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.

Bridging the gap between tech mania and the experience of being inside the human body, Jaron Lanier’s inspiring keynote takes a look at what it means to be human at a moment of unprecedented technological possibility. Through a fascinating look back over his life in technology, Mr. Lanier exposes VR’s ability to illuminate and amplify our understanding of our species, providing a new perspective on how the brain and body connect to the world. Join us as the father of virtual reality explains its dazzling possibilities by reflecting on his own lifelong relationship with technology, and discover how VR can actually make our lives richer and fuller.

Producing immersive augmented reality (iAR) learning experiences requires a skill set that many instructional designers have not yet acquired. Determining that training efficacy can benefit from iAR is one thing, but producing an effective experience can be daunting when you haven’t made one before. How does a designer get started? What tools are available to learn how? Can designers learn it on their own?

In this session, you will learn about self-teaching the basics of producing an iAR learning experience. You’ll walk through a workflow using off-the-shelf tools available at stores like Best Buy and the iOS App Store. And you will explore how to get the finished piece to work within a typical learning management system.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to determine when an iAR activity can increase efficacy
• How to select a 360 camera you can afford
• What goes into making a spherical panoramic image
• How to add interactivity with ThingLink 360
• How a drone can add to an immersive experience

Audience:

Designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:

Panorama cameras (airborne and mounted), stitching software (Macintosh and Windows), mobile workflow (iPad), and ThingLink 360.

In preparation for the launch of a brand-new regional haul truck in their key markets, Volvo Trucks had both a dealer training and customer engagement challenge ahead of them. A geographically dispersed dealer base made in-person sales training within the launch timeframe challenging. Similarly, the complexity and availability of the new trucks made it unwieldy to engage customers in live product demonstrations.

In this session, you will learn how Volvo Trucks and LearningMate used a blended VR and mobile learning approach to create effective learning and customer engagement experiences. You’ll find out why Volvo chose a VR solution, hear the pitch for internal stakeholder buy-in, and learn how a successful partnership with their marketing team resulted in a holistic, cost-effective solution for both dealers and customers. You’ll also take a closer look at the development cycle, the decision-making process behind the design, the technologies used, and a proposed analytics solution to help drive business engagement in the future.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a business case for the organization to embrace immersive learning methods
• How a blended VR-mobile approach can make for more effective learning experiences
• Key guiding principles of VR design
• How to address deployment challenges

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

Unity 3D.

Both augmented reality and virtual reality technologies address a world that is 3-D, while most traditional digital learning technology addressed a flat landscape. The movement to 3-D landscapes is going to require new skill sets, including new coding skills. With many possible solutions out there for producing 3-D graphics, digital learning needs a way of producing 3-D that is congruent with tools and presentation methods in current use.

In this session, you’ll learn the fundamentals of coding 3-D graphics with JavaScript and the BabylonJS library. Babylon, with just a few lines of code, can have you producing 3-D objects that display in any contemporary web browser. You’ll code along with the instructor as you learn to leverage JavaScript coding to produce 3-D models that can be used in both education and gaming. After this hands-on session, you’ll be able to create fundamental 3-D shapes, position camera objects, and create textures. You’ll be well positioned to go on to more advanced study of JavaScript and BabylonJS.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use the BabylonJS library
• How to create set shapes
• How to create parametric shapes
• How to use a solid particle system
• How to apply camera behaviors
• How to use the BabylonJS documentation
• Where to go next to further learning

Audience:

Designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:

JavaScript and BabylonJS.

Technology required:

Windows or Mac with text editor and web browser. Brackets (free at Brackets.io) and Chrome are preferred.

Training firefighters in the field is an expensive endeavor. Traditional field training exercises involve large teams of firefighters, their equipment, a dedicated training ground, and set-up and tear-down time for each field exercise. When training exercises are not performed frequently and with precision to shift tactical knowledge to long-term memory, lives are at stake on the fireground. Additionally, firefighters simply do not experience fires every day.

In this session, you will learn how TargetSolutions, a Vector Solutions brand, is transforming firefighter training by developing the industry’s first immersive, interactive virtual reality experience for firefighters. You will examine a prototype microcourse developed in collaboration with a fire house and a video production company on the concept of smoke reading, i.e., how to attack a fire based on what the smoke tells you. In the prototype, firefighters receive instruction on smoke types and then face several scenarios where they must decide how to best attack the fires presented.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the benefits and challenges of using VR for firefighting simulation
• How to implement decision-making into your VR project
• How to manage a large-scale VR project

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VP, CLO, executives, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

Virtual reality with 360-degree video.

Social VR has the opportunity to bring learners from all over the world into a shared environment for collaboration, simulations, and serious games. While the potential is immense, broad-scale adoption of VR hardware will take some time. This session will describe how companies are accommodating this adoption life cycle by offering social learning experiences that people can log in to on mobile (2-D), desktop, and fully immersive VR.

In this session, you will learn how you can deliver education through a social virtual reality platform. You’ll learn about the issue of VR hardware adoption and how it is possible to bring learners together, whether they’re on a mobile device (non-VR), on a desktop computer, or inside a head-mounted VR device. There will be examples and demonstrations, including from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and eXp Realty.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the benefits of social VR for learning
• How companies can offer a shared distance learning experience via mobile, desktop, and fully immersive VR
• About examples of return on investment from a social virtual reality platform
• About the current state-of-the-art social VR platforms and where they are headed
• About opportunities for new approaches to learning assessment via VR

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VP, CLO, executive, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

iOS, Android, PC, Mac, Oculus, HTC Vive, AltspaceVR, VirBELA, High Fidelity, and Engage.

For millennia learning has been a social experience, and this critical factor has not been supported well in first-generation eLearning solutions. Until now, it was difficult to replicate the power of the live experience online in a scalable, replicable, and affordable way. However, multi-user VR opens the door to truly immersive collaboration and social learning.

In this session, the Sinespace Learning team will build and publish a unique, multi-user virtual learning environment before your eyes. VR has exponentially more value in a multi-user scanario. Learning is social, and the most complicated part is how people behave and react, and how they contribute to the overall experience. Bringing people together to collaborate and explore makes learning more contextual, effective, and engaging.  We’ll show how easy it is to create a multi-user environment using the Sinespace platform. Attendees will participate in the creation of the environment in an exciting improv session and leave with access to it.

In this session, you will learn:

• How easy and scalable creating muti-user VR environments can be
• Best practices for building engaging multi-user training scenarios
• Ways to create a replicable environment that can be used across projects and initiatives
• Tips for affordable approaches to VR development

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VPs, CLOs, executives, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

Sinespace Learning VR headsets, multi-user VR.

Training professionals in many organizations face similar challenges: how to ensure training is engaging, meaningful, and applied on the job. VR and AR can help ensure learner engagement, but how can they be leveraged to create meaningful experiences that are transferred to the job? We will consider these challenges in this session and view examples of VR and AR that create meaningful engagements that have immediate application to the job.

During this session we will examine these questions through a broad range of case studies developed for the life sciences for diverse audiences, including physicians, sales leadership, sales personnel, caregivers, and patients. These case studies illustrate how augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can be used to build skills and knowledge, create empathy, and engage learners at the highest levels of their professions in learning that has immediate transfer to the business.

In this session, you will learn:

• How VR can be used to build skills and knowledge in a wide range of areas
• How VR is changing our approach to patient education and patient advocacy
• How to communicate the value of AR and VR to gain buy-in from stakeholders
• How to develop AR and VR experiences that have immediate transfer of learning to the job.

Technology discussed in this session:

Oculus, HTC Vive, iOS, Android.

While YouTube and others make viewing online 360 video easy, creating these videos requires special cameras, equipment, setup, and forethought. But did you know that you can simulate this same look and feel using Blender, the open-source 3-D editing software, to create 360 video?

In this session, you will learn how to create 360 videos leveraging the power of Blender. While you can certainly insert video captured with a specialized 360 video camera, this session will focus on how to create, simulate, and edit 360 video using Blender’s animation and compositing tools. The final product will be rendered using Blender’s equirectangular camera to facilitate the 360-degree viewable perspective, then uploaded to YouTube.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create 360 video using Blender
• How to animate, composite, and render video in Blender
• The basics of 3-D image mapping, and what HDRI maps are
• How to prepare and upload 360 video for YouTube

Audience:

Designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:

YouTube, 360 video, Blender, animation, keyframes, compositing, rendering, equirectangular camera, Python (code snippet), video codecs (AVI, MP4, etc.), audio files (WAV, MP3, etc.), 3-D image mapping, spherical mapping, HDRI maps.

Technology Required:

Participants should have Blender installed on a laptop or mobile device that meets the minimum requirements for running this software. Download Blender from https://www.blender.org/download/ prior to the session. Be advised that, while not mandatory, the Blender user interface typically works best with a three-button mouse with scroll wheel. This session will also likely make use of HDRI maps. Thus, it is recommended that at least one open-source HDRI map be downloaded from https://hdrihaven.com/hdris/ (or similar “CC0” source) prior to the session.

Virtual reality (VR) has been a hot topic in the L&D space. Its use in the field is growing, and now you can move past theory and explore real examples of VR as a learning solution. You can see the real-world experience that incorporates VR, and find out what exactly you need to create a meaningful learning experience.

In this session, you’ll get an inside look at a real VR project from idea to launch. You’ll learn how a team planned out the VR solution, what design and development processes they used, what obstacles they encountered, how they tested and implemented the final project, and what feedback they received. This behind-the-scenes look will give you insights on the lessons learned from this project and show you what you’ll need to think about as you start your own VR project.

People with laptops, tablets, or smartphones will be able to follow along with creation of assets, but it is not required for the session.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the technical requirements for building a VR learning solution
• How to develop a visual, detailed design document for a VR learning solution
• About the various components used to create a 3-D VR solution
• Best practices for creating a VR learning solution

Audience:

Designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:

Google Cardboard, 3-D graphics, and VR environments.

It’s that herculean challenge, the digital makeover. Take a bi-weekly face-to-face simulation, costing the firm millions of dollars in travel expenses and staffing, and turn it into a rich digital experience. Prepare learners with tools, resources, and training to begin their careers. Also, make sure they feel welcomed, understand expectations, and are grounded in the company structure, priorities, and methodologies. Oh, you have four months to do it!

In this case study session, find out how a large professional services firm transformed an in-person consulting simulation for experienced hires from face-to-face into a virtual experience by using design thinking and agile project management approaches to the development. You’ll explore creating simulations, including when not to use them. You’ll learn how to develop an engaging and competitive experience to promote team building, relationship development and collaboration in a virtual environment. You’ll also practice identifying opportunities for phased development that sometimes leads to a faster, less expensive way to engage learners.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use design thinking for the challenges of converting face-to-face activities to digital
• How to design and structure branching scenarios to meet learning objectives in differing competencies
• How to implement a phased approach to asset creation to meet any development timeline
• How to increase engagement with competitive simulations
• How to leverage web-based tools to foster collaboration and networking

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VPs, CLOs, executives, etc.),

Technology discussed in this session:

Branchtrack, WebEx, Training Center, Articulate Storyline, Cornerstone on Demand, PowerPoint.

Cybersickness is a term for motion sickness that you feel in a virtual environment. The potential for experiencing cybersickness often prevents learners from engaging in VR experiences, and experiencing it can decrease learners’ motivation and possibly leave them with negative after-effects that hinder learning. Understanding how cybersickness can impact learners, and how to prevent it, is critical as VR gains broader use.

In this session, you will learn why cybersickness occurs and what impact it has on the learner. You will learn how elements of the VR equipment, the simulation environment, and the activities that learners engage in in that environment can impact the onset or experience of cybersickness. Finally, you will learn different techniques for assessing learners’ susceptibility to cybersickness; how to mitigate the symptoms if someone begins to feel the effects; and what guidelines to follow to create experiences that have the best chance of avoiding cybersickness.

In this session, you will learn:

• What cybersickness is
• What elements of VR environments can lead to cybersickness
• What impact cybersickness can have on a learner
• How to assess a learner’s susceptibility to cybersickness
• How to mitigate the potential for cybersickness in a VR learning environment

Audience:

Designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:

General VR environments and equipment.

Moving your organization forward with new approaches to learning and development can be challenging—especially when the new approaches involve nontraditional ideas or technologies. Our Overcoming Barriers sessions bring together people who have already walked this path to share what they have learned. Join our panel of experts as they discuss how you can overcome the most common barriers to incorporating simulations into your training and development programs.

Audience:

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

Technology discussed in this session:

Simulations platforms, including multiple types of hardware and software.

A key technology component of augmented reality that enables devices to “see” and make sense of the world around them is computer vision (CV). CV by itself is a powerful tool for creating useful performance support solutions for your audience. Understanding the tech’s pitfalls and then designing scalable, easy-to-use tools for your organization isn’t something widely shared or discussed in the learning industry at this point.

Join Steve Richey, a mobile, augmented reality and computer vision expert from Float in a session focused on illustrating the value proposition of performance support that utilizes computer vision. Over the course of the session he will uncover issues that may arise during design and development, highlight testing, and quality assurance processes you should consider, and give you practical technical tips that your developers can implement immediately to unlock this amazing technology in your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• What computer vision is and why it is important
• Key components needed for computer vision
• Some example use cases where computer vision excels at delivering great performance support
• Where issues may arise when you embark on a computer vision project
• High-level design and development tips for implementing great CV-powered performance support
• Understanding the value in eschewing training in favor of smart, powerful performance support

Audience:

Designers, developers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VPs, CLOs, executives, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

Computer vision, text detection, optical character recognition, iOS, CoreVision, mobile design and development.

Strong interpersonal skills are essential now more than ever as impending disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning change the workplace. However, interpersonal skills can be hard to find and a challenge to develop quickly at scale. Most learning programs may do a good job teaching what to do, but rarely give opportunities for learners to practice doing it, especially in “true-to-life” situations.

This session will address the challenges of soft skills training and how VR simulation provides a safe practice space to learn from mistakes and improve day-to-day performance quickly, resulting in lasting behavior change. Once only used in aviation and military sectors, virtual simulation is becoming a prominent and scalable tool in a multitude of sectors for different learning needs. This session will focus on why and how virtual simulation is being integrated into learning programs as a tool to improve and assess complex interpersonal skills.

In this session, you will learn:

• How virtual simulations for soft skills can be delivered at the scale and speed of business today
• Strategies to incorporate virtual simulations into current programs
• The facts on where artificial intelligence stands today, and what it means for soft skills training
• Why VR simulation is a necessary adult learning tool

Audience:

Designers, managers, and senior leaders (directors, VPs, CLOs, executives, etc.).

Technology discussed in this session:

Mursion’s VR simulation platform, Oculus rift, browser-based software.