There’s a great deal of buzz surrounding virtual reality, augmented reality, and similar technologies in our industry. And with good reason; the possibilities they pose for learning and training are endless. But these technologies are only in their infancy, and they are sure to shift and evolve over the next few years. As such, if you want to understand the opportunities for learning and education that are emerging from these technologies, you need to follow their evolution in the consumer landscape. This session will explore the fast-moving worlds of AR and VR technologies by examining one of the primary drivers fueling their growth: funding. Barry Downes is a managing partner of a venture capital fund specializing in AR, VR, financial technology, and the Internet of Things. Mr. Downes will share how he sees these technologies evolving and emerging, and he’ll discuss where their short- and long-term evolutions will take us.

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.

Virtual reality platforms for learning are being popularized across all industries, from healthcare to automotive. But learning how to create VR content in VR remains an under-explored area.

In this session, you will explore a VR learning framework that was conceived to teach the Unity game engine in VR. You will see various demos from an upcoming product, the VR Entertainment Badge. The session will cover evaluation approaches used to determine the effectiveness of a VR framework, as well as a closer look at the differences and advantages of teaching VR in VR.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to evaluate a VR learning framework
• What constitutes a VR learning product
• What it means to teach VR in VR
• A better understanding of opportunities in the VR learning and educational space

Audience:
Novice to advanced managers and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual reality; room-scale VR (HTC Vive).

Are you interested in what it takes to create great augmented reality experiences? Do you need useful, practical tips on what makes (or breaks) an interface and user experience for AR? If so, then this session is for you.

In this session, you’ll learn how Float uses human-centered design processes to create dynamic, approachable AR experiences for users of all skill levels. You’ll get an introduction to the current state of AR design, see why AR designs fail, and find out how to make yours more successful. You’ll go beyond theory and dive deep into real-world AR examples and case studies. No technical acumen is needed—just come with an interest in AR and enthusiasm for what could be the biggest thing in learning technologies since mobile first burst onto the scene years ago.

In this session, you will learn:

• Usable tips on how to create great AR designs
• What not to do when designing UI/UX for AR
• About examples of well-designed AR
• How to use human-centered design in AR creation

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

Technology discussed in this session:
AR and human-centered design.

As you begin to develop VR and AR experiences for L&D, it’s important to consider how people interact with the content in your digital world. And as these mediums continue to grow and evolve, so too will your options for interfacing with them. If you’re developing VR or AR content and looking to take your learning experiences to another level, it’s worth investigating an unexpected way to interact with your content: gesture control devices.

In this session, you’ll learn about three technologies for incorporating gesture control into your VR and AR experiences: the Myo armband, the Bird wearable by MUV Interactive, and the Oculus Touch motion tracked controllers. You’ll take a closer look at the functionality and features of these technologies, discuss how gesture control can enhance your AR and VR content, and explore the possibilities for integrating them into the learning experiences you design and develop.

In this session, you will learn:

• The primary functions and features of Myo, Bird, and Oculus Touch
• About real-world examples of gesture control devices used in learning solutions
• How to identify opportunities for incorporating gesture control devices into your learning solutions
• What impacts the feasibility for implementing gesture control devices

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Myo armband, Bird by MUV Interactive, and Oculus Touch.

Over the past two years, augmented reality and virtual reality have started to bloom in the consumer marketplace. These technologies enable all types of learning and education experiences across all of the outcomes in Bloom’s Taxonomy. In other words, AR and VR are poised to break into the mainstream of education and learning.

In this session, you will explore the key reasons that virtual reality and augmented reality have value for learning and performance. You will learn why an enterprise-wide approach to AR and VR maximizes the value and benefits of investing in these technologies. You will also discover the unique ways in which AR and VR can improve learner outcomes compared to other technologies.

Are you looking to infuse some excitement into exploring and discovering your organization, but concerned that the only budget you have is simply the time and skills of the people in your department? Don’t let that stop you from considering augmented reality experiences. There are ways to leverage AR to encourage your staff to self-discover your organization and have a more engaging multimedia experience—all without breaking the bank!

In this BYOL session, you’ll learn how to leverage the free version of the Aurasma AR web development software to create an “Augmented Reality Amazing Race.” In this approach, already tested in a hospital new-staff orientation, employee teams travel across their organization using the Aurasma app on iPads to discover hidden treasures and learn more about the organization where they work! This session will teach you how to use the Aurasma tool and app to turn objects, images, and places into surprising AR interactions, and how to easily build your own AR mini-race experience.

In this session, you will learn:

• How you can use AR in your organization for practical learning
• What kind of AR experiences Aurasma can provide
• How to use the free version of Aurasma to create a simple AR experience
• How to design and develop an AR Amazing Race

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Aurasma AR web development platform and app.

Technology required:
You will need a laptop that can access the Internet to use the Aurasma cloud-based software. You should have the Aurasma app installed on a mobile device in advance.

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 virtual reality into your training and development programs.

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

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

Virtual training is not new. It has been evolving since the beginning of the century, and much has been learned over the years about what works, what doesn’t work, and what skills are required to succeed in both design and development. The advent of AR and VR technology adds a new layer that L&D professionals need to understand.

This session will provide the key lessons learned from over a decade of 3-D simulation and virtual training development, and you will explore them in the context of VR development in 2017. You will learn from one company’s experiences over the last 12 years and how these are applicable to training delivery in VR. You’ll also learn about the critical skills your team needs in order to develop various realities, and how to design models with the future in mind.

In this session, you will learn:

• How your team can gain the skills they need to develop VR, AR, or MR training
• Valuable insights into the 3-D for VR production pipeline
• How to “future-proof” your 3-D modeling
• Why it’s important to deeply integrate instructional design at a technical level

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

Technology discussed in this session:
3-D modeling software (3ds Max, Navisworks, Simulate), real-time game engines (Unity, Unreal, CryEngine, Stingray), point cloud scanning, CAD data, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Microsoft HoloLens.

Technology with the potential to transform learning is here: Virtual realities, augmented realities, and mixed realities are not just bleeding-edge tools anymore. Much of the pioneering work that came from early adopters and the military is now having mainstream impact. When L&D professionals contemplate using these new realities for learning, they often focus on the technical side of how to create these experiences. But what about the psychological considerations you should take into account when designing content for these new mediums?

In this session, you’ll consider the technology, the psychology, and the learner experience as you explore how these new realities are helping people learn better (if, indeed, they are). You’ll examine how these new realities affect the learning experience from the point of psychology and neurology. You’ll then look at the capabilities and use cases of these new technologies and investigate how they align with the psychology of how people learn. Finally, you’ll investigate what you can do to utilize these new realities effectively in your organization, leveraging your understanding of the neurology and hard experience of others.

In this session, you will learn:

• How new realities affect learning experience
• About the psychological and neurological aspects of new realities in learning
• How organizations can utilize new realities for learning
• How this new technology has the potential to transform learning

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual reality, augmented reality, and constructive simulations.

Effective instructional design maximizes learner motivation, cognitive capacity for information processing, and learning transfer. For any given training, the most appropriate design should be informed by a careful consideration of training context characteristics as well as the strengths and limitations of the technology.

This session will examine an organizing framework to help facilitate these critical conversations and construct motivating, attention-grabbing learning events.

In this session, you will learn:

• How learner, organizational, and technology characteristics jointly influence design choices
• About tools to help organize design considerations and stimulate productive conversations among designers and developers of immersive learning programs

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Augmented reality and virtual reality.

There are more and more tools entering the marketplace that allow you to quickly create 360-degree virtual reality images. However, the final results aren’t always what you’d like: The stitching of VR images in these tools, unfortunately, is not always perfect. Also, there are often inconsistencies both above and below the VR image. These flaws can take away from the immersiveness of the experience you’re creating and even get in the way of learning.

In this session, you’ll discover how to use Photoshop to fix some of the common problems that can happen in the VR images you capture. You’ll learn how to fix the top and bottom of the image to make it look more professional. You’ll also get tips on how to add content within the image to enhance the VR experience. Finally, you’ll learn tricks that can help you capture better VR images in the first place, which will then require less post-production work to fix.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to fix skewed objects in your VR images
• How to improve flaws found at the top and bottom of your VR images
• How to add content within a VR image to enhance the view
• How to shoot better VR images

Audience:
Novice to intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Photoshop; Google Cardboard viewer and app.

Technology required:
Laptop running Adobe Photoshop CC or newer; Google Cardboard viewer (to see results); Google Cardboard app (on phone or tablet).

You’ve decided that 360-degree video looks promising and you want to try it out, but you have questions: What do you need to get started? What should you watch out for? Do you have the skill set to do it? What are the benefits? What is it going to cost? And probably more.

This session will explore a company’s year-one journey into using 360-degree video. You will learn what you need to get started shooting, editing, and sharing 360-degree video content. You will identify the common and not-so-common issues faced while shooting 360-degree video, including equipment, talent, technique, and organization. You will see three short 360-degree videos and find out how they impacted the development team and learners throughout the process. Overall, you will get a firsthand account of an organization that went all-in on this new technology and how it’s worked out so far.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the different types of equipment, the techniques, and the time needed to shoot 360-degree video
• About three types of 360-degree video projects developed for manufacturing and corporate audiences
• About common and less-common issues faced while shooting in 360 degrees
• Lessons from throughout the process

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Git2 Action camera, 360-degree camera rigs, Kolor, AutoStitch, Ricoh Theta S camera, 360fly 4K camera.

For virtual reality to achieve its goals, instructors need to create presence—the feeling of being in the virtual scene. Presence is what differentiates VR from video, and it’s what gives VR its unique power to affect learners. Virtual reality content doesn’t always do this well, leaving users less immersed than instructors intended, and creating weaker experiences and learning impact.

This session will outline both theory and application of presence, providing you with a clear checklist and understanding of what presence is, how to create it, and how to enhance it during learning sessions. You will review studies of presence and its impact, and discuss some of the areas still being worked out. The session will also touch on related concepts like narrative transportation and the role of content vs. instructions vs. tech in creating presence. Examples of low presence and high presence will be discussed.

In this session, you will learn:

• What presence is
• How presence is created
• How presence is broken
• How presence is enhanced
• About the limits of presence in certain platforms
• How presence correlates to impact

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual reality, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard.

When any technology is used for training or performance support, you want to make sure it’s actually effective. That’s why the impact needs to be examined through a performance lens to determine whether the technology really enables people to do their work better. This analysis of the context is increasingly important to the development and deployment of AR and VR.

In this session, you’ll examine the analysis and behind-the-scenes planning you’ll want to do for your AR and VR solutions. Based on work done in the fields of episodic context and human factors engineering, you’ll look at how these technologies can help or hinder people’s work, and how episodic context analysis can help you focus on configuring technology so that it blends with their work instead of getting in the way of it. You’ll also find out where AR and VR big data can be employed to provide more information about how the experience impacts the worker within their context. If you want a technology planning approach that helps people perform better and reduces risk, this session is for you.

In this session, you will learn:

• How AR and VR can either inhibit work or help users perform work
• What the research on situational awareness says about preparing AR and VR solutions
• How to perform an analysis of the moving context in which work is done, and how this impacts the information provided in an AR or VR experience
• How mobile collection of big data can provide designers important information about the impacts of VR and AR on work

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

Technology discussed in this session:
The session will show examples of how tiles, mobile simulations, QR codes, and mobile AR applications have been structured using episodic context analysis.

There is enormous potential for what L&D professionals can achieve by harnessing the levels of engagement available with virtual reality and augmented reality. Hardware and infrastructure suppliers continue to push the capabilities of these technologies forward. However, there is an enormous gap between those advancing technologies and the realities of today’s learning landscape.

In this session, you will explore the pioneering use of artificial intelligence–enabled avatars to host, accompany, guide, and instruct learners in the unfamiliar world of an immersive experience. You will examine case studies exploring the where, when, and how of using affordable, accessible immersion in VR to benefit learning processes. You will explore tools and tips available today that can help you harness the power of VR for your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why using a virtual “host” in the virtual experience is beneficial to the learner
• About the engagement advantages of VR and why they are realistically achievable today
• How hybrid training can benefit your organization right now

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual reality.

Augmented, virtual, and other enhanced reality technologies are in their infancy; the world is only beginning to explore the potential of these technologies. This presents our industry with a unique opportunity: Instead of just reacting to the available technologies, we can provide input that helps shape them. During this general session, we will engage in a discussion exploring how the worlds of AR, VR, and other enhanced realities can integrate with learning and development. We will explore what the opportunities are and what barriers limit our ability to harness the potential of these technologies. We will examine what we need these technologies to do and what resources we need in order to utilize them in our work. The discussions in this session will help drive a Guild Research report that summarizes the state of VR, AR, and enhanced realities within our industry—and, more importantly, what our industry needs from the technologies going forward.