issues. Thankfully, one of the best ways to figure out how to reduce or even avoid your development complexity is simple: Look at successes and snags from previous projects.

In this session, you’ll examine the complexity of developing mobile learning solutions through examples of problems faced during the development of real mobile learning courses and performance support tools. You’ll explore these actual projects and take a closer look at the issues that made their development more complex than it needed to be. You’ll get a chance to hear from the developer himself about how, in retrospect, he’d reduce this complexity; and you’ll also have an opportunity to formulate your own ideas for simplifying these processes.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the impact of choosing the wrong type of tool for the task
• Techniques for making templates easier to use
• Tips for efficient mLearning programming in a variety of authoring tools
• Proven approaches to troubleshooting problems when they arise

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Studio, Articulate Storyline, Trivantis Lectora, Adobe Captivate, HTML5, and JavaScript.

What’s the best camera for a shoot? The definitive answer is, “The one you have with you.” The ubiquity of the mobile camera means that when you’re in the presence of great instructional content, it can become video in seconds. In addition, viewers are developing a special respect for authentic-looking video—footage that looks raw, real, and genuine. This is why many training videographers have moved to iPhones as their main production equipment, even on high-production-value shoots. So how can you benefit from this stylistic trend?

In this session, you’ll learn important strategies for capturing great content on your smartphone. You’ll discuss the technical aspects of smartphone video production and investigate how to address the physical challenges of smartphone cameras and microphones. You’ll then look at the content side of smartphone video production, including how to use your device to record on the fly and conduct informal interviews. This session will help you leverage the authentic look of mobile video to engage your audience. You’ll leave feeling empowered to hit that “record” button anytime and anywhere when seeking new eLearning content.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the important features of authentic-looking video content
• About the technical challenges of the camera and microphone on your smartphone, and how to work around them
• How to compensate for your smartphone’s recording equipment
• What aspects of your video can be altered and polished with the help of camera apps

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile phone technology for recording video and audio; camera apps.

Technology required:
A modern smartphone or tablet to practice shooting video.

Mobile and performance support seem like a perfect team. A just-in-time performance support system can improve efficiency, reduce errors, lessen the need for upfront training, and even improve morale; and mobile devices have tremendous potential to help workers solve problems on the go. That said, designing a mobile performance support solution requires a different mindset and approach than designing traditional training. So how can you best use this pairing to improve performance?

In this session, you’ll see how a design process built around the audience and goals can lead to the creation of successful performance support products. You’ll explore a specific case study: a mobile system that includes video, a search component, and advice on common problems and how to best diagnose and solve them. Along with the case study, you’ll learn more about a design and development process that can help you quickly get from wondering how you can best use mobile to actually creating effective, just-in-time mobile performance support yourself.

In this session, you will learn:

• When to consider a performance support approach rather than training
• How to gather content from subject matter experts and craft it into an effective performance support system
• How to incorporate different contexts and use cases into the design of a mobile product
• How to follow a mobile design process that focuses on performance goals

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Smartphones and tablets; brief references to PhoneGap (a cross-platform app development platform).

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 714.

In the past, the self-paced content created by L&D often took the form of eLearning courses. But there’s a growing recognition that more learning takes place outside an organization’s LMS than in it. As a result, learning content—and the time and effort that goes into it—needs to be more flexible in order to be effective as it performs the critical role of supporting both formal and informal learning.

In this session, you’ll focus on how to design and create content for use on any device, no matter where your audience is. This approach allows you to provide content in the manner your audience needs it most—whether they need formal learning, such as courses in your LMS, or informal learning opportunities like performance support, job aids, or knowledge bases. You’ll review instructional design processes to guide you through planning for single-source, multipurpose content, as well as development strategies to ensure that people can find and use this content no matter what device they use.

In this session, you will learn:

• About strategies that can help you evaluate what your audience really needs in order to carry out their roles
• About instructional design approaches to help you plan for single-source, multipurpose content to meet these needs
• Strategies to develop and deliver this content
• How to kick-start a learning and development process in your organization that supports single-source, multipurpose content creation

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Numerous mobile devices.

Mobile, video, gamification; these three trending industry technologies can increase learner engagement and drive business results (while hopefully adding some fun to the workday). Despite the sustained attention these technologies have received from learning leaders across organizations, many are still struggling to apply best practices when implementing them, or are finding subpar outcomes. A solution? Embrace outside-the-box thinking!

In this session, you will look at straightforward, immediate applications of mobile, video, and gamification technologies. You’ll analyze where and why they can be more effective than traditional eLearning. You’ll then discuss nontraditional, “abstract” applications of these technologies and why this mindset shift is powerful. The session will conclude with case studies of successful mobile, video, and gamification learning programs that embraced outside-the-box thinking to delight learners and exceed business goals.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the three biggest current trends in technology
• Techniques for applying these technologies effectively to training
• How to think outside the box to exceed business goals
• About abstract thinking that actually worked!

Audience:
Novice to advanced managers and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Mobile, gamification, and video technologies, platforms, and devices.

Instructional designers and writers are increasingly turning to branching scenarios as a way to embrace experiential learning and move beyond page-turners. But authoring an effective scenario is challenging, as the branches can become overwhelming. Moreover, if you don’t apply good game-design principles, the scenarios can turn out to be as flat, boring, and ineffective as a series of multiple-choice questions.

In this hands-on session, you will play, deconstruct, and discuss branching scenarios as a full group and in small teams. You’ll experience what makes branching scenarios work well. You’ll play the highly cited “Haji Kamal” branching scenario as a group, and learn how the design team used Jesse Schell’s Art of Game Design lenses in designing the scenario’s story, structure, and media. Then you’ll play another scenario in a print-and-play format, in small groups. You will discuss the design principles applied to that scenario and explore how paper-based scenarios can be used for team training. You’ll leave this session with a cheat sheet for taming scenario structures, as well as reflection prompts to help you apply the design principles to your own learning challenges.

In this session, you will learn:

• What game design lenses are helpful in designing branching scenarios
• Which core techniques can help you keep your branching structure under control
• About approaches that can improve your branching scenario storytelling
• How to apply these principles to your own projects

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Branching scenarios.

When a pet is undergoing anesthesia, the veterinary nurses who monitor that process are put in a high-stakes environment where the patient, not training, needs to be the focus. One organization wanted a way to bridge the gap between what veterinary nurses understood about the theories behind anesthesia monitoring, and effective real-world application of those principles. To solve this dilemma, the team needed to find a scalable solution to provide a lower-stakes environment, allowing nurses to practice the important patient assessment and remediation techniques they needed before they began actual anesthetic monitoring on the job.

In this case study session, you’ll learn how the team enhanced clinical learning with a simulation that bridged the gap between eLearning content and the actual practice of anesthesia monitoring. You’ll find out how creating a lower-stakes environment than the real world, but a higher-stakes environment than eLearning, can lead to better job performance. You’ll then learn how to create simulations yourself using the “gradual release model,” whereby users are given increasing amounts of responsibility over the content as they move through the curriculum. You’ll also get tips for how to create your own simulations, including how to leverage your SMEs to help create content, how to develop and deploy a simulation, and how to measure its impact.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why simulations can lead to better performance
• How to use the gradual release of learner responsibility model in your simulations
• How to leverage SMEs effectively to develop simulation content
• Strategies for both developing and deploying a simulation
• How to evaluate the efficacy of simulation-based learning

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Fully immersive simulation developed on Unity gaming platform; integration of simulation with Totara LMS.

Over the last decade, there has been industrywide emphasis on developing learning objects with embedded gamification elements. However, taking the concept of gamification past the singular learning objects to the more global, overall learner experience is more of a rarity.

This session outlines the specifics of one company’s journey and lessons learned so that participants can take those practices to their own company. You will explore the realities and challenges of designing and developing a gamified open-learning platform. The session will focus on the learner experience design process with specific emphasis on the engagement model, learning space and journey, and game economy. You will learn how issues were solved relating to employee goals and ambitions, the learner lifecycle and engagement loops, and learner motivation and emotional engagement, as well as establishing criteria and conditions that set a solid foundation for the game economy.

In this session, you will learn:

• The considerations necessary for building a learner engagement model
• The elements to apply when designing for a gamified learning environment
• How to evolve your system to add new functionality and stay relevant

Audience:
Intermediate designers, developers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Examples of the gamified platform that the company built.

We know that simulations are a fantastic way to allow people to practice skills in a realistic but safe environment that gives them the opportunity to learn from mistakes. However, actually sitting down and creating a simulation that feels real to your audience is definitely harder than it sounds. So learn from the industry that’s been successfully simulating real and imagined situations for years: video games! Video games aren’t just a fun diversion, there’s also a lot in common between how they’re created and the way a strong simulation should be designed.

In this session, you’ll take a look at how video games developers have overcome some of the same major hurdles that we experience when developing simulations for training, such as deciding what your simulation structure should be, narrowing down potential ideas to just the ones that work, and making player choices matter (or at least seem like they matter). You’ll also learn about game design techniques that will make your simulation development process run smoother, such as iterative design and prototyping. Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or someone who couldn’t recognize Pong if your life depended on it, you’ll still learn a lot about what video games can teach us about making simulations that are fun and effective.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the audience you’re designing for should influence the game you create
• How to decide how much choice to give your players
• How to avoid the “uncanny valley” of sims
• How prototyping and iterative design can lead to better game experiences
• What games to check out when you’re looking for simulation design inspiration

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Branching and simulation games, including The Walking Dead, Papers Please, and Lifeline.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
It's a typical card game where one deals out cards, then the players draw, play cards, and try to achieve winning state, etc - with a twist. The cards change the rules of play as you play. They can affect how many you draw, put out, can swap hands, and most importantly, change the goals of the game.

This game is used to illustrate the importance of rules and constraints in simulations. It helps illuminate how important models are that capture relationships with importance for learning, and modeling those relationships  in designing scenarios and simulations.  It also can illustrate pattern matching in cognition and agility in innovation and the impacts of rules on organizational culture as well.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

It seems video has been around forever. Video was a primary source of training for the military during World War II. Most classrooms used reel-to-reel players for video-based learning, a format that soon evolved into VHS/TV carts that easily rolled in and out of the room. In the early part of this century, video began to migrate online, but it’s only in recent years that the world of video has truly transformed itself and continues to do so rapidly. What lies ahead in the evolution of this powerful medium?

In this session, you will tour the world of video in 2017. You will examine how the world of video is much bigger than it has ever been, while at the same time becoming smaller than you ever thought possible. Using a number of examples, you will examine these changes and the possibilities they open up for learning and performance improvement.

In this session, you will learn:

• How video for training has changed in the past few decades
• From case studies of video used for L&D
• About the future possibilities for video and training
• Tips for incorporating video into your L&D strategy

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

The role of the learning developer is expanding in scope and responsibility. Today’s learning professionals need to understand how to use mobile devices to deliver useful content at the time of need. They have to consider the complete user experience, including user context, device capabilities, mobile interface design, and audience personas. And they have to understand how all of these variables translate into a memorable experience for their audience.

This session will present foundational strategy and guidelines for effective user experience design for mobile and other new platforms, including hands-free devices such as watches and smart glasses. The session will examine how user-centered design can produce training deliverables that resonate with your audience. You’ll explore the importance of context and how it should impact your UX choices, as well as new technologies and design disciplines that can influence your UX, such as industrial design and deep learning. You’ll also hear about the UX lessons learned from real-world case studies in mobile and performance support projects.

In this session, you will learn:

• Essential principles for effective user-centered design
• How to analyze and evaluate what your target audience needs from your UX
• How the environment affects the user experience, and how to design for the right context
• About the wide variety of mobile device capabilities that enhance UX
• What effective UX looks like in real examples of augmented reality performance support

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Handheld mobile devices (smartphones, tablets); wearable devices (glasses, watches, sensors, headsets); and augmented reality performance support.

As companies support using more devices to access training content, the balance between standardizing the training experience and supporting learning on the go becomes more challenging. There are distinct differences when accessing content on a computer versus a tablet or smartphone, including screen size, ways to interact with the content, and sometimes even people’s expectations of the experience. Is one experience better than the other? And is it possible to support both well?

In this session, you’ll compare the experiences of online learning through two lenses: desktop versus mobile. You’ll take a closer look at best practices for each medium, in particular when working with geographically dispersed users. You’ll also explore an example of how one Fortune 250 company experimented with collaborative online learning by offering its course in both a desktop and mobile version. This case study will help you uncover what you need to know about how desktop faces off against mobile in real-world learning applications, and what you can do to make both effective for your audience.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the strengths and weaknesses of desktop and mobile for engaging with content
• Best practices for designing for mobile and desktop
• About the key differences in designing content for mobile versus desktop
• What a real-world experiment with mobile versus desktop content can tell you about both options

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Desktop computers, mobile phones, and NovoEd.

Video is trending in L&D for good reasons. When video-based learning projects go right, they can resonate well with their audience and make a huge impact. However, when they go wrong, they can go very, very wrong. Why? Because there’s a substantial amount of financial, legal, branding, security, and relationship risk introduced when incorporating video into your learning strategy. So how can you safely create a more video-centric culture? And what processes and protocols need to be in place before you move forward?

In this session, you’ll learn how to better assess the risks and rewards of video-based learning within your organization. You’ll look at how to overcome common hurdles when getting the business on board with using video. You’ll even role-play conversations with key leadership in legal, marketing, IT, etc., and determine how to sidestep the roadblocks, mitigate the dangers, and maximize the opportunities for partnership. You’ll leave this session with resources that can help you start conversations and work to deliver successful video learning projects and initiatives.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to have empowering exploratory conversations with partners in your organization
• How to avoid common business problems and surprises when launching a video-based approach
• How to turn your video issues into assets for the business
• Where to look for additional resources within your organization

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video production software and project management tools.

Increasingly more participants in live online virtual training classes are joining by mobile device—which means they connect via the platform app instead of using the full desktop program. While this gives people substantially more flexibility in where and when they can access virtual training, it has a big drawback as well. Most virtual training designs assume that all tools and features will be available for learning activities, but most virtual classroom apps only have limited features. Given this challenge, it can be tricky to know how best to design virtual training content that’s engaging but that every member of your audience can fully experience.

In this interactive session, you’ll learn how to design engaging virtual training programs when some (or even all) of your participants connect to the session from a mobile device. You’ll start out by learning why virtual training platform functionality isn’t the same on mobile devices and explore the common key differences between the app and desktop experiences. You’ll then take a closer look at three common limitations that mobile learners face. Finally, you’ll dive deep on how to work around these challenges, with techniques ranging from how to prepare learners in advance to how specifically to design virtual content so it’s just as effective for mobile audiences as for desktop audiences.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the common key differences between virtual classroom desktop programs and their corresponding mobile apps
• About the specific limitations that people face when connecting to virtual training via mobile device
• How to prepare your audience in advance when they plan to connect via mobile device
• Techniques to design engaging virtual training when participants are connected via mobile device

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Connect will be the main presentation platform; however, the session will touch on other virtual classroom platforms, such as WebEx Training Center and GoTo Training.

In a world of short attention spans and the need to “break through the clutter,” how can you ensure your learning videos leave your audience remembering your message? Maybe it’s time to look outside L&D for inspiration and toward a field that already does this well: advertising. If advertisements can influence people to purchase items they don’t need, are there ways to use this field’s secrets to influence learners (and do this without their feeling manipulated)?

In this session, you’ll learn how the techniques that influence purchasing behavior can also change the behavior of your audience. You’ll find out what exactly makes an ad so compelling that it can persuade you to spend your money, then you’ll apply these secrets to make your next learning video successful. You’ll explore the hooks that grab viewer interest, the components that lead to an effective video concept, and a framework you can use to shape a successful learning-video strategy.

In this session, you will learn:

• About a strategic framework for designing and evaluating effective video for learning
• About two “hooks” that make the content in your learning video memorable
• About four components that make an effective video concept
• About two techniques for using drama to design or evaluate videos

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and managers.

With an ever-increasing number of people spending more time watching online video than they do watching TV, it’s no surprise that the demand for video content is higher than ever. As you might expect, this trend is also leading to a higher expectation for video communication and training in the workplace. Fortunately, as it continues to grow in popularity, video is also becoming easier and more cost-effective for anyone to produce as long as they have the right tools to help.

Mobile devices, software, and cloud-based video creation tools have evolved to the point where an average user with limited experience can quickly learn to create high-quality, engaging video content. In this session, you’ll explore how to leverage these tools to create professional-looking videos both rapidly and inexpensively. You’ll look at the physical gear that can make a big difference in the quality of video you can create with only a small investment. You’ll also look at software tools that are available to help you shoot and edit better, more polished video.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the gear you must own to make your smartphone videos look more professional (and how to get it all for under $200)
• How to use time lapse and slow motion, available on many smartphones, as creative storytelling devices
• How to use tools you may already own, like PowerPoint and Camtasia, to edit your videos and create eye-catching graphics
• How to boost production value and shave hours off production time with effective, surprisingly affordable cloud-based video creation tools

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Blue Yeti and smartLav+ microphones, Camtasia 9, Microsoft PowerPoint, GoAnimate, Animoto, Renderforest, and Fiverr.

Videos in learning isn't new, but the video medium is seeing rapid expansion in use, from microlearning to interactivity. Before you can move forward, you need buy-in, and that can be challenging. Barriers to approval can range from bandwidth and hosting to skill sets and equipment costs.

Join our panel of experts as they explore how you can overcome the most common barriers to video use for organizational learning. You’ll learn how to help move your organization forward with dynamic approaches to learning and development.

Learning videos can range from astoundingly effective to painfully bad. And while most people can at least create content that avoids the latter category, it’s not always easy to know what makes the difference between video content that truly resonates with your audience and content that is fine but forgettable. Thankfully, one of the best solutions is to take a closer look at examples that work well.

In this session, you’ll get inspiration for making your video content even better by taking a critical look at some of the most effective videos used for learning. You’ll look at a wide range of approaches to using this medium for teaching content and engage in in-depth discussions about what made each approach successful. Through exploring this curated selection of video examples, you’ll find out more about what makes video content memorable and get new ideas for techniques you can use in your own work.

In this session, you will learn:

• About different approaches for using this medium to share content
• What successful learning videos tend to have in common
• How knowing your audience impacts the effectiveness of your videos
• Where to look for training video inspiration

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Video.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
In Wits and Wagers, all players are asked questions that require a number answer. After recording their numbers, the answers are arranged in numerical order. Each player wagers a chip on the right answer. If they are right, the “house” pays them; if wrong, they lose their chip. The person who gave the right answer also wins a chip.      

In this session, you’ll explore how technical product details and traditional company history or information can be presented in this game format. Wits and Wagers illustrates collaboration, sharing of information, and evaluation.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

Deconstructing Games is a new series of hands-on sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to play a game and then discuss how the mechanics in play can be applied in your own learning context.

Session Description:
Candy Crush is the popular mobile puzzle-based game with incremental progress against a game board path. 

In this session, you’ll explore how we can development skills through problem-based learning and with incremental progress towards a goal. All enhanced through social support/outreach.

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, project managers, managers, and directors.

New for FocusOn this year! This is a popular session being offered twice. It's also available as session 506.

Video is the engagement medium today, yet the all-too-common “play and walk away” issue still dominates—i.e., not having engrossing material that engages viewers. Interactive video increases response rates, view times, and viewer satisfaction. Engaging viewers with in-video questions, knowledge checks, and choose-your-own-adventure adaptive paths allows instructors to better ensure knowledge transfer. Who is doing this right? How can you move away from boring video design?

In this session, you will explore 30 of the best interactive videos in the eLearning and training space. You will discuss viewer engagement tactics, best practices, and adaptive experiences. You will also look at branching, scalability, production quality, data collection, and integration into existing learning strategies.

In this session, you will learn:

• About best practices of interactive videos
• How other educators are leveraging interactive video in their curriculum
• How to scale interactive video strategies
• How to leverage data obtained from viewer engagement with interactive video

Audience:
Novice to advanced developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Interactive video from a variety of sources and technologies, displaying on laptop, tablet, and mobile.

In this fun and insightful closing session, five industry experts will face off in a battle that examines how to apply what we have learned at FocusOn Learning 2017. We will use an approach similar to popular games like Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples (but with an L&D flavor) to guide a conversation about some of the biggest challenges with using mobile, video, and games. While the cards will provide a chance to poke fun at these hurdles, they will also spark a deeper and more practical discussion about how to overcome them. Members of the audience will vote to choose their favorite, and after each question the players will dig deeper to explore what we need to do to harness the potential of mobile, video, and games in our organizations. In the end, everyone will discover a great deal about how to apply what we have learned at FocusOn Learning 2017—but only one player will win the Cards Against Ineffective eLearning trophy.