In order to harness the potential of virtual reality, you must first understand how VR fundamentally changes some of the rules and expectations of what “content” and “experiences” mean. Maxwell Planck, the technical founder of Oculus Story Studio, spent a decade at Pixar contributing to some of the most memorable films of the early 21^st century. However, even that cutting-edge environment did not fully prepare him for shifting his narratives from films to virtual reality. In this opening keynote, Mr. Planck will describe the work he is doing at Oculus Story Studio and share the lessons he has learned as he continues to discover the unique opportunities of VR. You will leave this keynote with new ideas and questions to ask yourself as you rethink what “content” means in the world of VR, and how that meaning shapes the types of experiences you can create for training.

Finding ways to make learning “stick” with technology is always a challenge. Augmented reality is one of those “make it stick” technology options available for education and training. However, AR can seem overwhelming, expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to use in everyday learning development. These assumptions cause developers to overlook the potential this technology holds for their learners.

This session will explore how easy it is to get started with augmented reality. You will be introduced to free development tools that you can use to create original AR content. You will leave this session with the knowledge to plan, build, and share your project with the community.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to plan out a successful AR element for use in your lesson
• About the necessary components of a successful AR project
• How to design your own AR project with free development tools
• About the possible interactions available with AR
• About multimedia assets that can enhance an AR project
• How to publish your AR design

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

Technology discussed in this session:
iOS devices, Pixel, Aurasma, and Blippar.

Technology required:
Laptop and mobile device (mobile phone or tablet, any OS).

In mainstream corporate learning, there is a lack of use cases for (and general knowledge of) applying virtual reality technology to help enhance learning outcomes. What works? What does not work? What have companies learned to date? How can you use VR most effectively in the enterprise? And why is VR, unlike the eLearning model, “community-based” and not vendor-driven?

In this session, you will examine real-life use cases to learn what other companies are using VR for in corporate learning, what mistakes they have made, and what successes they have found. You will gain an understanding of VR immersive learning for both individuals and groups (“multi-play”). You will see multi-play learning that involves learners in different countries in the same scenario at the same time, and you’ll examine problem-solving performance challenges. You will also learn the differences between manufacturers’ headsets to aid your understanding of the types of VR experiences you can produce.

In this session, you will learn:

• What has worked to date
• About common mistakes to avoid
• What truly immersive learning is
• What skills your team needs in order to utilize VR
• How VR overcomes cognitive load
• About the forthcoming VR technology enhancements
• How VR learning data can inform the business
• How others in corporate learning are using VR

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Immerse platform, HTC Vive headset and controllers, HTC Vive Tracker, VR sensors, Oculus Rift, Google Daydream, Samsung Gear, and haptic gloves.

As an instructional designer, trainer, or coach, how do you turn the lessons you develop into realities that the learner can appreciate, retain, and react appropriately to? Many training solutions struggle to simulate authentic experiences because the training is either designed to prevent something (like sexual harassment) or to prepare for a rare scenario (such as responding to a medical emergency).

In this session, you will learn how a basic eLearning course on recovering angry clients was turned into an immersive experience that not only enforced those bullet points found in the course, but also caused an emotional reaction within the VR activity, aided in retention of the information learned, and empowered the learner to act in real-life situations.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to modestly introduce VR into asynchronous learning
• How to build VR for scalable distribution
• How to generate an emotional response through appropriately developed VR
• How to turn case studies into (virtual) reality

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

Technology discussed in this session:
360fly cameras, Google Cardboard, iPad, Articulate Storyline 2, Adobe Premiere, and Adobe After Effects.

VR isn’t new to the training world. For decades, high-end simulators and fully immersive VR experiences have been deployed and applied successfully to various fields. But these experiences have—until recently—been limiting, as few had access to the high-end equipment needed and, even worse, there can be an inherent disconnect between the virtual and real world, which can sometimes make applying knowledge challenging.

In this session, you’ll explore a different approach to VR that bridges these gaps: a “window shade.” In this approach, people view a scenario or process in VR, experiencing it directly from the expert’s POV, and then “pull the shade up” by switching to a guided AR live practice mode where they apply what they learned in their real-world setting. All this can be done while deploying the solution via the web so anyone anywhere with a phone, tablet, or desktop can access this VR and AR content and, better yet, refer back to it whenever they need more practice or a refresher. This session will help you find out how the “window shade” approach works and how you can begin using it to develop training.

In this session, you will learn:

• How this out-of-the-box approach to blending AR and VR can make your content more effective
• About the specific technologies that can help you get started
• The basics of mass-audience VR, AR, and 360-degree video content creation
• What pitfalls to avoid with this approach, as well as AR and VR content creation in general

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

Technology discussed in this session:
VR, AR, 360-degree video, Google Cardboard, WebVR (HTML5, WebGL, C++, C#, JavaScript), Unity, Vuforia, and mo-cap (motion capture).

The world of work is shifting. As globalization and the gig economy continue to grow, there will be an increased need to improve the way people learn, collaborate, and innovate together while they are geographically apart. Virtual reality has great potential to address this growing need.

This session will focus on the potential of social VR for enterprise. It will touch on the future of work in a broad context, offer insights into the benefits social VR will provide for enterprise, and provide case study examples of how companies are already using social VR. During this interactive session, you will participate in discussions and have the opportunity to add your opinions on the role of social VR for enterprise.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the world of work is shifting
• About the potential benefits social VR can provide to enterprise
• From specific examples of how companies are leveraging social VR
• From existing social VR platforms and their respective pros and cons for enterprise

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Several social VR platforms, including VirBELA.

Virtual reality has exploded over the past 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:
Virtual reality platforms, including multiple types of hardware and software.

Healthcare education about dementia typically focuses on increasing understanding through didactic methods (i.e., scripto-visual materials) that address knowledge rather than emotion and experience. A scan of educational technologies for dementia revealed limited products using animated VR and facilitated in-person or physically constructed simulations. These approaches are not cost-effective, sustainable, or easily scalable. Furthermore, these have not been evaluated for effectiveness or impact.

In this session, you will learn how a health science center collaborated with a tech company to combine existing components (VR capability, instructional design, educational methodology and content) to design an innovative prototype for an engaging and immersive VR learning experience. VR can effectively expose learners to other people’s perspectives in order to raise empathy—in this case, toward people with dementia.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the benefits of using VR for healthcare simulation
• How to identify the challenges of using VR for healthcare simulation
• How to leverage the intersection between educational methodology and new technology
• How to collaborate with nontraditional partners

Audience:
Novice designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual reality hardware with 360-degree video.

A new generation of virtual reality headsets is bringing immersion to new levels—the feeling of actually being in another place. Imagine strapping on a headset and practicing emergency response procedures in a realistic-looking computer-generated environment. Or experiencing racial biases from a first-person perspective. Or sending new employees on a virtual field trip to far-flung company locations. Evidence of the effectiveness of VR in learning is overwhelming, and both VR hardware and software are now becoming more affordable. Still, there are few case studies that demonstrate how to leverage VR for learning. What do you need to understand to use this medium more effectively in L&D?

In this session, you’ll learn about the current state of virtual reality technology and experience early success stories of its use in training programs. You’ll uncover what the research has to say about why VR is an effective tool for learning. You’ll then look at how to get started developing it yourself, using surprisingly inexpensive tools like the Unity game engine. Not only that, you’ll also get to view a live stage demo of a real VR learning project—a patient empathy simulation for the healthcare industry—to see what a practical L&D solution developed in this medium can be like.

In this session, you will learn:

• How VR is being used for training now
• What the research says about the effectiveness of VR for learning
• How to develop interactive computer graphic scenes with real-time game engines like Unity
• How to use VR for both hard-skill simulations and soft-skill, empathy-inducing experiences
• What an L&D VR experience can be like with a live onstage demo

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

Technology discussed in this session:
HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Daydream.

Immersive learning experiences can be a large leap for organizations, instructional designers, and trainers who are accustomed to traditional classroom and online training methods. It can be overwhelming to think about how to go from creating eLearning to developing complex virtual reality experiences. However, there are other immersive learning options to consider: alternate reality games (ARGs) and mixed reality. These solutions can bridge the gap between the way you currently develop content and new methods, providing you an incremental entry into immersive learning.

In this session, you’ll explore a variety of mixed media experiences that you can use to achieve immersive learning goals with any type of budget and timeline. You’ll play a 10-minute ARG, and you’ll plan your own mixed media experience. You will also discover options for player interactions, and technologies from Excel to Twitter to WordPress that can be used to coordinate and generate alternate reality game experiences.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use ARGs for employee learning
• About examples of ARGs that are already being used for this purpose
• How to create player interactions in ARGs
• How to identify opportunities for an ARG

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

Technology discussed in this session:
WordPress, Conducttr, and Twine.

As products and services become more complex, providing the right training or performance support has the biggest impact on improving proficiency. Augmented and virtual reality can be the link that enables you to deliver your valuable content directly to your audience when they need it most. 

In this session, you will explore the benefits of adding AR and VR to your training strategies. You will learn about the pros and cons of deploying these technologies by examining real-world examples of AR and VR in practice. You will also discuss the potential ROI of these technologies, including how you can use them to reduce existing training costs.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the benefits of AR and VR for learners
• About practicalities, considerations, and challenges around deploying such a program
• From real-world examples of how augmented and virtual reality are being applied and used for training and performance support
• About the ROI of implementing these types of programs, including how to decrease overall costs associated with long training periods and potential rework

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers, developers, project managers, managers, directors, and anyone interested in learning how to use AR and VR for training purposes.

Technology discussed in this session:
Augmented reality (mobile devices, AR software development kits) and virtual reality (Unity software, Oculus Rift, Microsoft HoloLens).

Augmented reality is a trend that’s now becoming more tangible—along with the hardware that allows people to experience it. These shifts mean it’s increasingly important in L&D not only to understand how AR can work, but also to explore how to move forward and actually create content for this new medium. But for many departments facing limited budgets, it’s a challenge to create meaningful learning and performance support experiences in AR without having to spend a fortune on software, hardware, or developers.

Thankfully, creating effective AR experiences doesn’t have to be rocket science or break the bank. In this hands-on session, you’ll find out how you can begin creating custom AR content right now. In less than one hour, you’ll learn how to leverage budget-friendly tools like the Unity game engine and the Vuforia AR platform to develop your own simple augmented reality application. This session will help you create your own basic AR solutions and give you a jumping-off point for building your AR development skills even further.

In this session, you will learn:

• What kinds of augmented reality experiences are easy and inexpensive to design
• How to create simple AR applications right now, without any time or money investments up front
• How to start developing with the free Unity 3-D game engine
• How to begin using the Vuforia AR platform

Audience:
Novice designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
The Unity game engine and Vuforia augmented reality platform.

Technology required:
Laptop running Unity software.

Virtual reality is no longer just an expensive curiosity, but a real option for many trainers and educators. Like many new media, it runs the risk of being used badly. Strategies and methods from earlier media are not necessarily suited to new media. If you apply classroom methods to VR, what will you miss? If you apply video strategies to VR, what will you get wrong?

In this session, you will learn initial ideas and frameworks for how to use virtual reality for learning. Specifically, you’ll review how virtual reality provides affordances for addressing cognitive load theory’s three types of load. You will review what multimedia learning theory says about using graphics and audio, and how these lessons can be applied to VR. You’ll also review situated learning and experiential learning. Throughout this session, key findings from the worldwide network of VR labs will be applied to inform discussion. You will develop an overall framework for looking at when, and how, virtual reality training works.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the Proteus effect
• About situated learning in VR
• About creating presence in VR
• Frameworks for thinking about learning in VR
• About differences between expert and novice learning in VR
• About limits to learning in VR

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

Technology discussed in this session:
HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, gaming engines (including Unity), and WebVR.

The ability to explore an environment in all directions offers exciting possibilities for telling stories and engaging audiences. But how do you make the exploration truly interactive so it opens up more learning opportunities? From hazard identification to virtual tours to situational decision-making, where will this exciting new technology prove most beneficial to workforce performance?

In this session, you’ll hear the findings of a year-long investigation into the opportunities of using mobile VR in workplace learning. By following the journey from start to finish, you’ll deepen your understanding of what’s possible with this new and exciting technology. You’ll explore the potential learning applications and discover how visual design, music, and positional audio work together to immerse users in the experience. The session includes a live demo of mobile VR for learning. You’ll take away tips on aligning the technology to your business challenges and integrating it with your learning strategy.

In this session, you will learn:

• How VR enhances learning interactions
• How learners respond to immersive learning environments
• When it is appropriate to use VR content in learning
• About the challenges associated with the new technology
• How to make VR affordable and accessible in L&D
• How to move from interactive 360-degree video to virtual reality
• How sound, voice-over, and UX design create a fluid experience

Audience:
Novice managers and directors.

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 augmented reality into your training and development programs.

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Augmented reality platforms, including multiple types of hardware and software.

Eight out of 10 college graduates expect to receive formal training from their first employer. The training industry has struggled to satisfy this need—partly due to a lack of affordable and appropriate media, and partly due to training programs that ultimately lack engagement. With 24/7 availability of on-demand, high-quality media, the digital workforce is becoming even more disengaged from these outdated training solutions. Fortunately, the recent growth of virtual reality and of media and graphics has made top-shelf multimedia technologies more affordable and accessible to trainers. There’s now an opportunity to create training solutions that can compete with today’s entertainment media, making training much more engaging and effective.

In this session, you will examine the growing need and opportunity for cutting-edge media technologies like game- and VR-based experiences. You will explore how VR technology has drastically scaled down in size and cost, and learn about the immediate opportunities for the training industry to incorporate game- and simulation-based training. You will analyze the transformation of legacy content into these new interactive, emotional experiences through the lens of instructional design and collaboration with subject matter experts. You will leave the session with a thorough understanding of appropriate technology for game- and simulation-based training, from screen-based simulations all the way to immersive VR solutions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to assess appropriate implementation of eLearning technologies (computer-based, games and sim, or VR/AR) for training
• About time and cost considerations associated with these new technologies
• How to prioritize learning objectives over graphical gimmicks when using VR

Virtual reality offers a promising new strategy for training, engaging learners in a realistic and 360-degree environment. But while the skills transfer possibilities are enormous, there have been two major challenges with using this medium in L&D. The first was the technology cost: In the past, VR head-mounted displays were too expensive for most companies and schools to consider. The second was content creation: Most L&D professionals lacked the capability to design VR environments and integrate them effectively in training. However, a lot changed with the release of Google Cardboard, as this technology allows organizations to invest in affordable head-mounted VR displays. Cost has become less of a concern; now it’s just a matter of how to design effective VR content.

In this BYOL session, you’ll discover how to design budget-friendly, interactive VR experiences for Google Cardboard using 360-degree videos. You’ll find out how to create meaningful learning experiences using 360-degree video, and how these VR experiences can be displayed inexpensively using Google Cardboard and smartphones. At the end of the session, you’ll have useful guidelines on the main phases of designing interactive 360-degree videos, as well as a proven method to integrate these immersive experiences in training sessions.

In this session, you will learn:

• What Google Cardboard experiences can be like
• About the potential of interactive 360-degree videos and Google Cardboard for L&D
• About a new method for integrating 360-degree video into your training
• Which tools and software you can use to design interactive 360-degree videos

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Interactive 360-degree video and Google Cardboard.

Technology required:
A smartphone with any app for Google Cardboard installed.

There is excitement in the air about augmented reality; but, just like with any new technology, different companies are approaching it from different directions. And while looking at the potential of AR from a number of angles will help push the technology further, this lack of a single development approach also means that, at this stage, some solutions will play nicely with others and some will not. To assist this technology in moving forward and becoming mainstream, the augmented reality space needs some established structure and standards.

In this interactive session, you’ll explore various aspects of a new standard for AR: the IEEE Augmented Reality Learning Experience Model (AR-LEM). You’ll take a closer look at the aspects of augmented reality that should be standardized and why industry standards for AR are important for helping this technology grow. You’ll also investigate the specifics of the standard, enabling you to ensure that the augmented reality solutions you’re working on now will also work with the tools of the future.

In this session, you will learn:

• What the IEEE AR-LEM standard is and how it impacts AR
• How to interpret the various aspects of the standard
• What impact the standard may have on a specific project
• How to begin making AR-standard decisions now to help future-proof your projects

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Experience API (xAPI).

When you begin to explore virtual reality programming, you quickly realize it requires learning many new things across several disciplines. It can be difficult to determine where to start, as the expanding list that begins with VR programming grows to include 3-D graphics, user interface conventions across varying VR hardware, how to set up and use a VR headset, where to find the best VR applications, and more.

In this session, you will be put on the fast track with a road map for how to get started in VR programming. This session will provide an overview of the Unity game engine, Unity VR plugins and software development kits, the open-source 3-D graphics program Blender, the HTC Vive headset, and Steam VR.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to get started programming with Unity
• About the Vive software development kit
• How to get started developing 3-D models with Blender
• About Steam VR and free offerings on the Steam VR store
• Tips for setting up the Vive headset

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Unity and Unity VR; HTC Vive and Vive software development kit; Blender; and Steam VR.

On the manufacturing plant floor, production is crucial. No matter how well trained the employees are, there is a loss of retention between training delivery and application. The longer it takes to close that gap, the longer production is halted.

In this session, you will learn how Plex is working to close the gap between training and performance. You’ll explore possibilities and ideas that could spark your imagination or help you tackle the hurdles you face. Observing how AR, VR, mixed reality, and other technologies are being used on a factory floor may get you to think outside the box and appreciate the possibilities. Come learn what is working and what is not working, and how it can translate to your environment.

In this session, you will learn:

• How Plex is attempting to close the training gap
• About the various technologies used in these efforts
• How an approach that mixes various technologies might fit in nontraditional settings

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass, HTC Vive, Daqri, mobile devices, and tablets.

There are a wide range of solutions for implementing augmented reality in training and enterprise applications. Even with these myriad solutions, it’s not always clear how to use them to provide the best possible experience for users. How do you ensure that these solutions are being used to build something useful and meaningful? What is the difference between a good and a bad augmented reality experience?

This session will review the development of the Realities360 AR application. It will cover the design and development of the app, from initial concept to finished product. This will be an in-depth case study on app development and will delve into some moderate technical details. Ultimately, you’ll understand how the team from Float solved real problems related to modern AR app development, including both design and development challenges, and why they chose the solutions they did.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to leverage existing solutions to create useful experiences
• About common design challenges when authoring AR content
• How to choose the best technology stack for your requirements
• Best practices for developing while iterating on AR experiences
• How to leverage your team’s skill set to provide the best results for users

Audience:
Intermediate to advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
iOS, Android, Xamarin, Unity, Vuforia, Wikitude, and Pikkart.