About Dr. David Guralnick

David Guralnick envisions a new approach to education and workplace learning. His vision integrates progressive learning theory, advanced technology, and creative, entertaining storytelling to create learning experiences that help people learn to think critically, reflect, and make thoughtful decisions. David holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the past 30 years, he has designed and evaluated a variety of simulation-based training applications, performance support systems, online courses, mobile applications, and authoring tools for corporate, non-profit, and university audiences.

David holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science/artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the course of his thirty years in online learning, he has designed and developed simulation-based training applications, electronic performance-support systems, and specialized authoring tools which allow non-technical people, such as writers and trainers, to build e-learning sites.

Among David’s most notable achievements are the creation of the first learn-by-doing simulation for corporate training purposes and the first authoring tool for a non-technical audience that was specific to e-learning. He has been the recipient of over 200 e-learning design awards, and his work has been featured in Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Training magazine (as an Editor's Choice). He has been a regular speaker at both industry and academic events since 1991. He is also the author of the recent book How Organizations Can Make the Most of Online Learning.

David is the current President and CEO of Kaleidoscope Learning. He is also the current president of the International E-Learning Association; founder and chair of The Learning Ideas Conference; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Advanced Corporate Learning; Chair of the International E-Learning Awards; and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Designing Learning Experiences with Humanoid Robots as Teaching Assistants

Ilona Buchem

Learning Experience Design for Human-Robot Interaction is a relatively new field of research and practice, especially when it comes to designing interaction with humanoid robots as teaching and learning assistants. Humanoid robots such as NAO and Pepper (developed by Softbank Robotics) afford multimodal interaction through speech, non-verbal sounds, visual pattern recognition, gestures, and touch. These robots can not only support learning through dialogue but can also be animated to move their heads, arms, hands, legs and entire bodies in space to create embodied learning experiences.

This talk will focus on a learning experience that was based around interactions with humanoid robots as teaching and learning assistants, and will cover the design process that was successfully used. This experience with humanoid robots was a virtual collaboration of students from Germany and Israel as part of the courses on Learning Design (Germany) and Human-Computer Interaction (Israel) in bachelor study programs at two cooperating universities. The virtual collaboration followed a project-based approach in which students worked in teams on designing learning experiences with humanoid robots to support learning and teaching.

The focus of the talk will be on the methods that were used to boost creativity in designing innovative scenarios for the application of humanoid robots as teaching and learning assistants following the principles and tools used in Learning Experience Design and Human Computer Interaction such as Ethnographic Research, Empathy Maps, LX Design Canvas and Use Case Diagrams, as well as methods from Design Thinking such as Ideation and methods applied to support sharing and collaboration in virtual teams including feedback loops and scaffolding.

About Dr. Ilona Buchem

As a Professor of Media and Communication at Berlin University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, Dr. Ilona Buchem teaches courses in bachelor’s and master’s programs, both on campus and online, including Digital Business (BSc.) and Media Informatics (MSc.).

Ilona Buchem has led a number of R&D projects dedicated to technology-enhanced learning, including Open Virtual Mobility (Erasmus+, Strategic Partnership, 2017 - 2020), Open Badge Network (Erasmus+, Strategic Partnership, 2014 - 2017), BeuthBonus and CreditPoints (Qualification Programs for Migrant Academics, German Federal Program "Integration through Qualification,” 2013 - 2020), and Digital Future (Digital Strategies for Higher Education, Stifterverband - German Association of Foundations for Science, 2015 - 2017), a Wikipedia-Diversity project in cooperation with Wikimedia Germany promoting gender mainstreaming in Wikipedia.

Dr. Buchem is the Chair of the EATEL Special Interest Group on Wearable Enhanced Learning, and is actively involved in some of the leading TEL organizations in Europe, including the European Association for Technology Enhanced Learning (EATEL), the European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN), and the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities (EADTU).

Artificially Creative: Generating Media via Artificial Intelligence in Creative Work

Simon Staffans

When documentary filmmaker Simon Staffans was unable to find the exact images he was searching for in order to depict the struggles of volunteer fighter pilots in the early phases in the second world war, there was only one place to go: the chaotic, panic-inducing and wonderful world of artificial intelligence.

With the creative world, from art to text to video to music, becoming increasingly influenced by the inexhaustibly productive powers of AI, this talk focuses on the creative uses of these new technologies. If we can look at AI helpers as tools and not as threats, where might that take us? Let's find out together!

About Simon Staffans

Simon Staffans is an award-winning creator and producer who currently holds the position of CEO of ReThink – New Media Solutions, a production and innovation company from Finland. Over a distinguished career spanning public service broadcasting and commercial media as well as academia he has created everything from TV shows and documentaries to corporate storytelling campaigns, from radio shows and social media strategies to online virtual experiences. He is the digital mentor for the Documentary Campus Masterschool and an expert with Creative Europe. He’s always intrigued by new possibilities and new tools with which to tell stories and engage and interact with audiences.

Using Neuroscientific Insights Drawn from Movie-Making to Improve Online Teaching and Help Students Make Motivational Shifts in Their Identity

A world of neuroscientific insight has evolved around research into how movies draw our attention and communicate their key elements. Yet this insight has only sparsely been applied to teaching online. This talk will describe mental models, neural schemas, and how good online teaching, informed by insights drawn by neuroscientists from the analysis of movies, allows the efficient transfer of ideas from teacher to student. Neuroscientific insights drawn from movie-making can also help us with one of education's foundational challenges: helping students make motivational shifts in their identity.

About Dr. Barbara Oakley

Barbara Oakley is a Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. Her work focuses on the complex relationship between neuroscience and social behavior. She created and teaches Coursera's "Learning How to Learn," one of the world's most popular massive open online course with over four million registered students, along with other popular courses that have made "Top MOOCs of All Time" lists. Barb is a New York Times best-selling author who has published in outlets as varied as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Her book A Mind for Numbers has sold over a million copies worldwide. She is a Fellow of both the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

About Dr. David Guralnick

David Guralnick envisions a new approach to education and workplace learning. His vision integrates progressive learning theory, advanced technology, and creative, entertaining storytelling to create learning experiences that help people learn to think critically, reflect, and make thoughtful decisions. David holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the past 30 years, he has designed and evaluated a variety of simulation-based training applications, performance support systems, online courses, mobile applications, and authoring tools for corporate, non-profit, and university audiences.

David holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science/artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the course of his thirty years in online learning, he has designed and developed simulation-based training applications, electronic performance-support systems, and specialized authoring tools which allow non-technical people, such as writers and trainers, to build e-learning sites.

Among David’s most notable achievements are the creation of the first learn-by-doing simulation for corporate training purposes and the first authoring tool for a non-technical audience that was specific to e-learning. He has been the recipient of over 200 e-learning design awards, and his work has been featured in Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Training magazine (as an Editor's Choice). He has been a regular speaker at both industry and academic events since 1991. He is also the author of the recent book How Organizations Can Make the Most of Online Learning.

David is the current President and CEO of Kaleidoscope Learning. He is also the current president of the International E-Learning Association; founder and chair of The Learning Ideas Conference; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Advanced Corporate Learning; Chair of the International E-Learning Awards; and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

About Gary Dickelman

Gary J. Dickelman is a senior thought leader, strategist, and solution provider in learning and performance, including eLearning/Training, Learning Management, Learning and Performance Analytics, Performance-Centered Solutions, and Knowledge Management. He creates learning and performance solutions that are efficient, maintainable, always up-to-date, and supportive of both the knowledge domain and organizational goals.

Engagements include implementing predictive analytics in learning and performance for global enterprises. Dickelman has directed, managed, and coached development and evaluation teams to produce global, world-class learning, performance, and knowledge solutions.

Mr. Dickelman is also a musician, performing arts teacher, and for the past 20 years a journalist for a global performing arts magazine.

Gary regularly contributes to industry articles and books, and has served as author/editor of industry journals. He has regularly presented at international conferences and has been an adjunct faculty member for graduate university programs in Educational Technology and Human Performance Engineering.

The 2023 presentation integrates two of Dickelman's lifelong passions and experience in workplace performance support and the performing arts.

About Dr. Antonella Poce

Dr. Antonella Poce currently holds the role of Full Professor in Experimental Pedagogy at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, where she directs INTELLECT (Centre for Research into Museum Education, Well-being and Teaching Technology). She is the Head of the one-year post-graduate courses "Heritage Education and Digital Technologies and "Museum Education: General Aspects," as well as the two-year post-graduate course "Advanced Studies in Museum Education." Dr. Poce coordinates national units within European project frameworks and she has been chairing international academic committees dealing with distance learning. She is the author of numerous publications of national and international relevance on the topics of innovation, assessment, and the use of technology in teaching and learning and in the context of heritage fruition.

Immersive Learning Environments: Finally Hitting the Plateau of Productivity?

In the wake of the pandemic shift to online teaching, a combination of learning management systems with web conferencing platforms and online collaboration tools has relatively quickly established itself as a quasi-standard in university teaching. Immersive learning environments and stunning virtual reality (VR) experiences are becoming more available overall, but their uses for learning have, so far, been limited.

This talk will explore several current immersive software environments, including Virbela, Mozilla Hubs, and AltspaceVR, and how these environments can be used for effective and enjoyable learning experiences. We'll discuss how to best select the right environment for your particular learning purposes and how to follow teaching and learning principles that are well-suited to immersive learning.

About Kai Erenli

Kai Erenli studied law at the University of Graz (Austria). He wrote his doctoral thesis about the legal aspects of open-source licensing and has a deep insight of IT-Law. He is a member of the board of it-law.at the Austrian network for IT-lawyers as well as of iLRN – the Immersive Learning Research Network. Kai spent much time in the multimedia-business as he was the Art Director of @vertising in Graz. Currently he is the study director of the Bachelor Program “Interactive Media & Games Business” at the University of Applied Sciences BFI Vienne. Since 2013 he also serves as “General Counsel” to a Vienna-based Animation Studio. Kai was awarded with the "ars docendi - Business & Law” prize (a State Prize awarded to outstanding lecturers) by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy.

Creating Meaningful and Memorable Experiences through Augmented Reality

Jen Haugan

With the ubiquity of the smartphone, AR has risen in popularity to become a booming global market, a unique new platform where audiences can interact with digital content in a variety of ways while remaining in their physical surroundings, heightening the potential for immersion and learning retention.

Yet, with brands and institutions looking to connect with new audiences, how do we harness this potential and transcend beyond sheer entertainment value, creating unique experiences that can educate and inspire?

This talk is intended for those with an interest in how AR can be used in more meaningful ways, with a focus on storytelling, gamification and interaction principles. Using key project examples, this talk will cover how this can be relevant both in a commercial and an educational context, and also lightly cover some of the available tools and frameworks required for building an AR experience. The audience should come away with useful knowledge on how to better incorporate interaction and storytelling into an AR experience, leading to a more meaningful user experience.

About Jen Haugan

Jen Haugan is a Creative Technologist who has spent nearly five years at Nexus Studios' Immersive division, bringing a multitude of award-winning AR experiences to life, including Civilisations AR, Big Bang AR and Notable Women. With a background spanning animation, graphic design and interactive installations, her focus and passion is in creating engaging story-led experiences using technology to enhance, rather than dictate the narrative.

Situated Creativity

Creativity can take so many forms, but when designing learning assets and experiences, the need to be creative must be tempered by a deep understanding of the learning context. Expressing creativity in design without violating the needs and wants of a learner can feel overly constrained, but context can actually lead to freedom. By incorporating new and fresh design ideas without violating the affordances and expectations of our learners, we as designers can enhance the learning experience. I'll discuss how we can leverage context to create situations and scenarios that resonate with our learners to maximizing outcomes. We'll unleash the creative potential by focusing on the learning through the lens of the users needs in order to create our best ever experiences!

About Dr. Alicia Sanchez

Dr. Alicia Sanchez is the Director of Innovation for the Department of Defense’s Defense Acquisition University, which serves over 180,000 enlisted and civilian personnel. Previously DAU’s Games Czar, Alicia deployed over 80 games and simulations into DAU’s curriculum while focusing on how people learn and how to position learning opportunities to yield learning results. Alicia is dedicated to the modernization of learning through the application of learning science, user-centered design and her pet studies in cognitive biases and memory.

Creative Uses of Video in Learning Experiences

Video, including actor scenarios and videos featuring subject matter experts (SMEs), can play a key role in a learning experience. Actor scenes can show realistic examples, ask learners to make decisions or interact with characters, and more.

Deciding when and how to make use of video in the design of a learning experience can be a challenge; scriptwriting for video scenes needs a mix of creativity and rigor, in order to both captivate learners’ attention and put them in a position to learn the key skills that are the focus of the experience.

In this session, we’ll explore factors that can help us produce creative, entertaining video clips that truly bring about learning; I’ll discuss a successful design and development process and show brief examples of actor and SME videos that have worked well.

About Dr. David Guralnick

David Guralnick envisions a new approach to education and workplace learning. His vision integrates progressive learning theory, advanced technology, and creative, entertaining storytelling to create learning experiences that help people learn to think critically, reflect, and make thoughtful decisions. David holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the past 30 years, he has designed and evaluated a variety of simulation-based training applications, performance support systems, online courses, mobile applications, and authoring tools for corporate, non-profit, and university audiences.

David holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science/artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the course of his thirty years in online learning, he has designed and developed simulation-based training applications, electronic performance-support systems, and specialized authoring tools which allow non-technical people, such as writers and trainers, to build e-learning sites.

Among David’s most notable achievements are the creation of the first learn-by-doing simulation for corporate training purposes and the first authoring tool for a non-technical audience that was specific to e-learning. He has been the recipient of over 200 e-learning design awards, and his work has been featured in Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Training magazine (as an Editor's Choice). He has been a regular speaker at both industry and academic events since 1991. He is also the author of the recent book How Organizations Can Make the Most of Online Learning.

David is the current President and CEO of Kaleidoscope Learning. He is also the current president of the International E-Learning Association; founder and chair of The Learning Ideas Conference; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Advanced Corporate Learning; Chair of the International E-Learning Awards; and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.

Facilitation With Ease: How We Create Confident Trainers that Engage Learners

When faced with the prospect of an outdated Train the Trainer program that garnered less than terrific feedback, along with a lack of skilled facilitators to deliver an ever-increasing catalog of classes, Carolyn Reyes and Gordon Lam were faced with a challenge: How to redesign a Facilitation Excellence program that equipped our facilitators to effectively engage learners and deliver their courses "with ease."

In this session, Carolyn Reyes and Gordon Lam will share how they cracked this problem by:

• Designing a training program,
• Incorporating an experiential design approach, and
• Launching a facilitator incentive program that grew to over 800 members in less than 12 months.

About the Speakers

A learning technologist by both trade and education, Gordon Lam’s interest and attention throughout his professional career has been focused on leveraging the latest in technology and evidence-based practice to create more engaging learning experiences. After getting his Master’s Degree in Educational Technology, Gordon spent a good part of his career consulting on the virtues of virtual training in healthcare, insurance, and finance, spending 10 years as Director of Digital Learning at UBS. He was lucky enough to come out of a major restructuring there to join EY in November of 2019 as a Virtual Classroom Facilitator and instructional Designer. And when he is not facilitating virtually, he’s facilitating in person; leading nature walks for the National Park Service in his current home of Queens, NY, and for the local nature organizations in Gordon’s soon to be new home of Hereford, in southeast AZ.

Carolyn Reyes began her career as a Certified Public Accountant in EY's Tax practice. After a decade servicing clients in the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications sector, she decided to make a career change, leveraging her lifelong passion for supporting others' learning by joining EY's Facilitator Excellence team, where she now serves as the team's program manager. In that role she not only manages the facilitator rewards and incentives program, but also gets to share her knowledge and expertise by delivering the firm’s Train the Trainer sessions. In the little spare time she has, Carolyn volunteers with Reading Partners, where she tutors elementary students to achieve grade-level reading abilities.

The Intersection

As we enter new worlds in learning design, jumping into the metaverse and creating immersive simulations and learning experiences, we often see an over-rotation to the technology solution at the expense of the creative design. In this specific case, you might think it’s enough just to have a training experience in XR, without putting enough thought into what actually happens there.

At Accenture, we have been pioneering the use of the metaverse in many arenas, and especially in employee onboarding, where we have onboarded nearly 180,000 new joiners with a metaverse-based experience. How do we make this an amazing experience that has employees talking…and also learning what we want them to learn.

In this session, we will dive into the balance of technology solutions and creative design, share what we have learned from our experience in the metaverse, and discuss practical tips for creating hyper-creative technology-based learning experiences that make an impact.

About Bob Gerard

Bob Gerard is a thirty-year-plus learning industry veteran who has held pretty much every role imaginable in the learning space at one time or another. Currently, Bob leads the Learning Ingenuity team within Accenture’s HR organization, which is essentially “research and development for how Accenture people learn better.” Bob is also the co-host of The Learning Geeks podcast, a program that reaches thousands of learning professionals around the world. He lives in Long Beach, California with his wife Sherri, two cats, and a pretty cool home arcade.

About Dr. David Guralnick

David Guralnick envisions a new approach to education and workplace learning. His vision integrates progressive learning theory, advanced technology, and creative, entertaining storytelling to create learning experiences that help people learn to think critically, reflect, and make thoughtful decisions. David holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the past 30 years, he has designed and evaluated a variety of simulation-based training applications, performance support systems, online courses, mobile applications, and authoring tools for corporate, non-profit, and university audiences.

David holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Northwestern University, where his work synthesized concepts from the fields of computer science/artificial intelligence, instructional design, and cognitive psychology. Over the course of his thirty years in online learning, he has designed and developed simulation-based training applications, electronic performance-support systems, and specialized authoring tools which allow non-technical people, such as writers and trainers, to build e-learning sites.

Among David’s most notable achievements are the creation of the first learn-by-doing simulation for corporate training purposes and the first authoring tool for a non-technical audience that was specific to e-learning. He has been the recipient of over 200 e-learning design awards, and his work has been featured in Wired magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Training magazine (as an Editor's Choice). He has been a regular speaker at both industry and academic events since 1991. He is also the author of the recent book How Organizations Can Make the Most of Online Learning.

David is the current President and CEO of Kaleidoscope Learning. He is also the current president of the International E-Learning Association; founder and chair of The Learning Ideas Conference; Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal on Advanced Corporate Learning; Chair of the International E-Learning Awards; and an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University.