Simply put, augmented reality requires a device, content, a marker, and a software platform to use to overlay the content over the real space. For corporations, the challenges can be real: employees don't have company-issued devices, the content is private and shouldn't be accessed publically, markers can detract from the corporate brand, and custom AR software development can be expensive and hard to deploy. How can learning and development teams even approach the AR conversation without fraying nerves and breaking budgets?

There's been substantial buzz around augmented reality as a tool for learning through interactivity, as well as for reaching colleagues who don't have access to traditional eLearning programs. New data has shown that doing so can potentially double the level of attention compared to TV and online learning, with 70% higher memory encoding when compared to traditional media consumption. Despite this, AR has only recently begun to garner mainstream attention. Many professionals still believe it's expensive and difficult to adopt, with uptake remaining conservative. What if we could dispel these myths and prove that not only are there simple, affordable tools to work with, but that the outcomes of making L&D more engaging and memorable are worth their weight in gold?

While it’s become easier to find strong use cases for immersive technologies like AR and VR, it’s still a challenge to go one step further and build solid business cases for this technology. Like every industry, the education and training fields are looking for business models for adopting immersive technologies that make sense for our needs. But what should be the focus for building a business case in education and training: learning outcomes, learning engagement, both, or something else? What details do we need to build a strong business case for investing in these immersive technologies in our field?

Creating an exciting experience in the VR headset is only part of the solution. How do you ensure it's instructionally effective? Even with new technology the basic principles of instructional design must still be applied: challenges, activity, reflection, and feedback, to name a few. In addition, you’ll want to consider the unique features you can leverage in VR experiences related to time, stress, and 3-D movement, as well as the user challenges of wearing a VR headseat. And because virtual reality is a large investment, you’ll need to be especially sure your solution is effective to ensure there's a strong ROI.

Virtual reality (VR) learning experiences are dramatically increasing in popularity. But how do you get started building VR? What if you have a low budget, or no budget at all? The cost of new technology and software, and the development time required, may thwart would-be VR developers. However, there are now several free software and media options that make it simpler and more affordable than ever to build VR.        

How many times have you tried to explain to a new employee, visitor, or client how to find you in your complicated (or not so complicated building), only to have them get lost in an endless sea of corridors on their first visit? Maybe you have an environment you would like someone to see but they are not physically able to experience it for themselves, like a museum or art gallery? You can do all this and more with a series of 360 photos imported into an eLearning authoring tool to create a virtual interactive tour.

You have a vision for how to use virtual reality in your training program, but the idea of working with a team of developers can feel daunting. Unfamiliar terminology and misunderstood objectives can potentially derail your project before it ever gets off the ground. In addition, many VR development teams have limited experience working with the training industry and bring years of assumptions and processes to the table that might seem alien to you at first. You need a process that you can rely on that will streamline your collaboration with your development team, reduce the chances of failure, and lead to a VR project that achieves your vision.

You need to provide on-the-job training to your new employees without sacrificing customer service and daily operations. Additionally, you don't have the resources to provide a safe and economical way of replicating real life situations. What if there was one solution that combined technical skills with behavioral change through branched learning, all from one tablet?

Kaiser Permanente's Health Plan Workforce Development (HPWD) group, which is always striving to bring leading-edge technology to its learning solutions, believed that AR and VR delivery would be especially important in engaging and retaining younger workers over the next several years. But with its finite resources, HPWD needed to figure out how these technologies could be used most effectively. Of HPWD's many learning audiences (ranging from sales and marketing to underwriting and product support) and their disparate learning needs, which would truly benefit from AR or VR delivery? And how should initial, proof-of-concept forays into these technologies be targeted?

Virtual reality offers instructors a high-impact tool for teaching and learning by engaging learners in a realistic 360-degree environment. While the instructional benefits are extraordinary, there have been two major challenges facing most collegiate classrooms; technology cost and instructional relevance. During this session, attendees will explore innovative VR assignments, utilized over the course of a year, and their evolution in online and in-person courses. Moreover, attendees will discover how to create effective and engaging VR assignments on a public institution budget.

In this session, The eLearning Guild’s director of research, Jane Bozarth, hosts an overview of The Guild’s most recent reports on AR/VR in learning and development efforts. Joined by Cindy Plunkett, co-author of the Guild's April 2019 report, “Augmented and Virtual Reality for Behavior Change,” and The Guild's David Kelly, the session will cover user data regarding popular tools and approaches, as well as current and planned use. It will also offer a review of the literature on leveraging these approaches to change behavior/improve performance.

One of the best ways to learn how to apply a new technology is to learn from the proven practices of early adopters. By listening to the lessons they learned from their projects, you can make your initial projects more effective, while also reducing the risks generally associated with piloting a new technology.

Augmented reality (AR) enhances the world you're in with supplementary visual information. It can seem quite technical and out of reach, but did you know you can begin creating augmented reality content right now?

When you hear the words “augmented and virtual reality,” do you automatically think about either Pokémon GO! or putting goggles on your face? Did you know you could experience VR without a headset? Did you know you could augment a sandbox? To fully appreciate AR and VR and how it could be useful, you should understand the entire spectrum of mixed reality technologies. It’s a lot more than meets the eye!

Global training demand exceeded the classroom capacity required to enable enough technicians to rebuild critical vehicle components. eLearning fell short transferring the "hands on skills" required for the job, but travel by instructors to remote locations was proving too expensive and inefficient. A better solution was needed.

Augmented reality is a powerful tool that can help your team achieve learning goals in a meaningful and hands-on way. But within the L&D field, there's a lot of misunderstanding about what exactly AR can do and how it can be implemented. And this can make it a challenge get everyone at your organization—and even just your team— on board with what you need to know to make an augmented reality learning program a success.

We currently have a trillion-dollar problem in healthcare; 47 million people live with dementia worldwide, and this number is growing rapidly (World Alzheimer Report, 2016). What if we could reduce these costs by changing the way we approach customer service for our clients? Evidence shows that if we are able to make each client’s experience more personalized by providing in-the-moment performance support to our staff, we can be more effective and efficient. If we can provide our staff the ability to use their mobile devices to see the customer's care preferences, life history, favorite music, hobbies, and more on demand, we can provide that personalized care. Now, what if we could solve these problems with an elegantly simple solution leveraging augmented reality?

While augmented reality’s emergence as a technology is currently behind virtual reality, many would argue AR has much broader potential in the context of learning and development in the long term. We’ve begun to see examples of augmented reality used to support and build knowledge, but we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of how we could use this technology for training and just-in-time support.

Confused about VR authoring tools? There are many available; some are low-cost or free while others are expensive. How do you compare the features to know which one is going to work for you and your VR projects?

We’re giving you two opportunities to catch this popular session – at this time or on Tuesday in Session 105.

3-D content is phenomenally cool—from basic polygonal models to full human-like characters, buildings, vehicles, and even complete environments. Because 3-D content has historically taken vast resources (i.e., time and money) to create, 3-D resources are often relegated to video games, simulations, and/or VR only. However, creating, editing, or obtaining 3-D models for everyday use in eLearning doesn’t have to be cost-prohibitive or take a lot of time.