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Category: Innovation

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What is it?

Broadly describes any technology that allows users to immerse themselves in a digital world. Its current iteration, typically delivered via a head-mounted display, allows users to experience situations that are removed from their physical location.

Why is it important?

Allowing users to immerse themselves in situations removed from their current physical location opens up a myriad of opportunities for the advancement of learning technology. By employing virtual reality in the learning process trainers and instructors now possess the ability to place learners in a training environment that is analogous to a real scenario without exposing them to risk or incurring the expense associated with real-world training.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Virtual Reality (VR) will increasingly become part of a suite of new technologies that will shape the future of business. Aside from opportunities offered in the training space, it will present new ways of working.

From training to meeting to interfacing with computers in general, virtual reality comes with the promise of a new computing paradigm. Business professionals should know this term as it will increasingly form part of how their organizations operate.

In the learning and development space, virtual reality has the potential to revolutionize how people learn. By taking concepts and technologies that were once the sole preserve of fighter pilots and bringing them to the factory floor, virtual reality offers the potential for deployable simulation training for all.

Virtual reality can be presented in a small, light, and portable form factor via an affordable head-mounted display. These headsets currently track the user’s head and hands as they move in the real world in order to enable them to interact with a virtual, computer-generated world in a realistic way.

Virtual reality is a subset of immersive technology which also includes Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR). Immersive technologies can also include non-headset-based options such as immersive projection rooms or wrap-around large-scale visual displays.

References

About Niall Campion

Niall Campion is the founder and managing director of VRAI. Niall's background is as an award-winning editor, director, and visual effects artist working in the film and television industry. Niall specializes in technological innovation to tell stories in a more interesting and engaging way. Niall also has a passion for sustainable business and has played a key role in implementing the Triple Bottom Line accountancy framework at VRAI.

Term: Virtual Reality

Email: niall@vrai.ie

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/niall-vrai/

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What is it?

The re-creation of a situation, process, or experience to allow a learner to imitate, reproduce, or practice behaviors or actions.

Why is it important?

Learning the proper actions and behaviors required in a particular situation before facing that situation in real life could be the difference between success and failure. Replicating a similar situation is a means for learning and exploration in a cost-effective, safe environment. In some cases, simulation may be the only safe way to prepare, practice, and gain mental and muscle memory.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Humans learn best by doing. Committing something to muscle memory and mental memory takes time and practice. Practice is good, but at the moment it matters, your preparation may not be enough. Applying your practice in realistic situations and conditions is what matters most. Knowing how you or others will apply the knowledge at the moment of need or application relies on many factors and variables.

As a business professional you and your colleagues may face many situations, but how do you know how to act in each situation? Simulation assists in that assessment. Simulation replicates as much as possible the conditional environment and potential variables you might encounter.

Conducted in a safe space without real-life consequences, simulations present situations that allow learners to apply their learning in more depth, considering more inputs. Creating a simulated experience to act and learn from may mean the difference between life and death when a similar situation occurs in real life.

References

About Neal Rowland

Photo of Neal Rowland

Neal Rowland is the Lead Crowd Surfer for The Crowd Training. Neal coaches organizations in the best practices of agility and product management, including instructional design. He is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP), Agile [SPC, PMI-ACP, CSM], and ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). Neal develops and constructs learning content and resources for a variety of topics, industries, and modalities. Incorporating design thinking he merges pedagogical best practices with graphic design, multimedia, and technology.

Term: Simulation

Email: nealrowland@live.com

Website: thecrowdtraining.com

Twitter: @thecrowdtrain

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/neallrowland/

Published on

What is it?

A methodology for pinpointing the underlying causes of scrap learning associated with a training program using five key metrics.

Why is it important?

Ensuring a positive return, of both time and money, on a training program is of utmost concern to C-level executives. It should be of equal interest to business professionals concerned about training. However, research indicates that the amount of time and money wasted on training programs is 45–​85%(ATD 2019). This gap between training delivered, but not applied, is known as scrap learning—​the flipside of training transfer. Regardless of the percentage, scrap learning is a critical business issue because it wastes time and money.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Decisions based on opinion, intuition, and gut feeling are no longer in vogue. Data-driven decision making is the new norm. Predictive learning analytics, and its use of data to pinpoint the underlying causes of scrap learning associated with a training program, is part of this new norm.

Scrap learning, or the difference between training delivered but not applied back on the job, has been around forever. Scrap learning is the three-thousand-pound elephant in the room whenever business executives and learning professionals engage in a discussion about using a particular solution to address a performance gap or need. It’s the elephant in the room because both the business executive and learning professional are fully aware that scrap learning exists. However, neither one wants to talk about it because, previously, there has never been a way to measure, monitor, and manage it.

Consider the effect scrap learning has on an organization’s average per-employee training expenditure and the average number of training hours consumed per employee. According to the Association for Talent Development’s 2019 State of the Industry Report, in 2018, the average organization spent $1,299 per employee on training(ATD 2019). And the average employee spent 34 hours in training. When 45% or more of that is wasted, it is easy to see how much scrap learning costs the average company.

Predictive learning analytics offers a solution to cut this waste by using data to pinpoint its underlying causes(IBM, predictive analytics)(SAS, predictive analytics).

References

About Ken Phillips

Photo of Ken Phillips

Ken Phillips is founder and CEO of Phillips Associates and the creator of the Predictive Learning Analytics(PLA) learning evaluation methodology. He has more than 30 years of experience designing learning instruments and assessments and has authored more than a dozen published learning instruments. He regularly speaks to Association for Talent Development (ATD) groups, university classes, and corporate Learning and Development groups. Since 2008 he has presented at the ATD International Conference and Expo and since 2013 at the Annual Training Conference and Expo on topics related to measurement and evaluation of learning. Ken also is a contributing author to five books in the Learning and Development field.

Term: Predictive Analytics

Email: ken@phillipsassociates.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ken-phillips-3420b11/

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What is it?

Risk-free, hands-on learning environments that provide materials, tools, technologies, and support services for learners to transform ideas into projects and products.

Why is it important?

Typically set in physical locations, makerspaces foster curiosity and creativity by enabling participants to learn by doing. Consider what it means to tinker—​to explore what you have on hand, see how things might fit together, and try your hand at creating something.

Makerspaces provide that opportunity to tinker—​individually and collaboratively—​and share our insights along the way. They establish risk-free environments that leverage everything good that comes from giving learners agency to initiate their own learning processes and determine their own pathways to success (or failure).

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Business professionals can use makerspaces to create environments where employees can envision, prototype, and create business solutions. And employees can participate in some of the many makerspaces that have been created as part of this movement(Makerspace).

Key questions to consider that can guide the impact of a makerspace on your organization:

  • Challenge: What do you want your learners to walk away with?
  • Process: What steps do they need to take in order to meet the challenge?
  • Resources: What tools and parts will they need to make their designs happen?
  • Guidance: What expertise needs to be on hand to help learners?
  • Collaboration: What opportunities will learners have to collaborate?
  • Safety: What precautions can you put in place at each stage of the making process to allow learners to safely fail, iterate, re-make, and innovate?
  • Showcase: Where will you showcase the makerspace products?
  • Conversation: How will you continue the conversation and continue to engage the community?

A makerspace is not just about making—​it’s about sharing, modifying, iterating, failing, and re-making. We need more spaces (in-person and virtual) where we can do just that. Many of us learn best by doing, and we need more spaces in our work where we have opportunities to try, and maybe even fail.

Most makerspaces that serve the DIY and builder movements put safety first. This is how, and why failure is ok—​nobody gets hurt! Failure can result in iteration, and iteration can result in innovation.

New theories, new practices, and new approaches unveiled in makerspaces can spawn innovations that can shape the future of the business.

References

  • (Makerspace-1) What is a makerspace?: An academic perspective on makerspaces with a great overview and introduction to what a Makerspace is. Includes playbooks and project ideas.
  • (Makerspace-2) Makerspace: This site has a Makerspace directory and links to Make magazine, Maker Faire events, and Maker Shed kits you can buy to create innovative tech-based materials.

About Donna Marie Andress

Photo of Donna Marie Andress

Donna Marie Andress has been teaching & learning for nearly 40 years. Passionate about tech integration and professional development (PD), she is a retired member of the Saratoga Springs City School District, where she was a 16-year veteran of the classroom, then moved into the role of Educational Technology Specialist. For 18 years, Donna worked directly with teachers and students, designed PD courses, wrote documentation, produced training videos, and assisted with systems management. She has also been a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) & MIE Master Trainer and a Technology Test Kitchen Chef. Donna is currently a contract trainer and instructional designer with Instructure.

Term: Makerspace

Email: dmandressIT@gmail.com

Twitter: @andressIT

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dmandress153/

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What is it?

The science of making machines intelligent through automated data analysis and model building in a way that requires little human oversight. This type of artificial intelligence (AI) is based on the idea that computers can learn to make better decisions through the analysis of data.

Why is it important?

So why is machine learning important today? You are likely interacting with systems using it already. Voice-to-text processing uses machine learning to improve based on the way you speak. Amazon uses machine learning to recommend products, and your email is likely using machine learning to identify spam mail. The rapid expansion of computer power and big data processing has made machine learning accessible for the masses, including the learning and development industry.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

Machine learning involves the processing of data to help a computer make better and better decisions. Amazon recommending a product based on your past purchases and your email application determining if a message is spam are both examples of machine learning.

Machine learning is all around us. Business professionals need to understand the potential of machine learning. The development of systems that employ machine learning is complex and requires data scientists with an understanding of data modeling and algorithms.

Instead of focusing on the technical, consider potential solutions. If banks use machine learning to identify clients with high financial risk, can you leverage similar analysis to head off potential dropouts with an early, personalized learning intervention? If transportation companies use machine learning to outline the most efficient route for delivery drivers, can you use machine learning to optimize your work processes?

With additional automation, it is easy to draw your focus away from the end user who benefits from the new process or system. Business professionals must keep in mind data privacy and cyber security. Adhering to industry best practices and clearly communicating how an employee’s data is being used are both critical to minimizing the risk of a data leak and maintaining the trust of employees.

A final warning to keep in mind is that machine learning has the potential for bias. Bias is an incorrect assumption in the learning algorithm that can skew results. Review and validation are critical to minimizing the potential for bias.

References

  • (IBM 2020) Machine Learning: IBM Cloud Education. (July 2020). An introduction to machine learning, including an overview of history, definitions, applications, and concerns.

About W. Duncan Welder IV

Photo of W. Duncan Welder IV

Duncan Welder holds a master’s degree in educational technology and has more than 20 years experience implementing solutions, domestically and abroad. Duncan, an xAPI enthusiast, is passionate about leveraging data to personalize the learning experience. He presents regularly at industry conferences on learning standards.

Duncan has held faculty positions at Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and the College of the Mainland, Texas. He has been published in Learning Solutions, Training Magazine, and US Business Review.

Term: Machine Learning

Email: duncanw@risc-inc.com

Twitter: @duncanwiv

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/duncanwiv/

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What is it?

A full 360-degree digital environment that merges interactive 3D digital assets, along with audio and haptic feedback, with your real-world environment. Augmented reality overlays a virtual experience with the real environment, for example, allowing you to view an item in the real world with an explanation virtually overlaid.

Why is it important?

Augmented Reality (AR) gives you the ability to have a virtual presence anywhere and share 3D assets through a headset, mobile device, or computer.

Organizations use AR for recruitment, on-boarding, learning, insurance, and marketing; safe handling of dangerous objects; and to bring objects from the past into the present. Many mobile devices contain LIDAR technology making it possible to create digital 3D assets on the fly.

Why does a business professional need to know this?

As they have done with most technologies, younger learners in K12 and higher education have embraced AR technology and are using it in their classrooms as an educational tool and also as a way to socialize with each other. It’s a glimpse into how your future workforce will communicate, team-build, collaborate, and pass on knowledge.

As a marketing tool, AR goes beyond consumerism. You can use it to share your mission statement with your workforce and to create employee evangelism within your organization, and it can even help with things like social responsibility and company sustainability efforts.

AR can be used as a powerful storytelling tool that can improve KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) through empathy, and it can even supercharge your employee training in industries such as medicine, education, advertising, healthcare, retail, construction, film, journalism, travel, art, home DIY, automotive, farming, food, and many more. There is literally not a single industry out there that AR couldn’t help.

The technology is changing how we interact with employees, but it’s also changing how brands interact with their customers and even changing B2B interactions.

As a new generation of employees enters the workforce, organizations should be prepared to understand how virtual tools like AR play a role not only in their education efforts but also in the way employees socialize. You need to be current with technology if you want to hold on to your new hires and be competitive in your industry.

Augmented reality is a companion technology to virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR).

References

About Shane Santiago

Shane oversees creative, strategy and implementation at Bravely. Shane has brought big ideas to world-renowned brands like Marriott International, Johnson & Johnson, The Jacksonville Jaguars, Under Armour, Disney, Discovery, the NBA, Discovery Channel, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures. He’s been published in top industry publications, such as Advertising Age, ADWEEK, Communication Arts, and Mashable. Shane earned his BS in advertising at the University of Florida and has served as chair of the University’s Advertising Advisory Council. Shane also spent time as the Chair of the American Advertising Federation's National Innovation Committee (NIC).

Term: Augmented Reality

Email: shane.santiago@bravelycreated.com

Website: bravelycreated.com