Kick-start your day—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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.

Wearable tech, the cloud, drones, the quantified self, the Internet of Things, self-driving cars, augmented reality: The tech of our world is changing faster and faster. But the fascinating part is the effect it’s having on the society and culture we once knew. What will life be like when printed newspapers and printed books are niche relics? And how will all of these changes affect the way we learn? In this funny, fast-paced snapshot of the new world, Yahoo Tech columnist David Pogue will bring you up to date—and help you consider what we’ll gain, what we’ll lose, and how learning will shift into something we’ve never seen before.

Using free templates for your eLearning projects can be a huge time-saver, but sometimes it’s hard to see past a template’s subject matter or its graphics. Learn tips and techniques for quickly customizing free templates using Storyline.

Whether you are creating a new project, developing an app, or launching a new course or web app, join us to learn about the latest strategies in brainstorming and prototyping. During this session we will highlight specific tools, techniques, and workflows to help you kick off any project the right way. Learn how to communicate a concept beginning with low-fidelity prototypes, gather user feedback, and translate into high-fidelity prototypes before you start development. So bring your pens, crayons, markers, and paper to get your ideas out of your head and make them a reality!

Research shows that today’s learner craves video, but what does that mean, and how should video fold into a curriculum? Can high-impact visual messaging be used to shorten, or even replace, traditional eLearning delivery methods?

According to Deloitte University Press, 74 percent of business leaders view a shortage of skills as a major impediment to executing their business strategies; however, only 28 percent believe that their organizations are ready to meet this workforce capability challenge. In this session, learn how Caterpillar, a Bersin by Deloitte “High-Impact Learning Organization,” is successfully closing the skills gap through a learning ecosystem that creates bite-sized learning tailored to individual learning needs; delivers relevant learning content anywhere, anytime, and on any device; uses analytics to measure the impact of learning on performance; and personalizes learning paths for the most effective approach to closing organizational skill gaps

When people log in, their IQs go up 25 points. When reports are run, company sales increase 200 percent. New hires instantly become employee of the year. Managers get promoted merely by reviewing their team’s performance. It is . . . the most interesting LMS in the world. With our proven methodology for current review, future recommendations, and a detailed roadmap for both business and system changes, Bluewater can help your LMS become the most interesting LMS in the world. Come learn, interact, and have fun with us at the Training Technologies Stage Wednesday at 10:00 AM to learn more.

Learning professionals often create and deliver learning without huge budgets for tools, but it is impossible to be effective instructional designers, training managers, or learning developers without knowing the tools of those trades. Fortunately, many of the best tools for creating and delivering online learning are free or very inexpensive!

In this session you will learn about a plethora of design and development tools that are completely free. You will also get a snapshot of each and how you can leverage them today in your organization. You will leave this session with information on accessing the websites of the curated tools and resources you’re exploring.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create your learning solution on a budget
• How to access the various free or low-cost tools
• How to access the website showing all the tools
• An overview of the various tools

Audience:
Novice to advanced designers and developers.

The way we learn is changing. In his Predictions for 2015 report, Josh Bersin states we are in an era where corporate learning is going through as much change as we witnessed when eLearning hit the scene. Corporate learning strategies have always treated learning as an event. That’s not how we learn best. We learn continuously, on the job. We learn by making mistakes and solving problems. Your learners are asking you to shift away from formal training to more focused, ad hoc learning. How do you evolve your learning strategy to adapt to this shift?

In this session you explore the revolutionary way technologies such as video, portable content, mobile, social, and analytics are changing the way we learn today, and how we are evolving to more ad hoc, on demand, self-directed learning. You will gain a better understanding of what we need to invest in today to support the new models of learning that will drive the way we learn tomorrow.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the learning culture is changing, putting the learner in control
• How innovations are driving the on-demand, granular, and contextual delivery of content
• How portable and adaptive content is key to supporting the 70 percent of how we learn
• How analytics, combining xAPI and cognitive computing, are essential to understanding the value of the 70:20:10 model

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

Many eLearning developers neglect to use a soundtrack in eLearning programs. Music is used in film and television to set the mood, convey emotions, and provide transition cues yet many avoid using music in eLearning because of a perceived cost, lack of musical skills, possible copyright issues, or simply no recording space. Fortunately there are many tools and sources available for us to quickly build music tracks that can connect emotionally and enhance the learning.

In this session you will learn about building loop-based music and “playing” virtual instruments to enhance the program’s soundtrack through creating background tracks and transitional music. You will see a demonstration of Apple’s Garageband and Cockos Reaper digital audio workstations as the basics of loop-based music production. Additionally we will discuss available free or low-cost Windows applications.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to place loops to build a music track
• How to create music with virtual instruments
• How to output your music mix
• Where to get inspiration, free loops, and resources

Audience:
Novice designers and developers who have basic understanding of computer-based audio production and audio file formats.

Technology discussed in this session:
Apple’s Garageband and the cross-platform Cockos Reaper on a Macbook Pro. Soundation.com and EarSketch, two web-based DAW solutions will also be demonstrated.

Social learning allows organizations to realize the benefits that eLearning promised 20 years ago. Social is flexible, cost efficient, and allows experts in an organization to directly connect with learners. Employees are already using social tools already with zero training required. How can training professionals leverage tools their employees already know how to use?

In this session, you will learn how social learning is bridging formal and informal learning and how training professionals can capitalize on the existing knowledge of their employees. You will explore how firms can use video in collaborative ways to diagnose and improve performance by combining behavioral metrics with productivity metrics to provide business leads and training managers with powerful insights. You will learn about the six drivers of change that have disrupted learning: technology advancements, access to free learning assets like massive open online courses (MOOCs), need for innovation, shift to a focus in skill development over knowledge distribution, changing workforce demographics, and the increased ability to measure productivity.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why social learning is key to inspiring collaboration and sourcing innovation
• How to use social learning for distance coaching and peer learning
• How to measure social learning by blending behavior, data, and performance analytics
• How to use social learning in formal and informal learning applications

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Bloomfire, Coach’s Eye, Salesforce Chatter.

The world of technology and information is changing rapidly. As emerging delivery and engagement technologies, including MOOCs, immersions, games, and badges, are disrupting expectations of relevant meaningful learning and development, new waves of learning technology innovation—wearable technologies and the Internet of Things – are promising to shake things up even more. Will you be ready to step up? In this session we’ll examine the current and emerging learning technology markets to anticipate the skills and capabilities required for success as eLearning professionals.

In this session, you will learn:

• The role new technologies, such as wearables, will play in L&D
• How MOOCs, games, and badges are and will be leveraged in organizations
• How to best prepare yourself to remain relevant in the face of continual industry change

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Nothing specific.

Training focuses on learning and performance improvement, but we typically only access the knowledge aspect of performance. What about emotion? To truly improve performance, training in context is essential and that includes training employees to leverage their knowledge and control their emotions.

In this session, you will explore the latest biometric technologies and how you can leverage them for learning and performance improvement. You will see examples in the entertainment and games industries, and look at how we can leverage these technologies for learning to expand our ability to not only train skills, but train performance within the content.

In this session, you will learn:

• The potential for training the whole learner: knowledge, skills, and emotion
• How games are currently leveraging biometrics to impact the game experience
• How biometrics could improve immersive learning experiences
• What the future holds for biometrics

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Games, mobile, and virtual reality.

Embedded performance support (EPS), while it has been described as a discipline, also serves a critical role as a component part of a holistic learning and performance solution. All too often however, performance support is viewed as a training add-on targeted to post-training applications. When this happens, we don’t fully realize the significant benefits of agile development, nor are sustainable performance results achieved by our end-users.

In this session you will learn how to structure learning and performance assets that follow a learning and performance continuum that extends from new hire onboarding to sustained capability at the point of work. You will learn about new skills, enhanced discovery, and agile extended-blend methods that mirror the 70:20:10 framework. This session ultimately serves as a roadmap to adopting an EPS discipline that leverages an extended-blend methodology in creating workforce performance solutions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use change-management principles to position a performance paradigm to stakeholders
• How to extend your discovery process to include key performance attributes that impact design, development, and delivery decisions
• How to integrate an intentional design methodology
• How to prioritize deliverables that improve time-to-impact as a priority

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

Design is not only about aesthetics. It’s about intersections, and especially those intersections that connect to human emotions. Mobile learning-game designers must consider both the learning and gaming contexts as they develop solutions. Striking the right balance is a blend of art and science. So how do successful learning games get this right? Understanding the fundamentals of game design and learning design can help you lay the foundation, but it doesn’t get you to mastery. You have to look at the patterns.

In this session, you’ll learn about the patterns underlying successful learning design. Patterns that can make designing a successful learning game easier. You’ll see the process used, as well as examples of how to apply the patterns to simple designs. You’ll learn how top game designers baked success into their offerings, and see how we evaluated dozens of top Android and iOS games and categorized them based on dimensions of game and learning design to reveal patterns that you can apply in other contexts. This session will give you the tools to make sure you get game design right.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify contexts in which mobile learning games are likely to be the right solution
• The importance of key game elements in evoking emotions and enhancing engagement
• How nuances in applying game elements tip the scales between motivating or distracting players from learning
• The aspects of game design that are most important for mobile-learning designers to master
• Resources that can help you level-up your mobile-learning game-design skills
• How to leverage patterns to assure greater success in designing mobile learning games

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

Technology discussed in this session:
iOS and Android.

If you visit a Fortune 500 website today, what you see is not created by handcrafting a webpage. Amazon and Netflix recommendations, too, are not completed by someone watching your particular behavior and cobbling together those for you; instead, it’s a set of rules and tagged content. It’s quite likely that when you visit a site, it may be different than when others visit the same site. This isn’t magic, but it’s also not just your everyday content creation process—it’s a content strategy fueled by content systems. And these changes in traditional marketing have big implications for eLearning.

The future is within reach: personalized, even adaptive, learning; the costs are nontrivial, too. In this session, you’ll learn what’s happening and what it takes to be effective in areas such as content engineering, content management, content models, and content systems. We’ll review the elements, evaluate the tradeoffs, and identify the steps along the way so you can start putting together your content strategy for organizational eLearning.

In this session, you will learn:

• How a content “system” differs from content creation
• The elements of content engineering, management, and models
• How content strategy and systems will affect eLearning design and delivery
• The opportunity and financial costs associated with applying a content strategy

Audience:
Managers and executives interested in the future of content and learning.

Technology discussed in this session:
TBD

The Experience API (xAPI) has been in production for more than a year now, and it is becoming more important for training and development teams to learn the ABCs of this important new set of technologies and approaches to tracking and reporting.

In this session, you will learn what xAPI is and what it isn’t. You will learn how statements are generally structured, and how it is typically being put into practice. You will explore how xAPI is being leveraged by progressive organizations to improve the learning experience, streamline tracking, perform common tasks, and drive engagement. Finally, we will look at the myriad challenges. Just because it’s out there doesn’t mean your team will have the right platforms, tools, practices, and mind-set to take advantage of all the features (attributes) and benefits xAPI has to offer.

In this session, you will learn:

• The basic structure and tools that comprise the xAPI approach, including statement syntax, construction, and management
• To determine which platforms and tools are xAPI ready and how they can be used in an existing learning environment
• To balance when to use xAPI over Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) and whether they are mutually exclusive
• New use cases to apply tracking to nontraditional learning assignments and interactions
• The new technical challenges to overcome with learning management system (LMS) integration, security, and mobile access (especially when offline)

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

Technology discussed in this session:
xAPI , Learning Record Stores.

Gamification and games-based learning is a viable, effective strategy for learning and yet there is resistance when it comes to executive buy-in. We hear, “Gamification is too expensive!” “It’s too flashy!” “We don’t want our employees playing games on the job!” Turning the tide of perception takes a combination of highlighting programs in which gamification has been incredibly effective, understanding the science behind why gamification works so well for learners, and targeting those specific projects for which gamification is a perfect fit.

From reaching the target demographic, to creating experts, to maximizing downtime and making training more cost effective, you’ll see how gamification was used to address the business drivers, meet the learning objectives, and engage the audience beyond expectations through 10 real-world examples. In this session, you will learn 10 reasons why your learners will be and your company should be asking for gamification as a learning strategy. Finally, you will learn how to overcome resistance to gamification and gain ideas for how to successfully achieve buy-in from company leadership.

In this session, you will learn:

• To identify reasons for resistance to gamification within your organization
• To describe why gamification is an effective strategy for the modern adult learner
• To describe best practices for pitching and developing gamification programs for learning
• To list the types of projects that can be enriched with gamification

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

“Don’t limit yourself” is terrible advice, yet getting into a creative rhythm is not always easy. When the pressure is mounting, often we can find ourselves blocked in our effort to present a new and fresh idea for the project we’re working on. How can you stay in the flow and find the next great idea for your work?

In this session, you will learn how you can use constraints to free your creativity, rather than limit it. You will learn the importance of not saying “no” to ideas, but rather embrace them and try to use them as the new parameters for your creative work. You will find ways to build off of ideas rather than shutting them down and collect various tips you can use to jump-start your creative process.

In this session, you will learn:

• To use constraints to free your creativity
• How to get out of a “creative slump”
• Techniques for kick-starting your creative process
• To never say “no” and go with the flow (the rules of improv)

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Nearly 48 percent of employees believe they are ready right now for a career change according to a survey by global talent-mobility consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison. The hiring market is getting tighter as the economy improves. To attract and keep the technical talent required for your organization is a strategic project, and it will not be successful if you treat it like a “hope and a prayer.” Your competitors are trying right now to steal your top technical staff. To retain and grow your valuable technical talent requires three key accountabilities: hire the right person, onboard and grow the person, and manage him or her through career and succession plans.

In this session you will learn how to mitigate the risk of losing key employees by creating a solid hiring and retention strategy, then translating this into a successful and repeatable technical talent process. You will leverage a project charter template to define the boundaries of developing this repeatable process, and learn about automated tools that map to the phases.

In this session, you will learn:

• The importance of investing in a proactive process to engage and keep valuable technical talent
• How to charter a project to create this strategic process
• The automated tools to support your technical talent’s ongoing engagement
• How to use templates to determine the best approach for your organization

Audience:
Intermediate managers and directors.

Technology discussed in this session:
Job benchmark assessments and coaching reports.

In early 2014 Jane Bozarth’s husband was diagnosed with a large tumor perched atop his brain stem like a golf ball on a tee. The story of his surgery and recovery became the most popular piece she’s ever published, “Performance Matters,” which appeared in The eLearning Guild’s Learning Solutions Magazine. Join Jane and Jeannette Campos as they explore the story, its associated observations, and issues learned throughout that are relevant to L&D.

In this session you will learn from practical examples the importance of human-centered design and systems design, how to address performance at the moments of learning need, and the important ties between learning, practice, and performance. The best L&D practitioners recognize that the performer is an actor in a system and the future L&D practitioner must design beyond the past limitations of the standalone course.

In this session, you will learn:

• The significance of human-centered design for both learning and performance
• How thoughtful intentional design considers the interaction of all elements in a systems (putting the S back in ISD)
• To consider the moment of learning need(s) when designing for learning and extended performance support
• Why designing beyond a discrete learning event will be a critical skill for L&D practitioners

Audience:
Designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

While Articulate Storyline is a wonderful development tool, many times developers end up with only content that resembles a (very pretty) slideshow, rather than enriched content with meaningful experiences that result in impactful learning.

In this session you will learn how to creatively use Storyline to develop learner-centric content and just how you can use digital comics and motion comics (MoComs) to effectively communicate within a visual milieu. You will learn the process of creating an interactive and responsive comic-like interaction that will focus on user engagement through the use of in and out transitions and enhanced touch and gesture control. Finally, you’ll get current theories of visual information and communication.

In this session, you will learn:

• Tips and tricks of visual communication from digital comics
• How to increase learner engagement by utilizing sequential storytelling
• Basic Storyline use and layout
• How to make use of in and out transitions in Storyline
• Easy ways to add or enhance touch and gesture control to Storyline

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers who understand the basic use of Storyline and have basic knowledge of mobile devices and gesture control.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline, HTML5, mobile devices (tablets), touch and gesture controls, and the basic concepts of animation.

Participant technology requirements:
A laptop with Storyline loaded.

Trends suggest that learners want to drive their own learning and have access to a variety of bite-sized materials in various media to learn what they want, when they want it. It’s not just the Millennials, and it is not because people have no attention span. It is because everything moves so quickly and we have become accustomed to making our own path ... quickly. Yet, corporate learning organizations are having trouble shifting fast enough.

In this session, you will get hands-on experience using tools in new, trending ways. You will learn tips and pitfalls to avoid so you deliver professional materials with limited resources. Learn how to maximize your development time and resources through video content creation combined with curation of other types of materials. See how to keep the attention and interest of students and focus on teaching the key aspects of a topic.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to curate existing content as part of a curated video content plan
• How to design a way to utilize interactions, playlists, and previously developed course content
• Techniques to shorten, revise, and refine content so that it is transitioned into bite-sized information for learners
• To use familiar tools with new online applications to create a tailored content experience for your audience

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

Technology discussed in this session:
TechSmith Camtasia, Premiere Elements, HapYak, VideoScribe, HTML5, Lynda.com, Harvard Mentor Manage, and photo editors.

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop (Mac or PC), TechSmith Camtasia, Premiere Elements (trial versions will work, but unrestricted is better, of course), HTML editor, document editor, photo editor (you can use an online one, but a local copy of Photoshop/Photoshop Elements is best). You will also need to be able to access the Internet. Please download trial accounts for HapYak, Lynda.com, and Harvard Mentor Manage, if possible.

The promise of open digital badges extends beyond their potential to recognize informal learning and professional development. Open badges also provide data that can be mined and analyzed to benefit learners, educators, and learning organizations, both locally and globally across the ecosystem. What does the current universe of badges look like? What practical data can be conveyed through badges? How can usable data be extracted from digital badges that can be used by learners and institutions of learning?

In this session you will be introduced to the Open Badges Infrastructure. You will see examples of badge system designs that use learner analytics and explore the potential for ecology-wide data analysis using a badge discovery platform under development. You will learn the benefits of badge data analysis for learners, educators, learning institutions, and researchers, and learn some of the current challenges in data collection, including pitfalls for badge system designers.

In this session, you will learn:

• Basics of open digital badges
• What kind of additional information can be associated with an open badge
• How badge metadata can help drive discovery and accessibility
• How to harness metadata for practical usage

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Open Badges Infrastructure, application-programming interface, web services, IOS applications, and learner analytics.

The world of work and the workplace is changing rapidly, and your internal business strategy needs to include motivational elements such as gamification, badging, and incentives to support workplace engagement and interest.

In this session you will gain a 360-degree prospective of badges and how they can be incorporated and used for recruitment, onboarding, education, motivation, and employee assessment. You will also learn key concepts to integrate analytics into your organization to maximize strategy, forecasting, and outcomes. 

In this session, you will learn:

• What changes are coming in the workplace and what tools and technologies will best help prepare your organization
• How gamification, badges, and incentives can be used to increase engagement
• How to integrate analytics to impact strategy and better forecasting

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Learning management systems have evolved into large and complex platforms capable of supporting large institutions with thousands of students. But what about small to midsize organizations with tens to hundreds of students and more modest training needs? Learn through a case study example how WordPress meets basic requirements for online course management functionality, is fast and easy to set up, and keeps costs less than $500.

Massive open online courses, or MOOCs, are a hot topic in learning technology. They are successfully implemented by higher education institutions, but organizations providing valuable training and development can leverage the model as well. Explore the building of a MOOC through lecture and small group activities. This combination reinforces the components of the MOOC model and demonstrates how it can be implemented as both an education and a marketing tool. You will leave with the practical knowledge to convince leadership to invest in building a MOOC for the reasons learned.

Many video producers remain unaware of how to produce high-quality, dynamic videos inexpensively, and grapple with the issue of how to create compelling online material. Learn simple techniques that can be used to create top-notch videos that have made the massive open online course (MOOC) Learning How to Learn, offered by the University of California, San Diego, on Coursera, one of the top MOOCs in the world, with well over half a million learners in the first six months.

Are you up-to-date in understanding the latest scientific research on learning and brain science? In this session, learn to separate fact from fiction! Avoid the myths that hurt learning and harm our learners. Build your knowledge. Win the most valuable prize: Proven research-based wisdom for eLearning design.

There are so many tools out there, which can be intimidating and overwhelming. Come take a look at the major tools on the market and see how they fit together to make up the ultimate eLearning toolbox. Learn how these tools can work together to maximize development and make the process more efficient.

During this workshop we will lead you through the techniques Forio has developed to build online simulations for use in the classroom. We will show you how you can leverage Forio Simulate, a web-based development environment, to create simulations using drag-and-drop design tools. No programming skills are required.

The idea of connecting with learners via familiar, non-training environments like websites, direct links, and devices is pretty exciting, but often seen as expensive, difficult to implement, and hard to track. With the availability of the cloud for authoring and hosting, this is set to change. Whether you’re interested in new and exciting ways of deploying eLearning, want to connect better with learners, or understand of how to take advantage of personal and mobile devices for learning, this seminar is for you.

You create training and development content to bring about behavioral change in your learners. But if they don’t remember your message when it’s needed, there will be no change. In our one-to-many world, video is your best tool for retention. But who has the time or budget to elevate all content to video yet? We’ll be discussing when and where to leverage video in your content mix to boost retention of your message. We’ll also introduce Scribology, the science behind creating video that will engage the brain and ensure your message will be retained for change.

The development of workplace skills happens primarily beyond the traditional eLearning course, through on-the-job experience and coaching by managers. Mobile technologies like the Experience API have made it practical to implement on-the-job learning. You’ll see how a 70:20:10 learning path was deployed on employees’ smartphones to increase speed to proficiency. Using the TREK Learning Experience Manager platform, they accessed video modeling and performance support at the moment of need. They used their phones’ sensors (camera, audio, video, and GPS) to capture evidence of work and submit it to coaches for feedback. You’ll see how to design and implement scalable apprenticeship.

Discover how a modern, multigenerational organization can empower their employees to develop themselves anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Learn how other global organizations have enabled their entire workforce to have the power to learn new business skills and techniques at the click of a button. We will use case studies showcasing how seamless technological integration with your current learning offering reaps the highest learner engagement and financial return on investment.

The training industry is going through a shift from eLearning to mLearning to take advantage of the capabilities of mobile technology. Many organizations are in need of transforming their training content and materials for learning on different devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptop computers. The challenge is doing this cost effectively, rapidly, and with flexible solutions.

In this session you will learn some of the considerations in preparing content and designing the new look and feel of that content using interactive templates. You will learn the process steps to efficiently transform content through real-life examples highlighted during the session. Finally, you will be introduced to the platforms and architecture useful in efficiently transforming content for multi-device learning.

In this session, you will learn:

• The platforms and architecture you can use to efficiently transform content
• The process steps for designing and transforming existing print and digital content for multiple devices
• How to prepare the existing content for transformation
• What to consider when designing the activities for use with the interactive templates

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

Technology discussed in this session:
XML, HTML5, JSON, and macros.

Simulations are an important component of training in many healthcare verticals. Mannequins, simulation labs, and computer-based simulations are well-established parts of many healthcare professionals’ education. They are however also expensive and difficult to deliver online. What’s needed is a solution that combines the low-cost, distributed model of eLearning with the power of simulation.

In this session you will explore examples of low-cost, easy-to-deliver simulations used in areas such as nursing, pharmacy technicians, and occupational therapy. Each have been used to improve skills in several healthcare verticals while satisfying the newest accreditation requirements. You will see how using nothing more than a smartphone or tablet, online video-based exercises offer learners more frequent and convenient opportunities to practice skills, including “soft skills” like critical thinking and communication.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create low-cost simulation exercises for teaching soft skills
• How to create low-cost simulation exercises for teaching technical skills
• How to use simulations as the centerpiece for a competency-based training program for healthcare professionals
• How you can use video-based simulations to satisfy industry accreditation requirements

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

Technology discussed in this session:
ApprenNet.

Learner engagement can be elusive. It is difficult to grab and hold a learner’s attention with so many smartphone distractions at their desk or at their fingertips. But engagement is possible through specific techniques that command attention and engage the learner.

In this session you will learn how to engage learners and how to present content using gamification techniques such as storytelling, feedback, and competition. During this session you will simultaneously learn about engagement techniques and experience them. These techniques will help you to create more engaging instruction within your own organizations or for your clients. You’ll be able to apply these simple techniques to your learning design almost immediately.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to apply storytelling to engage learners
• Three techniques for eliciting audience responses and summarizing content during a session (webinar or classroom)
• How you can expand gamification beyond points, badges, and leaderboards
• How to create an immersive learning experience with simple tools

Audience:
Intermediate designers.

Technology discussed in this session:
PollEverywhere, PowerPoint.

Participant technology requirements:
N/A

Can the challenge of conducting annual onboarding for 700 volunteer leaders be met in a cost effective and engaging way? Leaders are located across time zones, supported by different technology platforms, and do not have common availability for a centrally-located training meeting. However, networking and sharing ideas are key learning requirements of the group. In addition, budgetary constraints mean that only half the population can be trained per year, leaving the other half with very little support from national headquarters. This uneven approach has led to inconsistent results in terms of membership retention, chapter programming, and volunteer engagement.

In this case-study session you will see how a blended learning approach, using social learning as a critical ingredient, met the challenge of onboarding a large, geographically-dispersed audience to prepare them as volunteer leaders. You will learn how 70 local facilitators were identified as orientation trainers and invited to an event focused on developing presentation skills and providing support tools. You will gain insight into using blended learning, and specifically social learning, to successfully match performance objectives to the most appropriate, and cost effective, delivery medium.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to assess your organization’s readiness for implementing a social learning platform
• Three best practices for integrating social learning into an existing training
• The advantages of using a social media platform to facilitate collaboration among virtual learners
• How to apply a blended learning model within your organization, using social learning as a key ingredient

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Blackboard Collaborate, and Yammer.

Authoring tools natively lack sophistication of handling variables. Rapid authorware developers feel limited, and many fear tackling more advanced functionality such as JavaScript.

In this session will you will learn some basic yet very cool examples of JavaScript-enhanced rapid development possibilities. You will also learn how to break down the core components by integrating JavaScript within common rapid authoring tools. You will learn an effective planning process by walking through a dice game (Yahtzee-esque) built in Articulate Storyline. The session provides encouragement for individuals with little to no JavaScript experience to use their existing skill sets to begin leveraging JavaScript.

In this session, you will learn:

• How JavaScript can enhance development
• The core components integrating JavaScript into common rapid authoring tools
• A planning process to assist in building solutions
• What to do when things go wrong

Audience:
Novice designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline, Sublime 2 text editor, Lectora JavaScript, search engines, and online communities.

Adding performance support to the learning ecosystem of an organization provides the opportunity to enhance the performance of workers in a powerful way. To take the best advantage of this new paradigm, the instructional design process and the content of online learning need to change.

In this session, you will learn about the advantages and challenges of implementing a new learning paradigm that includes performance support. You will learn what performance support is, a step-by-step plan for integrating performance support and learning with a focus on eLearning, and see how St. Vincent Hospital has implemented this. You will leave with both an understanding of how this planning process has worked and templates that will enable you to re-create this process in your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• How performance support can enhance the outcome in an organization
• The essential components of a performance learning plan
• A new approach to developing eLearning as part of a performance learning plan
• How authoring tools have been used to build performance support tools

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Ontuitive Learning Guide Manager, Articulate Storyline, Adobe Flash, and Microsoft Office.

Given the choice, many learners will choose mobile abstracts over books, YouTube DIY over lecture, single-point lessons over ILT, and JIT mobile reinforcement over day-long training. This is a very real challenge most T&D departments are facing. While they all have legacy training courses that are traditionally a day longer or more, learners today do not enjoy or benefit by these long-form training methodologies.

In this session you will learn about the innate problems with traditional long-form training, as well as the necessary micro-learning skillset to start making improvements. You’ll learn the three elements of transforming your existing training content into engaging bite-sized chunks. The first element is “shock treatment,” where you will learn how bite-sized principles, reinforced by brain science, is the future of learning. The next element is “first aid,” where you will learn how to apply micro-learning principles to your existing ILT courses. The final element is “group massage,” where group discussion will assist you in troubleshooting your traditional training challenges.

In this session, you will learn:

• Why we need to commit to breaking up our training into smaller pieces
• From brain science, how bite-sized learning is the future
• How to apply micro-learning principles to your existing ILT courses and other forms of traditional training
• How to troubleshoot your traditional training challenges and come up with bite-sized solutions

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

Accelerated change, moving technologies, globally diverse audiences, increasing demand. We’ve been talking about these and other pressures that senior L&D leaders face for decades. The trouble is that the pressures are not going away. Today’s L&D leaders must align learning to needs, move quickly to improve performance, and add value. They are increasingly looking to technology to help.

In this highly interactive session, you will learn what actually works and what doesn’t. Our research reaches out to over 45 nations for 10 years, but this will be the first time any of the practical findings have been presented in the United States. You will take a fresh look at the hard evidence from over 17,000 learners and 3,500 international L&D leaders. You will learn the strategies of the top-performing L&D teams around the globe and see how they are improving productivity, increasing engagement, enhancing agility, AND improving efficiency.

In this session, you will learn:

• The critical importance of having an evidence-driven rather than a technology-driven learning strategy
• About evidence of bottom-line business impacts that will blow the minds of your senior stakeholders
• Direct insights from learners that will change your thinking forever
• How your strategy really compares with your top-performing peers in the rest of the world

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Free tools like Google Analytics can reveal important characteristics about online learner behavior, and help instructors and course developers make confident design and technology decisions. With a thoughtful analytics implementation derived from course learning goals, instructors can better understand what aspects of their course were successful and communicate this story to their businesses and institutions.

In this session, you will learn how the Google Analytics Edu team used Google Analytics to make more informed instructional design and technology decisions based on learner behavior in their Analytics Academy courses. You will learn how the team set up their Google Analytics instance, the importance of creating a measurement plan, how to use personas to help segment behavior data, create goals to understand the course value, how to set up tracking for specific behavioral events, and how to use all this data to engage learners and tell a compelling story about your course effectiveness.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use Google Analytics to promote online learner course engagement
• How users navigate your online course, where they drop off, and how to re-engage them
• How to track specific course events like video completions or clicking interactive graphics
• How to design learner registration fields used to segment behavior data for analysis
• How to create a measurement plan that maps back to course learning objectives
• How to create Google Analytics goals to determine your online course return on investment (ROI)
• How to better understand the demographics and geographic locations of your learners

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Google Analytics and the Google Analytics Academy CourseBuilder MOOC.

Instructional designers and eLearning developers are not typically trained in how to design a visual experience for their learners, yet a cluttered presentation of information interferes with learner cognition and retention. Often, the effort to transform unappealing, text-heavy content can seem overwhelming, but there are simple approaches that you can master to create a visually appealing experience.

This session offers you techniques that can drastically transform even the most boring content into a visual presentation that improves cognition and retention. You will learn how to simplify your content for maximum impact and structure it with visual cues. See how to turn your initial text into engaging visuals that help your learners retain what is important. You will review real-life examples that demonstrate how these simple techniques create raving fans and effectively enhance your content.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to simplify your content for maximum impact
• How to structure your content with simple visual cues
• How to turn text into visuals
• How to use imagery to effectively enhance your content

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

As trainers, we work hard to create great training. As a result, we are disappointed when our employees fail to learn or don’t transfer learning back to their workplace. We may be tempted to blame our students, but the truth is that we often fail because we don’t understand the mind of the learner. As a result, we build training modules that are not consistent with the brain’s natural means of acquisition. Teaching should be more effective, and it can be more effective once we understand how the learner’s mind operates.

In this session, you will learn seven essential principles that will help you understand how the brain controls learning and memory. Through the presented demonstrations, you will gain an exciting new understanding of the mind, which you can immediately apply to create eLearning that will effectively engage the brain and maximize learning and recall. Come prepared to have fun ... and learn.

In this session, you will learn:

• To design training and change management solutions that are compatible with the brain’s natural way of learning
• To create social learning communities that are based on psychological principles of observational learning
• To use authoring tools more effectively by understanding how the brain encodes metaphor and emotion
• To develop incentive systems that reinforce desired behaviors and that are based on established principles of conditioning.

Audience:
Designers, developers, senior developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Writing is an underdiscussed aspect of instructional design. In fact, many people get into the field without realizing that writing is a significant part of a learning designer’s job. It is difficult to do it well. Learning designers may be required to write in at least ten different forms that involve unique styles. Yet there is no single source of instruction for writing in all of these styles.

In this session, you will gain a deeper awareness of the different writing styles learning designers need to produce on the job. You will learn the different formats and techniques one can use to make each style effective. During the session, you will be able to compare examples of successful and less successful writing. You will leave this session being able to differentiate between the requirements and styles of writing microcopy, video scripts, test questions, and expositions, which is a basic skill that designers need to have.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to meet the needs of varied writing requirements used in instructional design
• How to inject creativity into the driest of topics
• How to use journalistic techniques in your writing
• How to use marketing techniques in your writing

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and project managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

While universities continue to explore the new possibilities of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in establishing global brand, learning research, and innovation, corporate training has begun a deeper look into using MOOCs for their own purposes. How would a landscape of higher ed–produced MOOCs being used by corporate training benefit both types of organizations?

In this session, you will learn the emerging trends in which global corporations are seeking to partner with MOOC providers for various types of offerings. You will learn how universities are using MOOCs as spaces to experiment with and research innovative online teaching practices and how these discoveries may lead to new opportunities for application in corporate training. By seeing how universities are approaching MOOCs, you will learn about an emerging framework for extending partnerships with higher ed for more cost-effective access to the subject matter expertise and learning practices that universities provide.

In this session, you will learn:

• What MOOCs are and their current status in the higher ed market
• Why universities decide to develop and deliver MOOCs
• How using courses from MOOC providers may benefit corporate training functions
• What emerging trends in MOOCs are pulling corporate interests and higher ed closer together

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, project managers, and managers with a working knowledge of how to design, deliver, or manage training or educational offerings, including online, blended, or classroom.

Technology discussed in this session:
MOOCs.

Back by popular demand, Hyperdrive returns to DevLearn this fall. This year’s Hyperdrive competition focuses on innovation, showcasing projects that are using technology and solutions to create new and exciting opportunities for learning and performance support.

In this session you will learn from the three winning entries from DevLearn Hyperdrive, the competition that took place before DevLearn began. You will learn from individuals and organizations that are pushing the boundaries of what learning and performance support looks like and explore examples of technology being harnessed in ways that most others have yet to consider.

In this session, you will learn:

• From cutting-edge examples of innovative learning
• How the projects provide business value
• Why a design decision was made
• The technologies used in innovative projects

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Various.

Are you a Storyline 2 user? Maybe you were self-taught or used Storyline 1 and are now using Storyline 2? Storyline 2 offers expanded capabilities that are often underutilized, which if applied can create more engaging learning experiences. 

In this hands-on session, you will explore features that will make working on your courses easier and faster. Learn how to build interactivity with the new sliders feature, make your content dance with motion paths and slide transitions, and disable your Next button to better ensure learners have explored all the content they need to learn. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to navigate through some of the new features in Storyline 2
• How to build a simple slider to create an interactive learning environment
• How to add creative motion paths to your slides
• How to restrict navigation until your learner has met certain expectations 

Audience:
Intermediate designers and developers who are familiar with Storyline and eLearning concepts.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline 2.

The power of games for learning is well documented, yet the thought of undertaking the design and development building of a game seems overwhelming due to the perceived cost and hours to learn how to do it. The time and the energy just seem too large of a barrier.

In this session, you will learn how to get started with designing and building your first mobile game and understand game design principles. You’ll learn about the tools and environment, and you will use GameSalad to create dynamic, drag-and-drop game-based content that you can test and play within your own browser or on a mobile device.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to design and build your first game
• How to understand the app and environment and how to create a game using drag-and-drop programming techniques
• What is required to create an app for a mobile environment
• How to build a game and leave with the core knowledge to get started and demonstrate to your team and organization

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

Technology discussed in this session:
GameSalad, Photoshop, PowerPoint, HTML5.

Participant technology requirements:
Mac or Windows laptop. Download free GameSalad.com app to participate.

Learning professionals commonly build online content, using both off-the-shelf and custom tools. These tools may create web content, be destination sites, or be content repositories of some sort, like an LMS or CMS. What do you know about the security vulnerabilities of these tools? One of the core principles of security is that you can never be 100 percent guaranteed safe from attackers. However, if you know and understand the potential vulnerabilities of your toolset, you can work proactively to reduce the risk that your work becomes the vector for a breach.

In this session you will learn about the workflow and toolset that you may use in your role as designer, developer, or training manager to identify potential vulnerabilities. You will also learn about mitigation strategies you can use today that can reduce your vulnerabilities.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the potential vulnerabilities that you have in your workflow
• What those vulnerabilities can mean for you and your organization
• What you can do to mitigate potential vulnerabilities
• The questions to ask of your vendors to ensure that your organization is protected and not the next big news headline

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

High-impact organizations invest in people. While some skills are prerequisites to employment, others can be acquired on the job, preparing people for more complex tasks, even future leadership roles. That is the promise and possibility of building a progressive credentialing system using competency-based digital badges as “curricular building blocks.”

In this session you will learn about several possible models for building such a system, how it can be used to address the changing demands in the workplace, and how it might help address critical skills gaps in organizations.

In this session, you will learn:

• How the changing face of work, organizations, and credentialing is propelling the need for new competency models
• Various models for competency-based digital badge systems
• How digital badge systems can be used to address organizational and industry skills gaps

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

Some eLearning developers have it easy. Food, wine, travel, sports? These are interesting topics and lend themselves to creating stimulating learning experiences. What about when a topic is not so stimulating? Learn how to spice up your learning using four key tools: Adobe Photoshop, Captivate, Premiere, and After Effects. Using case studies from previous learning projects, see how incorporating these tools into the development workflow transformed the learning experience into a multimedia adventure.

Examine the challenges inherent in designing and delivering a flipped classroom approach and how the continuing medical education product teams at the American Academy of Family Physicians have struggled with them. Learn from case studies of the three flipped classroom designs, and learn why it is important to overcome the challenges and the strategies exist to do so.

Social technology is ubiquitous in everyday life. Meanwhile, many organizations remain hindered in their attempts to leverage social tools to improve the employee experience in the workplace. L&D teams often try to lead the charge under the guise of “social learning,” but are often unable to achieve meaningful levels of user engagement. In this session, you will explore the cultural foundation of the evolving social workplace using practical examples. While you will discuss specific technologies, the main focus will be on the employee and organizational behaviors necessary to facilitate meaningful, relevant continued collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Learning professionals are experts in learning, but are we as adept in analysis and evaluation? These are the pillars of effective design and calculation of ROI, but often we are rushed to design and development before critical analyses can be completed. When “A” and “E” are left out of the instructional design process, we can end up delivering the wrong solution and be unable to calculate ROI through appropriate evaluation. This session will focus on how to conduct an in-depth organizational analysis to determine the root cause of the problem you are trying to solve. 

Moving from classroom to online delivery can be a time-consuming and confusing process. Learn ways to leverage technology to streamline the process and improve the end product. Learn how to use current content and transform it into an eLearning product, how to select the appropriate methodologies for replacing face-to-face activities, and how to select from the different tools available today.

With mobile devices becoming the go-to medium for learning content consumption, the potential for innovative instructional design has never been greater. But how do learning professionals optimize outcomes for on-the-go audiences—without overstretching development budgets or requiring specialized programming skills? In this session, learn strategies for preparing effective mobile learning nuggets and see how the developers at obsidian.black have made creation of responsive HTML5 output easier than ever.

Join us for this in-depth look at what tools, design, and technologies we should be using in learning today, and what’s just around the corner. We’ll dissect the latest technologies and what’s headed our way, and how it will affect your development and engagement with your audience. What can we learn from the new tools appearing in the consumer and corporate environments, and how can we take advantage of them to help our users learn? This fun session will give you dozens of ideas and reboot your brain for fresh perspectives on how to enhance your learning today.

If you’ve ever felt that you just couldn’t make PowerPoint do all the things you wanted in an eLearning or mLearning lesson, you won’t want to miss this session. iSpring 8 has some new POWER features that can push your PowerPoint-based eLearning to new levels—and all with the ease of use that goes along with PowerPoint. On top of working with PowerPoint triggers and every animation and transition, there’s a new screen recording tool, new enhanced audio/video editor for narrations, a new video lecture player for slides and talking head, new conversion options for MP4 and YouTube, and more.

Over the past decade, technology has drastically altered the way we do business. However, the tools and strategies that most organizations use to train employees on these technologies have remained the same. These outdated toolsets can cause frustration for learners, and many are time intensive, require significant maintenance, and have little impact on workplace performance. Join us as we examine the gap between training and performance and the cloud-based application cloning and authoring platforms that the Home Depot, Coca-Cola, SunTrust, Cargill, and other Fortune 500 companies are utilizing to drive measurable cost savings and performance improvements from their system training initiatives.

iLearning PLUS supports some of the largest and most sophisticated for-profit learning organizations in the world. Learn how these organizations have maximized their training revenue securely while reducing their administrative overhead through our iLearning PLUS LMS eCommerce capabilities. This session will provide valuable insights into how different training sales business models are supported in delivering millions of dollars of revenue through iLearning PLUS’s secure, feature-rich, and powerful integrated eCommerce functionality.

In 2013, SunTrust Bank began a multi-year journey to consolidate its key mortgage underwriting business applications that would enable strategic growth and improved customer service. This new way of doing business required a pioneering approach to capability building and systems training for end-user adoption of their business application.

In this session you will learn how a flexible training and adoption program led to successfully preparing thousands of geographically dispersed users. You will learn the strategies employed to streamline the content creation and content maintenance efforts and how SunTrust and Assima scoped a large multi-vendor project. Finally, this session will reveal the methods used to create and maintain a strong, successful partnership.

In this session, you will learn:

• Flexible approaches to assuring end-user training and adoption during multi-phased, large-scale system implementations
• Strategies for streamlining large-scale content creation and maintenance
• Strategies for scoping large projects and dealing with multiple vendor dynamics
• Proven methods in building and sustaining long-lasting partnerships that drive success

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

If you’re in the world of eLearning, it goes without saying that you’ve probably heard the term gamification thrown around quite a bit. But what does it mean for your eLearning projects? Is it as simple as leaderboards and badges? Fundamentally, gamification is about applying game elements and gaming techniques to otherwise static content, with the intention of making that content a little more fun, engaging, and impactful. These days, designing game elements and applying gaming techniques to eLearning content doesn’t have to require a lengthy design and development timeline, nor the use of complex programming tools.

In this interactive session you will learn how to apply simple game elements and gaming techniques to your eLearning using Storyline 2. We’ll walk through the use of some of Storyline’s most powerful features, including variables, triggers, states, animation, and sliders to add some simple, game-like interactions to your eLearning.

In this session, you will learn:

• The difference between games and gamification
• How to identify the right content for a game
• Best practices for planning your game interactions before you build
• How to use variables, triggers, states, animation, and sliders in Storyline 2

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline 2.

It’s critical that learners come away with new knowledge and information from eLearning lessons, but frequently they don’t. Learners sometimes find the material or presentation so foreign that even high-quality information just doesn’t stay with them. Integrating mutually shared pop culture and historical experiences into eLearning is one approach to making lessons both entertaining and lasting while creating engaging eLearning courses.

In this session you will learn some new ways of designing and developing your eLearning by looking at it in the historical perspective. You’ll see demonstrations of how history and the lessons learned from past history can make our training more memorable. You’ll also learn through several instances where the confluence of learning, both inside and outside the classroom, can influence retention of the training you present to learners.

In this session, you will learn:

• How almost any subject is appropriate for this adaptive technique
• How to think about subjects from a different perspective
• How to make training more memorable through the use of historical examples
• How learning inside and outside the classroom can impact retention

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

There’s been a large amount of research in recent years exploring the value music has on the brain and learning. We’ve all experienced it in some way in our lives, be it from listening to music while learning or studying, learning something from a catchy song, or by learning to play an instrument.

In this session you will explore the many relationships between music and learning. You will examine and discuss how people learn to play an instrument—there will even be ukuleles available for some to participate hands-on—and what this might mean to learning in general. Using the introductory ukulele lesson as a framework, this fun session will help you explore the many ways that music impacts and enhances learning. (Ukuleles made available during this session will be donated to the Children’s Hospital of Nevada UMC after the conference.)

In this session, you will learn:

• How music enhances learning
• How people learn to play an instrument, and what that means to learning
• How music might enhance your practices
• How to play a ukulele!

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Chances are you didn’t dream of becoming of an eLearning designer when you grew up, did you? Most of the instructional designers in the eLearning business arrived here by accident. So now that you’re here and doing this work, how can you become a more intentional practitioner?

In this session you will learn four key areas to focus on in order to become a well-rounded eLearning designer. You will also discover the ways that you can take your practice to the next level by clearly identifying and honing your instructional designer sweet spot. Finally, this session will provide you with some quick tips for better eLearning design that you can immediately apply to your current and upcoming projects.

In this session, you will:

• Explore the four slices of the eLearning pie to gain a better understanding of the big picture that is our industry
• Identify your own sweet spot as an instructional designer
• Identify areas where you could dig deeper to advance your practice
• To apply simple strategies to your current projects for better eLearning outcomes and more engaging designs

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Three significant challenges L&D practitioners experience are in the ability to add context to their mobile learning and performance support, time and resources to experience the possibilities of new technologies, and having the ability to see real-world applications. 

In this session, you will first gain a basic overview of augmented reality (AR) and 3-D and discuss wearable technology (glasses and watches). After having the opportunity to brainstorm on how to leverage these technologies within your own projects, you will learn three real-world solutions with examples ranging from training medics using AR; the 3D mHealth Viewer for educating medical students on anatomy; and how mobile devices, including wearables, were used to respond to the Ebola crisis. At the end of the session, you will learn how to use the free tool Aurasma to begin experimenting with AR. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How augmented reality can provide real-world context to your mLearning solutions
• How augmented reality is being used as a performance support tool
• How mobile 3D viewers are adding depth to learning
• How wearables are being used aid in decision making/performance support
• A three-step process for creating an augmented reality experience 

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Aurasma from an AR development perspective, 3D mHealth Framework (3-D model framework used in healthcare applications), wearable technologies (glasses/watches), smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android).

We all know we may have some bad habits: biting nails, tapping our feet, regularly eating junk food. But did you know you can also work to create productive habits—habits that can improve your performance and build your knowledge? Those who have built diverse social networks are not only building more powerful relationships, they’re opening doors to new opportunities and staying ahead of the curve in their practice, and they seem to do it almost unconsciously … like a habit.

Being social is human nature. However, using social tools to augment social networking is not, and for many these behaviors just don’t stick. In this session you will work to define your goals, identify triggers to spark activity, and assess your environment to support your growing network capability. Additionally, you will develop your own key implementation intentions and identify natural feedback loops to sustain your routines and build a powerful social habit.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to analyze your current network to identify the gaps
• How to identify your social cues (content, conversations)
• How to craft implementation intentions to formalize habit development
• How to recognize your tangible and intangible rewards (connections, knowledge application)
• How to use your personal path to scale social network growth in your organization

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

The subject matter expert (SME) and instructional designer often speak different languages and have different objectives. How do you wrangle the SME to help you work together to produce a final product on time and within budget?

In this session, you will learn to identify those who make the best type of SME and how to define your role in contrast to the role of the SME in your projects. Learn the best practices in working with SMEs during both the design and development process and create a good working relationship throughout the project. You will see how to create a balance between SMEs and instructional designers and identify the right tools and techniques to address issues that may arise.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the SME type
• How to describe your role in the process to the SME
• Best practices for working with SMEs during the design process
• Best practices for working with SMEs during the development process
• Collaboration tools to use in the process

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Most eLearning projects get off the ground with great intentions. Somewhere along the development path deadlines may be missed, SME demands increase, and the resulting project gets rushed and lacks consistent design. Having a style guide to refer to not only aids in the development cycle, but also assists in ensuring nothing is forgotten or missed. While documenting all of details of a project may seem tedious and nonsensical, having the ability to revisit a project months later and know everything is documented is priceless.

In this session you will explore style guides from recording global assets and their usage, naming conventions, and asset management, to RGB colors used in the user interface. You will see use cases and processes, along with a quick-start style guide job aid and templates to put to use right away.

In this session, you will learn:

• Tips and techniques for style guide preparation
• Naming conventions and asset management practices
• The various categories in setting up an eLearning style guide
• The differences between isolated, global, navigation, and other assets to record

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

Rapid development tools, readily available templates, mobile delivery, social media. These advancements have opened up the eLearning industry to more than just learning professionals with deep skills in both instructional design and programming. An instructor with PowerPoint skills can now quickly and cheaply develop eLearning. Although technology has improved, has instructional design followed suit, or has it been undermined by conformity and complacency?

In this session, you will learn more about what has changed and what has not, what’s still valid and how to take advantage of opportunities for technology-supported learning. Through the use of animated visuals and examples, you will learn alternative concepts and processes applied together with examples of the outcomes they produce. You will gain a firm grounding in facts, helping you take advantage of what’s really new and helpful in learning design. You will leave having experienced real-world examples of learning technologies that actually change behaviors and measurably improve performance instead of simply providing access to information and ensure reading.

In this session, you will learn:

• What remains fundamental about instruction and learning even while technology advances
• What needs to be rethought or added to our thinking to take full advantage of new technologies
• Primary considerations in designing performance-improving learning experiences
• Simpler techniques for designing advanced eLearning, such as how to derive context, challenge, activity, and feedback directly

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Learning and development professionals are under pressure to produce real results. Many times the traditional methods of instructional design and content development are not getting the job done. We have to think differently on how to design, develop, and leverage technology to create learning experiences that actually impact performance and get the results that matter.

In this session you will learn the importance of building experiences in the form of online scenarios, simulations, and real-world on-the-job tasks. You’ll leave understanding better how to apply research-based guidelines to design, structure, and sequence experiences into optimized learning paths. You’ll see to how to leverage technology, especially mobile and the Experience API (formerly Tin Can) to deliver, capture, and track learning experiences. Finally, in this session you’ll see examples of how learning-experience designers are transforming how people learn professional, technical, sales, and leadership skills.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to capture the experiences of experts
• How to design effective learning experiences
• How to sequence learning experiences into an optimized learning path
• How to use mobile and the Experience API to capture and track real-world experience

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

Technology discussed in this session:
The Experience API (xAPI) and mobile technology.

Games are a hot topic in the learning industry right now. At the same time, few people truly understand the differences between games and gamification or their applications to learning. Learning professionals interested in gaming need to understand how games work and how technology can be used to bring games to life.

In this panel discussion you will explore how games have been used in learning in the past, how they are being used today, and the opportunities that exist for games and learning in the future. You will hear examples from industry experts who have applied games in their own work and examine what works and what doesn’t when it comes to games and learning. You will leave this session with context that will help you better execute your own games-based learning programs.

In this session, you will learn:

• How games have been used in learning programs in the past
• How games are being used today
• What works for games and learning and what doesn’t
• Tips for applying game-based learning
• What the opportunities for games-based learning are today and in the future

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Games.

Micro-learning has gotten huge over the last several years. Micro-learning, particularly video, offers huge benefits, including that it fits into available time slots in busy schedules and that it’s inherently mobile. From the organizational perspective, it can also be much faster to market, more focused, easier to maintain, and more scalable than its macro counterparts. The challenge, however, is for organizations to take advantage of this format. How can it be produced quickly and affordably, and how can it scale to engage the whole organization?

In this session, you will learn the attributes of the micro-learning format and dissect production into three distinct phases. You will learn how to streamline production through intelligent, up-front planning by using a variety of online and common tools to produce the assets needed and by simplifying the post-production/editing phase. Finally, you’ll explore ways to intelligently scale the medium by empowering all employees in the organization. The session will be heavily supported with micro-learning video lessons produced for The eLearning Guild’s Learning Exchange.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to produce micro-learning video inexpensively
• How to produce micro-learning video quickly
• How to focus micro-learning videos for optimum effectiveness
• How to plan well but also be prepared to capture assets for micro-learning products when opportunities arise
• How and why narration can save micro-learning video projects

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

Technology discussed in this session:
iPhone video, iMovie, Visme, Project Expresso (animated sketches from an iPad app), voiceover recording, digital video, YouTube, and The eLearning Guild’s Learning Exchange.

Micro-learning video is the creation of video-based content under one minute in length that is primarily consumed on mobile devices. The rise of user-generated micro-content has required the use of rapid storyboarding and predefined video content structures. As the length of the video decreases so does the optimal format of the video.

In this hands-on session you will learn the process for creating micro-video, including formats, content creation applications, and implementation. You will explore the steps for the creation of micro-content, and tricks for using video analytics to select the best content for a micro-video. You will leave with a step-by-step process for creating short form video-based content.

In this session, you will learn:

• The structure of a micro-format
• Applications for micro-video creation
• Steps for creating a micro-video
• How to deliver micro-content in your organization

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Video editors.

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop with Internet connection and a simple video editor, such as Windows Movie Maker or iMovie.

Why is it so hard to engage participants in your virtual sessions? Are you not sure of the best tools or techniques to use? Engagement isn’t easy, as delivering in a virtual environment is different than in a live classroom setting. It takes practice and know-how. So what is the key to stop learners from multitasking and really get involved in the session? If you can’t answer this question, there’s a chance you aren’t effectively engaging your learners.

In this session, we will address what it really means to engage participants. In other words, let’s not just use this word, let’s define it and implement it. You will learn the techniques, examples, and best practices to effectively accomplish learner engagement. You will learn how to address (and overcome) all the things you don’t like about attending a virtual session in order to make your own session attention grabbing. You will walk away with practical ideas to implement immediately to deliver an engaging virtual session.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to build rapport with a virtual audience
• How to create opportunities for engagement
• How to encourage classroom discussions
• How to create effective content
• How to use the right tools for delivery

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers with some experience delivering virtual sessions.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Connect, Poll Everywhere.

Participant technology requirements:
Load the Adobe Connect prior to the start of the session.

Building a native HTML5 mobile game could take very complex code to build, especially if you want to add elements like flex and responsive layouts, natural motion that interacts with user actions and the device’s accelerometer, accept user input, and more.

In this session, you will be introduced to Tumult Hype Professional, a MAC-specific application that can be used to create learning games.. You will learn how to build interactive games and animations without having to know any code. You will see how quickly and easily you can build responsive layouts that flex and change for any screen size to take advantage of any device. You will leave this session with working games that you can play on your phone or tablet.

NOTE: Tumult Hype is a MAC-based product. While all are welcome to this session, only MAC users will be able to follow along on their own machines.

In this session, you will learn:

• Tumult Hype Basics
• To use keyframe-based animation
• How to build physics-based animation
• How to create a responsive layout

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Tumult Hype.

Participant technology requirements:
Tumult Hype. NOTE: Tumult Hype is a MAC-based product; It is not available for Windows-based PCs.

Developing an online course can be an overwhelming process. Oftentimes it can be difficult to know where to start and what resources are available. In addition to timelines, tools, and scope, you need to be able to manage the flow of information and the critical relationships with other designers, developers, and subject matter experts (SMEs).

In this session you will be provided a toolbox of guides, forms, and templates that can be used by instructional designers, faculty, and SMEs to aid in the online course development process. You will also learn approaches to making the design, development, and project management of online courses more streamlined, less stressful, and easier to manage through the principles of backward design and by building stronger relationships with SMEs.

In this session, you will learn:

• Tips for productive designer/SME relationships
• How to utilize backward design
• How to monitor and track the progress of your online course design and development
• How to guide faculty members and SMEs in writing effective learning objectives
• How to facilitate a productive initial course planning meeting

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

Technology discussed in this session:
The ID Toolbox in a fully accessible format in Microsoft Office suite and/or Adobe PDF.

The world of digital online credentials is changing, and IBM is a leading voice in the IT industry. In this session, using real program data and results and the IBM Open Badge Program as a case study, you will learn how to design a nano-credential program that quickly generates significant results. See how IBM merges credentials and recognition with social media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. The session explores Mozilla Open Badges, which are quickly emerging as an industry standard to recognize achievements and nurture and progress talent.

In this session, you will learn:

• A deeper understanding of Open Badges and the future of digital nano-credentials
• The benefits of Open Badges to key stakeholders—badge issuers, badge earners, and badge consumers
• How to demonstrate use cases and show the results an organization can achieve with Open Badges
• How to outline an action plan to get started with Open Badges

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Today’s media is always in motion. Incorporating elements of animation can be an effective method for boosting the production value of an eLearning module and hooking the audience’s attention. Come hear the case study of an internal training group that researched and incorporated the use of animation in eLearning materials that had traditionally been static page-turners. Learn specific instances of how animation can be an effective eLearning component and the tools available to produce quality animation, some of which may already be installed on your computer.

EY’s audit practice is almost 70,000 people strong with the additional challenge of having huge diversity in geography, cultural, and learning preferences. Learn about EY’s experience and challenges with designing, developing, and deploying simulations across a diverse network. Also learn about the background of the Audit Academy at EY, including its design, development, and governance processes.

Great bar service requires exceptional product knowledge, customer service, and principles for responsible use of alcohol. Hear a case study showcasing Brightwave’s work with a global drinks company, which uses innovative development techniques, including interactive film, gaming, and first-person role-play. Learn how to develop fast-paced game-based interactive film, including flow, decision points, branching, and game theory; how to write, plan, shoot, and edit interactive film for maximum impact; and how interactive video content can be developed in a responsive framework for desktop and mobile.

An LMS rollout is a daunting and potentially risky ordeal, and more than ever eLearning needs to be mobile, global, and social ready. Learn best practices from a recent global rollout so your organization can be well prepared. Explore lessons learned around LMS implementation, data migration, branding, and custom eLearning development. Explore the user-centered design approach to delight your users, as well as how to enable your eLearning content to be mobile, global, and social ready.

The 70:20:10 model makes sense to most training and learning professionals. But the way to endorse informal learning is somewhat vague. Training professionals seek to apply business-driven solutions and evaluate their impact, thus meeting the main goals of their organizations. So how can they recognize and apply informal learning and stay in control all at the same time? Learn methods for applying formal and informal knowledge as a performance support solution. Learn the process of combining formal and informal knowledge in a performance support solution that enables real-time learning and instant competency.

Education and training have traditionally been measured in limited ways; course completions and test scores are routinely used as the context through which we describe learning as having taken place. Digital badges provide a more in-depth method for students and workers to demonstrate their knowledge and skills and give employers a new way to assess critical skills such as creativity, communication, teamwork, and adaptability. In this thought-provoking session, Connie Yowell will examine the current state of badges in education and training, exploring what’s working and what opportunities still need to be explored. You will leave this session inspired to reexamine the ways your organization measures and credentializes learning and competency.

At Inkling, we believe content is the last great blind spot in business intelligence. Every team should be empowered with the knowledge of exactly how their content is working—who’s reading it, how they’re accessing it, what they find engaging and helpful, and what they don’t. These analytics enable businesses to make more informed decisions about the content they create. Is your content ready for the mobile workforce? Find out by taking our Content IQ Quiz. Does your training put your employees on the path to success through engagement and accessibility? Find out by talking to an Inkling representative.

Kick-start your day—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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—and your networking—with Morning Buzz, the popular early-bird discussions held each morning of the conference. 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.

MythBusters’ Adam Savage is a passionate learner who is constantly finding new ways to examine both the known and the unknown. In this thought-provoking keynote, Mr. Savage will explore the need to ask questions in order to discover and find meaning, as well as the important roles questions, storytelling, and curiosity play in learning. He will offer thrilling examples of how simple curiosity can change not just how we look at learning, but also the way we think about the world.

Join us for a look at what HTML5 is and how people use it today to deliver the next generation of learning content and applications via browsers, native apps, and hybrid apps. You’ll learn what you need to consider in designing content, along with technical guidelines. Get an introduction to five hot features in HTML5 that you can start using today, and prepare for developing with the new standards. You’ll discover the five challenges you need to know in order to make sure your first app or delivery is a success, and you’ll learn whether to launch a native app or web app.

Do you know what it takes to make games successful in your organization? This session explores four case studies from organizations that used the Knowledge Guru game-based learning platform to successfully implement a serious game that drove business results. The commonalities from these “success stories” will be used to demonstrate seven actionable implementation tips that help make games more effective for learning.

In this session, find out about Adapt Learning, a transformative open-source project, and get a look at the world’s largest catalogue of Adapt content that’s changing how learners consume content on a device of their choice. Learn how to use Adapt Builder to create content with interactive components and sophisticated theming and branding options. Build deep scrolling content that your learners will love to explore and navigate with ease. 

This session will show how an LRS can cater to the L&D need to design learning solutions that better meet learner requirements by analyzing current user trends and business performance data. The bugs in a badly designed course, or the areas where learners have difficulty comprehending content, or a poorly designed assessment ultimately affects business performance and results. An LRS integrated with the LMS can be that “missing link” that can conclusively establish a relationship between learning and business performance and results.

Ask a group of eLearning developers about the hardest parts of their role, and odds are good that someone will bring up the topic of course reviewers (usually SMEs) and feedback. Managing the feedback process (and sometimes the reviewers!) can be a big challenge for many eLearning practitioners. In this session, I’ll provide tips and resources to help you get organized and communicate more proactively with reviewers.

Engaging, professional-sounding voice recording is a key to maximizing the potential for eLearning. Voice acting should be professional, sound realistic, and be free of distractions that can disengage participants and limit knowledge retention. While hiring professional voice actors can provide an easy solution, budget constraints may limit or eliminate the option of outsourcing voiceover work. When this occurs, development teams must look to their own in-house talent, many of whom may be new to the idea of lending their voice.

In this session you will learn the basics of voiceovers such as microphone placement and techniques, as well as creating an effective recording environment. Most importantly, you will learn the ways you can prepare your mind and your voice for the recording session, as well as pitfalls that you should avoid. You will leave the session with skills, next steps, and resources to build your vocal capabilities and the confidence to transforming your voice into eLearning characters ... and even narrators!

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create the most ideal environment for voiceover recording
• Proper microphone placement and techniques to maximize clarity and minimize artifacts
• The proper way to set your input levels
• How to prepare your mind and voice for a recording session

Audience:
Intermediate developers, project managers, and managers, preferably with some experience recording voice audio into an eLearning authoring tool (e.g. Captivate or Storyline) and/or digital audio workstation (DAW) software (e.g. Audacity or Audition).

Technology discussed in this session:
Studio microphones (condenser and dynamic) and accessories. Digital audio workstation software for recording, editing, and postproduction. Audio preprocessing, including compressors, de-essers, equalizers, and gating.

So often, in our day-to-day professional existence, we are bombarded with problems, tasks, and situations that require our attention, all the while neglecting the problem solver—that’s you and me. We seldom recharge our professional batteries and, as such, burn out or become uninspired. We’ve become professional hermits, to an extent, and need an outlet to help us maintain our spark, drive, and creativity.

Through a personal account you will learn the true meaning, nature, and purpose of professional affiliation. This story will illustrate the rich benefits of being a member of a professional organization. In the session you will collaborate in small groups to discuss a personal story from a previous conference, or goal from this one, that relates back to one of the five main benefits. This session will reinvigorate you in professional affiliation, you’ll learn the true upsides to taking time out of your schedule to attend and share, and you’ll realize you are not the only ones experiencing the roadblocks.

In this session, you will learn:

• The common misconceptions centered around professional affiliation, conferences, etc.
• The true nature of professional organizations and how they can benefit you
• The central role networking can play, both personally and professionally, for you as a member of a professional organization
• The role personal development plays in professional growth

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

Due to distance and lack of resources, in-person classroom sessions were not possible for every client who needed to learn Altair Engineering’s software. Its clients did not always want to wait for scheduled classes, so Altair needed to deliver content to them to their desktops in a quick and effective manner at their time of need, not when and where the training schedule dictated. 

As companies reduce travel budgets more and more, companies are looking to online delivery of training material. With that change, instructional designers need to transition instructor-led material into functional eLearning modules. In this case study session, you will learn the successes and failures Altair Engineering encountered as an organization in making the transition to eLearning. You’ll learn how it used content from its instructor-led classes as the basis for its eLearning modules and how it made the content more interactive for the learners. You’ll also learn about the combination of tools they used to create and deploy the learning modules. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to transition from instructor-led training to eLearning
• Successful actions taken to make the transition
• How to plan and build interactions during content conversion
• Common pitfalls and ways to avoid them 

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

Technology discussed in this session:
HTML, Adobe eLearning Suite.

In recent years, learning has moved closer to the workplace. Classrooms have moved out of corporate learning centers and into training rooms co-located with offices. Online learning is delivered directly to the desktop more than ever before. The next challenge is to move learning directly into the workflow. To do this, we need to move beyond course delivery and into a broader, more comprehensive, and strategic approach that focuses not just on learning, but on performance and productivity.

In this session, you will learn the six key components of a learning and performance ecosystem and see examples of how they can be applied in dozens of combinations to create learning and performance solutions. You will work through a sample scenario with your peers to analyze a problem and brainstorm a multifaceted solution that takes full advantage of the learning and performance ecosystem. You will learn a practical approach to getting started with learning and performance ecosystem solution design.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to describe a learning and performance ecosystem
• How to identify an opportunity for an ecosystem solution
• How to work with stakeholders and experts to define and prioritize factors that contribute to the problem
• How to identify the best way to measure success
• How to identify ecosystem components available to you
• How to apply components to create a solution

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Building an eLearning course that works across all devices (desktop, phone, tablet, etc.) and scales and adjusts accordingly is no small undertaking. However with the right tools, templates, and processes in place you can successfully build responsively to develop eLearning that works and looks good on all devices.

In this session you will learn what responsive design is and how it can help you deliver eLearning to various devices. You will learn how using frameworks like bootstrap and a simple HTML editor tool can help you create eLearning courses that automatically size and adjust content based on the device being used to view them. We will also take a quick look at responsive features in authoring tools like Captivate 8 and Articulate Storyline 2/Presenter '13 that can help make developing responsive eLearning courses even easier.

In this session, you will learn:

• What is meant by responsive design
• How responsive design can help deliver eLearning across multiple devices
• Available framework templates to help build, design, and develop responsive-design eLearning
• Using HTML editors to create the course
• How authoring tools like Adobe Captivate, Articulate Storyline, and Articulate Presenter handle responsive design

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers with a general knowledge of HTML programming.

Technology discussed in this session:
Bootstrap and an HTML editor (e.g., Dreamweaver), Adobe Captivate 8, Articulate Presenter.

Virtual-classroom platforms are not new. In fact, there are probably people in your organization using these platforms right now for training, webinars, and meetings. But are you ready to make an organization-wide move to give up face-to-face classrooms for virtual ones, or is the prospect too daunting?

Now is the time to consider virtual-classroom platforms. Travel is more expensive, information is changing more quickly, workers are more tech savvy, hardware and networks are much better than they were just five years ago, and modern platforms such as Adobe Connect provide state-of-the-art virtual environments for engaging learners, wherever those learners might be. However, moving your classrooms online requires careful consideration and planning. It’s not free, and it’s definitely not simple. Drawing on over two decades of combined experience helping organizations successfully adopt and manage virtual-classroom platforms, Karen and Chris will discuss with you the questions and answers you need to successfully implement virtual classrooms that provide as good as or better training than face-to-face ones.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to maximize the advantages of and overcome the objections to virtual classrooms
• Important considerations for your team, including your trainers, your designers and developers, your learners, and your support staff
• Key elements of a rock-solid implementation plan for virtual classrooms
• About real-life case studies of organizations that successfully moved from face-to-face to virtual classrooms

Audience:
Training managers, project managers, trainers, designers, developers, and managers.

It’s no secret that most, if not all, of us are facing an ever-increasing need to provide more and more training on complex products, regulatory issues, advanced application processes, and the like. The question is: How do we continue to offer training that keeps our learners engaged in an environment of stagnated training budgets and headcount reductions?

In this session, you will explore a real-life case study of a piloted user-generated content (UGC) initiative. You will walk, step by step, through how subject matter experts were enabled to easily create informal but highly engaging video-based content entirely on their own. Finally, you will learn how UBS was able to integrate that content within their social networking platform, making it easily accessible and searchable for all employees.

In this session, you will learn:

• How your firm can leverage subject matter expert (SME) UGC
• How to implement an SME UGC model
• How to leverage your social media platform to deploy SME-generated content
• The tools and processes you can use for SME-generated content
• Best practices and lessons learned in starting a UGC project in your firm

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Replay, Jive.

There are several methodologies that can be employed in training development projects, but when time, cost, and quality are not negotiable, an agile development approach may be ideal. Dairy Queen recently introduced a brand-new product line to its 6,500+ franchise organization. In preparation for this momentous rollout, Dairy Queen needed to create an interactive training program to quickly prepare thousands of franchisees and their crew on the sales and operations of an entirely new product platform for worldwide delivery.

In this case study session you will learn how the Successive Approximation Model (SAM) was used to analyze behavioral and performance needs and design effective and intuitive learning templates. You will also see how Dairy Queen progressed through this agile process, beginning with brainstorming sessions, iterative functional prototype reviews, and the development and review cycles of new product eLearning courses. Additionally, the needs for localization and delivery methods required for a global market will be discussed.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to follow an agile development approach for rapid, flexible, and effective solutions
• To design effective sales and operational interactions for global, front-line employees
• Best practices for developing a localization strategy for agile development projects
• To employ reusable learning objects/templates that allow for constant, rapid changes and still support localization
• How to create offline, executable (CD/DVD-based) instances of a web-based learning solution

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

Technology discussed in this session:
ZebraZapps, Node Webkit, PC/Mac.

As technology changes the way we live our day-to-day lives, it is fascinating to imagine what the future will bring. As a learning and development professional, however, it’s very hard to keep up the pace. What technology will be trending and will change the way we live and learn, and what technology will be nothing but hype? Will augmented reality really disrupt our learning? And how about virtual reality and wearable tech? And, more importantly, will we ever be able to afford those technologies as learning supporting tools?

During this session, we will discuss some of the latest technologies by exploring some really cool free or inexpensive tools and apps that can be used as learning amplifiers. Those tools and apps could change the way L&D supports learning and can have an impact on your employees. You will leave being on top of the latest trends and technologies, and will see the benefits of adopting those tools as a verified learning partner.

In this session, you will learn:

• The latest tech trends for learning
• Ten free or inexpensive tools
• The benefits of technology for performance
• How to embrace technology as a learning partner

Audience:
Novice developers, project managers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Wearable tech, augmented reality, virtual reality.

The number of freelance workers is expected to grow to more than 50 percent of America’s workforce in the next decade. An urgency has arisen to define, create, and articulate credentials that document alternative learning experiences and directly correlate with the skills required in the project-based job market. How can employers determine which soloists have the capabilities and experience that the work demands? And how can soloists showcase their capabilities and achievements so potential employers can reliably identify them?

In this session you will learn about alternative credentials where digital badges promise a level of transparency and verification that will remove some of the friction in the emerging labor market. Discover how IBM, Microsoft, and other organizations use digital badges to motivate, track, and recognize a variety of learning outcomes. You will come away from this session understanding how and why to incorporate digital badges in your own learning and development programs.

In this session, you will learn:

• The importance of creating learning experiences that clearly align with in-demand labor market skills and how badges can serve as an infrastructure for doing so
• How to identify badges that support new solo worker models and those that do not
• How corporations, certification, training programs, and community colleges are using badges to create an unrivaled transparency of skills

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

Medical education in North America is taught in a decentralized manner with in-class coursework delivered in small blocks and students gaining learning experiences in hospitals and other institutions outside of the university. Medical schools need a way to capture and analyze these experiences to get a true picture of a student’s readiness to treat patients. Furthermore, learning requirements are set to change for medical residents from set-year programs to a competency-based model. Current LMSs alone aren’t able to tie outside experiences to competencies.

In this session, you will learn about the resources, logistical issues, and planning that were required to implement the Experience API (xAPI) and a learning record store (LRS) in an effort to reach specific desired outcomes at uOttawa. You will learn how uOttawa leveraged an LRS to capture the data from a content management system (CMS) with a combination of HTML and rapid authored content and then designed advanced reporting functions not found in other tools on the market. Additionally, you will review the future expansion plans and vision that the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine has for the xAPI in medical education.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to gain access to data and insights not possible before
• About the resources and expertise required for a successful xAPI implementation
• About the risks and challenges of implementing the xAPI
• The benefits of conscientious design and planning for capturing data in a purposeful manner

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Learning record store, analytics, content management system, connected devices, Experience API

We use eLearning and other technology platforms because they are cost effective, easily accessible, provide a consistent learner experience, and increase our geographical reach. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to lose the human connection that is so critical to the engagement of employees and learners.

In this case study session, you will learn about the design and development of leadership and professional development programs at the Spectrum Health University and get several tips and tricks to keep your content personable. You'll also discover how the organization stays “high touch” with participants through its roles, social collaborative platform, and learning experiences—a collection of instructor-led classes, eLearning modules, and online discussions. You will leave this session with insight into how to engage employees through a personal approach and take back some practical measures that can easily be incorporated in your organization.

In this session, you will learn:

• How dedicating a role focused on relationships can impact participant engagement
• How to leverage available technologies to help you be more personable
• Why you should establish a brand for your department
• The importance of utilizing your own people (employees) as faculty and/or facilitators

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Social collaborative platform (Jive), eLearning development tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Lectora, Articulate Storyline), iPads, GPS units, cameras.

Most designers and developers strive for continuous improvement in the quality and effectiveness of eLearning programs. However, measuring the success and failure of eLearning is often an afterthought. Worse, the metrics used to measure effectiveness send false messages that lead a person to think the eLearning is more effective than it actually is. This is unfortunate because eLearning offers more measurement options than traditional classroom training.

In this session you will learn what learning science reveals about measuring the learning results inherent in eLearning. You will discover common mistakes to avoid and methods for improving your eLearning results. By utilizing these research-inspired methods, you will be able to create cycles of continuous improvement.

In this session, you will learn:

• What research-based findings mean for measurement design
• The three most common biases in measuring learning
• Unique opportunities for eLearning measurement
• What learning science reveals about measurement

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

We have all experienced huge courses, documents, and texts that are barely manageable by the instructional designer. In fact, much of how we design courses and documents makes it impossible for an employee to find the one piece of information they need at the time they need it. Since content is so dense, it makes finding meaningful information difficult, and it makes tracking anything useful in it even more difficult.

In this session you will explore the big picture of what technology is capable of today. You will dive into practices that will extend the lifespan and reduce the headache of how we create and manage content. You will learn tips on how to create content that is easier to track, can be used in many different areas (including mobile), and helps to populate more meaningful reports, both for management and the designers. You will discuss the value that content management systems and learning record stores play in forward-looking technology infrastructures.

In this session, you will learn:

• How today’s technologies make creating content easier and more effective for designers
• How today’s technologies make accessing content easier and more effective for workers
• How you need to structure content so that it works on all devices
• Why the LMS alone isn’t the backbone of your technology infrastructure

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

Technology discussed in this session:
LMS, CMS, LRS, the xAPI.

Learners are more likely to persist online if engaged in their courses and the educational experience is personalized. Personalized e/mLearning communicates a supportive, nurturing, and respectful learning environment. Branding allows you to tailor the experience and speak to the learners; however, doing so effectively and consistently can be tricky. 

In this hands-on session, you will learn to develop an agency brand by building an effective template that is professional and consistent. You will explore the concept of Master Slides and how to apply them in your Captivate projects, as well as learn how to navigate the Object Style Manager. 

In this session, you will learn:

• How to build a template in Captivate
• How to use Themes
• How to use Master Slides
• How to use the Object Style Manager 

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers with basic Adobe Captivate skills. 

Technology discussed in this session:
Current version of Captivate.

How can creating storyboards online change your writing and review process? What online spreadsheets can help you track open issues? Can you track project time online to help you better estimate projects in the future? What scheduling tools are available? These are just some of the questions we’ll address in this hands-on session. You’ll get to try out a number of online tools (some free, some fee-based) to help you better manage your eLearning development projects. You’ll walk away not only with valuable perspective on what these specific tools can do, but also with an understanding of key features you can look for and use in other tools. 

Whether you have project management experience or not, this session will help you to better manage the information you need to run your eLearning production effectively.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to use Google Docs for storyboard editing
• How to use Google Sheets for creating issues tracking lists
• How to use MyHours for tracking time
• How to use SmartSheet for creating Gantt charts

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Google Drive, MyHours, SmartSheet.

Training employees and clients is an ongoing challenge. People are busy. Training is expensive, time consuming and usually pretty boring. Athenahealth has a wide range of clients, from physicians and nurses, to front desk staff, and medical billers. Their schedules are chaotic, they have little time to train, and their focus is on doing what they do best, helping patients. The challenge was in moving from an eLearning-heavy approach to a more context-based, hands-on, just-in-time one to meet the needs of learners in this complex environment.

In this case-study session, you will learn about athenahealth’s transition from a traditional eLearning approach to a more responsive model that focuses on experiential learning and performance support. You will see the changes made in the development process, the implementation of new technologies, improved client access to support resources, and updates to the content and LMS. You will explore both the successes and failures in their efforts to become the perfect waiter, ready to help the moment you need them, but invisible when you don’t.

In this session, you will learn:

• How athenahealth successfully transitioned to a performance focused training and support model
• How experiential learning should be the focus of your training efforts
• The importance of providing support in the moment of need
• Understanding how you can apply the changes athenahealth put in place to your own training challenges

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Kenexa/IBM LCMS, WalkMe, Assima Learning Suite, Jive, Cornerstone LMS, and Adobe Captivate.

Why do people spend hours learning how to master new levels in their favorite games? The answer to this question, and the ability to harness some of that excitement and magic for workplace learning, is why there is growing interest in games for learning.

In this session you will learn how and why you might design a game to teach workplace topics. The session takes you on a journey through several levels, in which you will learn the surprising facts about who plays games, the principles of design for games with purpose, the types of games that work best for different purposes, and tips for success.

In this session, you will learn:

• Who plays games today
• The principles behind games with purpose
• Why games with purpose can make such powerful learning tools
• What sort of games other organizations are commissioning

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Games will be demoed and discussed on PCs, smartphones, and tablets. Also discussed is the potential of various other virtual reality games powered by devices such as the Oculus Rift.

“Blended learning” is the ubiquitous term for the use of a variety of instructional delivery media to achieve a particular outcome. But what guides the decisions about what to put in the blender? How do you know when to use the various mediums, approaches, and technologies? This session will provide you the techniques and tools to assist in matching content to the delivery tools. You will learn about the research on the factors that influence media selection for a blended learning design. This session will provide a criterion to help you make the best decision about your delivery methodology.

jQuery Mobile is an HTML5-based user interface system designed to make responsive learning support apps that are accessible on all smartphone, tablet, and desktop devices. In this session you will explore jQuery Mobile and how it allows you to build custom mobile applications. These applications are perfect for just-in-time learning support material that not only takes advantage of modern web technology, but simplifies development for mobile without having to do heavy amounts of coding.

You’re making an eLearning lesson. You need some voiceover, but you don’t have the budget to hire a voiceover artist. Your boss told you to record the lesson yourself. You know you have to do it. What do you do? In this session you will learn the 10 best things to ensure you can make a good recording—such things as basic editing techniques, how to make recordings with little equipment, and how to speak. By the end of the session you’ll know what it takes to record, and how to record your own voice professionally.

Agile is more than a project management method; it’s a culture. It’s all about communication, communication, getting results, and communication. Agile methodology solves many of the sticking points with the old waterfall-based approaches to projects. In this session you will take a dive deep into cases that show how agile changes an organization’s culture and how to bring that change about.

We are experiencing a formidable change in human history, where technology moves from becoming a physical aid, even cognitive extension, to enhancing human performance. We are on the verge of something very big and very powerful, where machines trump man. In this session we will explore topics such as artificial general intelligence (AI) and the search for universal learning algorithms. You will see how through adaptive learning, online learning will deliver intelligent, responsive learning experience. You will learn how the inevitability of techniques used by the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix are being used in online learning.

Changing economic situations and ever-changing technology calls for skill sets that can create challenges for organizations in meeting their short- and long-term objectives. Organizations have two choices when faced with a skills gap: They can recruit new talent with the necessary specialized skills, or they can provide the necessary training to current employees at a much lower cost. This talk will provide examples of how to get the most from your learning systems and meet the ever-changing environment all organizations are facing today.

The only way to scale experiential training online is through social learning. But most designers are going about “social” the wrong way. Bolting on social elements, like discussion forums and social media, won’t improve the pedagogy or learning experience. Social learning requires a feeling of social obligation that arises when learners are connected and beholden to each other. In this session, we’ll cover research by three Stanford professors and data from dozens of corporate training programs to discuss best practices for leveraging felt accountability to drive high engagement and positive learning outcomes.

XanEdu’s Nimble Platform helps you breathe new life into your existing training and reference materials. This cloud-based platform allows you to assemble, manage, and distribute your training materials without having to re-author. XanEdu allows your learners the flexibility to consume training materials in mobile, web, and print—whichever they prefer. When your instructor-led training sessions are over, it's important to know that your content will be available when and where your learners need it most, and that you can measure their engagement to prove the ROI of your training investments. If your current materials are trapped in printed binders or if you’re just distributing PDFs, XanEdu’s Nimble Platform can unlock its potential and allows you to maintain control.

The modern business world is becoming faster and more complex than ever before, and with the addition of a whole new generation into the workplace, our learning solutions need to change too.

LEO is focused on how we can design, build, and implement solutions that blend today’s technology and that align with the expectations of this changing demographic. Global organizations need to understand how to create blended solutions to address the way our learners of today and tomorrow actually want to learn.

With a unique combination of the 70:20:10 framework, InfoPro Learning has blended technology into formal, peer, and on-the-job training to create a learning model that has proven to maximize business performance for sales, customer support, onboarding, and several other key job functions. Join us as InfoPro Learning’s chief learning strategist walks you through this performance-driven learning approach so that you can walk away with the knowledge needed to create learning solutions that result in the largest return for your company. 

eLearning designers are often faced with complex training topics that are difficult to deliver concisely. The results are lengthy courses that are counter to the needs of today’s learners, who need to be extremely efficient with their time. To deliver learning to this audience means being very concise in both content and course design, while still having impact and not sacrificing instructional integrity.

In this session you will learn a practical strategy for keeping learning concise while remaining impactful, engaging and retaining its intent. You will engage realistic examples of how measures have been effectively implemented during four stages of the instructional design process: 1. Identify appropriate learning objectives and exclude the extraneous objectives. 2. Manage stakeholder, subject matter expert (SME), and design team expectations. 3. Prioritize content into levels of must know, good to know, and nice to know. 4. Streamline the content, language, and course interface.

In this session, you will learn:

• A design process that ensures concise but effective eLearning
• How to get SMEs and your team on board with creating concise courses
• How to efficiently prioritize and manage learning content
• How to streamline the content, language, and course interface
• How to use learning assets to succinctly deliver content (e.g., interactions, games, visuals, analogies, infographics, etc.)

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

One of the major challenges facing organizations is getting the balance between formal and informal right. Capitalizing on the benefits of social learning requires the right environment to facilitate it. The most successful communities have clarity of purpose, support from wider stakeholders, an engaged hub of participants, and a skilled facilitator to nurture it. For anyone interested in creating a sustainable and effective social learning strategy for their organization, understanding the benefits of a community approach and the right balance between structure and exploration is key.

In this session you will learn what makes a successful community and how to design, plan, and nurture communities. You’ll see real case studies on how a combined approach of formal and informal learning has been used to great effect in a range of organizations. You will analyze a case study from IPG Mediabrands on how to successfully blend communities and formal learning programs. You’ll take part in the first stages of a community planning workshop and you will leave the session with supporting materials to assist you in the first steps of community creation.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to design and nurture effective communities
• How to improve the effectiveness of formal learning through communities
• How leading organizations have used communities as part of the learning ecosystem
• Why communities have truly come of age and why today’s learning ecosystem makes communities more relevant than ever
• How to curate from communities to enhance formal learning programs

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
SharePoint, Yammer, Salesforce Chatter, Ning, Pathway LMS, and Learning Portals.

As learning practitioners, we strive to understand the real life environment of experts as much as possible. But getting access to really see how they do their jobs when they are in a more technical or hands-on role (i.e., construction, refinery, factory) is difficult. Many times we can’t get access to use video or real-life images because of safety or clearance constraints. This poses a challenge as we try to create impactful learning materials.

In this session you will see how we can now equip subject matter experts with a GoPro camera that they can wear on their chests or hard hats and control it from our phones or tablets. You will see what it looks like within their environment and capture it in the form of a video to put into a course or as easy-access performance support. This session will show you how to quickly set up and use the device. You will learn how to help leadership understand the viability of this technology and set a strategy for success.

In this session, you will learn:

• How a GoPro can become another tool in your development toolbox
• How to discuss this as a viable option with a client (or a manager) and set a strategy for success
• How easy it is to set-up and learn how to use it
• Tips and best practices for success

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

Technology discussed in this session:
GoPro, iPad, and iPhone.

Questions about mobile and social learning can often take the conversation in the wrong direction, ones about issues of screen real estate, for example, rather than the more important questions about learner experience or if mobile is even the appropriate approach. Mobile, coupled with social media, provides a rich resource for informal learning outside of the classroom, as well as supplemental learning within the classroom. 

In this session, you will see how to better ensure learning occurs during your events and continues afterward. You will gain a better understanding of how to incorporate social media tools and networks into a virtual learning experience to accomplish formal and informal learning. And finally, you will be able to identify why, when, and how participants will be using the mobile virtual classroom. 

In this session, you will learn:

• To identify why, when, and how participants will be utilizing the mobile virtual classroom
• How to apply design strategies that maximize the live, mobile environment
• How to incorporate social media tools and networks into a virtual learning experience to accomplish formal and informal learning
• How to integrate social media into virtual classroom design during live sessions and in between live sessions 

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers, ideally with two or more years of experience designing, delivering, and promoting virtual training within their organizations. 

Technology discussed in this session:
Virtual Classroom.

You’re all excited about the promise of an Experience API-enabled world, but you’ve still got a learning management system (LMS) and a whole host of SCORM-based courses. Now what? In most cases, you’ll need to manage the transition—read: republish your library for the Experience API (xAPI)—over the months and years to come. But what if you could get the most out of both an LMS and a learning record store (LRS) at the same time as you move to your next-generation learning-and-performance infrastructure?

In this session, you will learn what to do with xAPI statements. You’ll discover how an LRS is different from—and similar to—the LMS you already have. You’ll review your options when it comes to LRSs and how LRSs can work (and can’t work) with your LMS. You’ll also learn the considerations to keep in mind when looking for an LRS, get a list of key questions to ask when selecting an LRS for your environment, and gain insights into both the learning and infrastructure aspects of xAPI from early adopters.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify the benefits of an LRS, both in contrast to and in combination with your LMS
• How to choose from among three types of LRS options
• About potential options for your next-generation learning-and-performance infrastructure
• What key questions to ask potential LRS vendors to narrow your search

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced managers, directors, and VPs with a basic knowledge of xAPI and LMS capabilities.

Technology discussed in this session:
xAPI, LMS, LRS

If you work in L&D, chances are you use design assets (like photos, drawings, icons, and fonts) all the time. And if you don’t have a graphic design background, chances are you’re paying someone else to make these design assets for you. Professional designers and stock photos are fantastic resources, and ones I’d never want to get rid of, but sometimes what you need is a DIY solution that’s fast, free, or even better: both.

In this session you’ll learn about some amazing tools that will give a design boost to the skills of even the least experienced designer. Want to know what amazing drawing tool you already have on your computer? What app can magically correct your messy and scribbly drawing lines? Always wondered how some people can take amazing photos on their smart phones, but yours always look a little off? Ever wanted to create your own font in just a few minutes? This session will help you learn more about the assets you can actually create yourself, something many non-designers assume they just don’t have the ability to do.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create your own basic drawings and icons
• How to use a few simple tips for improving the quality of your photographs
• How to leverage easy apps and software to create quick graphics
• How to create your own font

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Paper by FiftyThree, Camera+, iFontMaker, and Microsoft PowerPoint.

Although the world of web design has evolved and rapidly leveraged open-source technologies to build new experiences, many eLearning instructional designers and developers have limited themselves to rapid eLearning tools such as Captivate and Storyline. But what is possible when we go beyond our usual toolsets?

In this session, you will learn how to go beyond the basics and truly leverage HTML5 and open source to build eLearning courses that are both mobile and responsive for desktops, tablets, and phones. You will learn how to avoid the common pitfalls found in mobile design. In this session, you will learn how Facebook was able to use the open-source Adapt framework to build an eLearning program that is accessible on any device and in multiple languages.

In this session, you will learn:

• Mobile responsive design for eLearning
• The power of the Adapt framework
• SCORM in the mobile age
• Pitfalls to watch out for in mobile design

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Adapt Framework, mobile responsive design, HTML5 templates.

Infographics powerfully convey content in a visual and readily understandable manner. However, as appealing as they often are, learners often spend only a brief time viewing them before moving on. Are there ways to increase an infographic’s “stickiness,” or its effectiveness to make the content better understood and retained by the learner?

In this session you will learn various techniques and designs to add interactivity and engagement to infographics. You will be able to explore various page layouts, categories of interactives, and deconstruct how several examples were developed and produced. You’ll also have the opportunity to investigate the pedagogy and brain-based research that support the use of interactive infographics. This session will give you the techniques and access to multiple templates to quickly implement interactive infographics into eLearning courses, presentations, and web-based content. Templates will be available in Articulate Storyline, Lectora Inspire, and Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.

In this session, you will learn:

• Adult learning and brain-based theories that support interactive infographics
• The best designs for infographics and interactive infographics
• How to create interactive infographics using various platforms (Articulate Storyline, Lectora Inspire, and Microsoft PowerPoint)
• How to access and use various interactive infographics templates so you can create your own

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers, developers, project managers, and managers with a working knowledge of at least one of the authoring platforms (Articulate Storyline, Lectora Inspire, and Microsoft PowerPoint or Excel).

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline, Lectora Inspire, Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Adobe CS (Illustrator).

The importance of social factors in learning are well established. But knowing how to best influence and impact these factors remains something of a mystery to most organizations. A number of thought-leaders have suggested you can’t do much of anything to impact social learning in the workplace. They are wrong. You can design social learning opportunities and measure their impact. Drawing on research, and from our experiences of working with some of the leading organizations in the world, we’ve developed our own social-learning playbook. Now we invite you to develop your own, based on the framework we provide.

In this session you will develop your playbook on how to make the most of the opportunities social learning provides. Punctuated by insights from real-world studies and supported by learning data, you will gain a series of insights to help you with the successful design and deployment of social learning and enable you to proceed with confidence and direction.

In this session, you will learn:

• What makes for effective social-learning experiences
• The asynchronous and real-time design techniques used to facilitate social learning
• Applicable design techniques for your situation
• How to use data to prove the impact you are having

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced managers and directors with some background in the notion of social learning and/or the 70/20/10 framework. Even better … you’ve tried to develop a more social-learning experience of your own.

Technology discussed in this session:
Common social-learning tools by way of example such as Yammer, SharePoint, or Jive. However, this session is more a tactical exercise than a technical demonstration. The tools you use are likely to be the ones at your disposal.

It’s hard enough to get learners to engage with the content of your eLearning course. The issue is compounded even further when learners can’t figure out how to use the course in the first place. All too often, new eLearning designers put their focus solely into designing the learning content, while at the same time ignoring the interface it’s encapsulated in. This leads to confusion on the part of the learner and disrupts the learning process.

In this session, you will explore five simple rules for designing an eLearning user interface that promotes engagement, interaction, and learning. Using real-life examples, you will explore demonstrations of simple interface changes that removed visual distraction and redundancy. eLearning designers looking to improve their courses by removing user interface distraction and promoting intuitive action by the learner will learn five rules for designing effective user interfaces.

In this session, you will learn:

• How bad user interface decisions distract from the learning process
• Five rules for designing effective eLearning user interfaces
• How to visually distinguish interactive elements from your course content
• How to promote intuitive action by the user through visual cues

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Articulate Storyline, Articulate Studio.

Often the idea of using instructional games is met with stiff resistance by project stakeholders and the organization’s leadership: “We don’t want our employees playing games! We are a serious organization with serious work to do!” So how do you design instructionally effective games for the workplace and gain buy-in from stakeholders and leadership in your organization?

In this session, you will be introduced to methods for designing effective games and getting them taken seriously by shifting the focus of game design from the game interface (the look and feel of a game) to the game’s mechanics. You will get a close look at the complex world of game mechanics, explore how to leverage these mechanics in instructional game design, and give real-world examples of how to use this approach to create effective instructional games that are taken seriously within serious organizations.

In this session, you will learn:

• About the wide range of mechanics found in games
• How to leverage game mechanics to design instructional games
• About real-world examples of games used effectively, even in reluctant organizations
• How to play and analyze games for transfer of essential mechanics to your instructional games

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

A number of myths persist about people’s allegedly ever-shortening attention spans—but what does the science say? Neuroscience, behavioral economics, and consumer psychology all offer insights into how we manage and allocate attention. Additionally, our ability to manage attention and focus seems to be related to our abilities to allocate willpower and influence how we make decisions.

In this session you will learn what the current science says about how attention, willpower, and decision-making interact, and how that influences the design of eLearning environments. Having a deeper understanding of this topic will help you create more engaging and effective learning solutions.

In this session, you will learn:

• How cognitive load and glucose usage influence willpower
• How we allocate and manage attention
• How to engage learners’ attention and manage distraction
• How to use the principles of willpower, attention, and decision-making to create better eLearning

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

Intellectual property law affects every stage of the development process. Yet, it is daunting and complex. Trying to gain a working knowledge can be overwhelming. As a result, decision making is rooted in ignorance, fear, or frustration, none of which contributes to project goals. The continuing struggle to quickly develop content may lead you to infringe on someone else’s work, expose your work to an unpleasant legal action, or miss out on using free media to enhance your projects.

In this session, you will learn about copyright essentials through an entertaining snapshot of the law and recent cases. Learn how to apply legal concepts such as the fair use doctrine to everyday scenarios. You’ll become more confident finding sites that offer public domain, Creative Commons, and open access–licensed works. Developing an applied understanding of copyright law and learning how to find media you can use will help you become more productive and focused as you maximize your financial and creative resources.

In this session, you will learn:

• Copyright and fair use basics
• Which recent court cases are interesting and important
• How to find online media you can use
• About Creative Commons licenses and which are most accommodating
• How to correctly attribute media you use

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

Technology discussed in this session:
API for Creative Commons licenses and plugins for proper attribution of work.

From the first desktop PCs to today’s cutting-edge smartphones, technology has a history of fundamentally changing the expectations of learning and development programs. We are now on the cusp of another technological advance, one that will once again change some of our definitions and how we address performance issues: wearable technology. This technology will come in various forms, but the one that many expect to serve as a quantum leap forward is Apple Watch.

In this session, you will learn about Apple Watch from an early adopter who is viewing the device through the lens of learning and performance. You will learn what Apple Watch is, how it works, and what the experience of using it is like. You will explore the many different ways that Apple Watch can be used for learning and performance improvement. In this session, you will discover the possibilities that are being opened by this new and exciting technology, and how those possibilities are once again redefining the expectations of learning and performance programs.

In this session, you will learn:

• What Apple Watch is, what it isn’t, and what it can do
• What the Apple Watch experience is like for the user
• How people react to Apple Watch
• What doors Apple Watch opens up for learning and performance
• How people are already using Apple Watch for learning and performance support today

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

Technology discussed in this session:
Apple Watch, mobile phones.

eLearning developers are often challenged with making learning more interesting or interactive. Games provide an opportunity to meet both needs. You’ve read the research on their impact and you know that games have been useful learning tools through all the stages of life, but building games in eLearning has been a challenge for those who do not know how to program.

In this session you will learn the process for designing and building simple learning games using Articulate Storyline 2. Starting with a simple framework, you’ll leverage some key elements such as Variables and randomization. You will leave this session knowing how to design and build your own learning games without needing programming skills!

In this session, you will learn:

• How to create a framework of a simple game
• How to create randomization
• Whether Variables are needed for a particular effect
• To decide which Variables work best in different situations

Audience:
Intermediate and advanced designers and developers who are very comfortable with the basics of Storyline. Participants should be able navigate around the interface quickly and easily. Some experience with Variables and Conditions is helpful.

Technology discussed in this session:
Storyline 2.

Participant technology requirements:
A PC or Mac running Windows Storyline 2.

Adobe Presenter works perfectly in some situations and not others. Knowing when to use a particular tool is half the battle. Adobe Presenter features many new possibilities for you to use it if the situation calls for it.

In this interactive session, you will learn how and when to use features like learner collaboration as a way to bring authentic conversation into your course module, speech to text and annotation to enable a personal video creation, and how to use the drag-and-drop interface to create meaningful and engaging interactions without any programming and right inside Microsoft PowerPoint. This session will focus on the best features of Adobe Presenter and give you the tips that make using Presenter a delight!

In this session, you will learn:

• When to use Adobe Presenter and when not to use it
• Which features in Adobe Presenter make your learning shine
• How to incorporate real interactivity into your learning
• How to balance what PowerPoint offers with the features of Presenter

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers and developers.

Technology discussed in this session:
Adobe Presenter.

Participant technology requirements:
Laptop with Adobe Presenter, licensed or trial version.

An intensive two-year study of 29 projects that were awarded funds to build digital badge systems in the 2012 Badges for Lifelong Learning competition revealed surprising results.

In this session you will get a deeper dive into the specific principles and practices learned for employing digital badges to recognize, assess, motivate, and study learning. You will learn how the most obvious principles for adding value to digital badges—associating them with formal credit and gaining external endorsement—turned out to be the most difficult to implement. You will learn how the most successful badges contained unique claims and evidence about learning, the impact of social and less informal learning, and the importance of “layering” into existing instructional content and web technology. You will explore value with connections to competency-based learning, stackable credentials, ePortfolios, and credit for prior learning.

In this session, you will learn:

• The contexts and practices in which open digital badges can be used most successfully to support learning
• To use the web-enabled resources from the Design Principles Documentation Project
• To use the web-enabled resources from the Open Badges in Higher Education project, including open case libraries and extended case studies to inform their own badge development efforts

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

There’s been a large amount of research in recent years exploring the value music has on the brain and learning. We’ve all experienced it in some way in our lives, be it from listening to music while learning or studying, learning something from a catchy song, or by learning to play an instrument.

In this session you will explore the many relationships between music and learning. You will examine and discuss how people learn to play an instrument—there will even be ukuleles available for some to participate hands-on—and what this might mean to learning in general. Using the introductory ukulele lesson as a framework, this fun session will help you explore the many ways that music impacts and enhances learning. (Ukuleles made available during this session will be donated to the Children’s Hospital of Nevada UMC after the conference.)

In this session, you will learn:

• How music enhances learning
• How people learn to play an instrument, and what that means to learning
• How music might enhance your practices
• How to play a ukulele!

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

Technology discussed in this session:
N/A

When delivering training, it is important to align training content and assessment with the overall goals or objectives. But how do you ensure that the content delivered is aligned to the objectives and that assessment of the learner actually means that they’ve met the objectives? In this session you will learn practical, step-by-step strategies for creating a training blueprint, mapping and writing assessments, and evaluating the material to ensure it meets the needs of the training. You will also gain access to templates and resources that you can use immediately.

Two of the most popular technologies used to engage learners today are video and mobile. Videos are becoming increasingly interactive—even on mobile devices—but developing these videos can be complex. Where does an organization start? In this session you will explore how organizations can apply interactive video on any modern device to create an impactful experience. You will see how one organization in particular is managing the challenges that only bleeding-edge technology can provide. You will also explore how video interactions can be tracked and correlated with performance data using xAPI to measure real business impact from training.