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When the latest version of ChatGPT was unleashed, it felt like the mainstream media saw generative AI (with only ChatGPT really making the headlines) as something that would either doom or save humankind. Many reports warned of professions that would soon be wholly obsolete.The dust seems to be settling. The articles now are more often about where generative AI will fit into professional toolkits – including at universities. That seems like common sense; digital tools replacing certain human activities is hardly new. I sit here typing on a keyboard, using ubiquitous software without a secretary or typist in sight!Many technologies (both physical devices and digital tools) are pretty common in most of our lives.A personal example: I love to read. Around 150 books a year kind of love to read. I also love books – the physical look and feel of them. 11 bookcases kind of love books. And I also have a Kindle with a subscription that I make good use of. I bought it before a holiday some years ago, as the Kindle was a simple, lightweight alternative to carting a pile of books with me. This is one of many examples where technology and tradition complement each other, and both enhance my life.In a professional context, an example of another complementary pairing is voiceovers. Here at SiyonaTech we use AI voice software to create a first draft for video and animation, until both we and the client are happy with the story, then we use professional voiceover artists to record the final versions. AI voice offers a useful drafting tool but cannot replace the calibre and nuance of a human professional.Digital learning is our space. We like technologies we can add to our toolkits. Always curious about technologies that intersect with learning, it was inevitable that we’d want to check out ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs).So how does learning design fare? Will we be among the 300 million scrabbling for a new way to pay the bills?We don’t think so.But it’s not just arrogance or blind optimism! Here are some of the ways AI can’t do what we do.

Content

If it was enough to put relevant content in front of learners:

• All students would get A’s for everything!
• There would be no need for repeated compliance learning!
• We could replace all interactive learning with books!

No matter how important the content is, if you’re not engaged in some way, it just won’t stick. If you don’t understand or care about it, you won’t learn it. If it’s worthy, but the delivery format is boring, you tune out.Chances are behind some of your favourite and best subjects at school, there was an inspiring and gifted teacher. As an adult, you’re bound to have sat through a presentation at some point where the presenter clearly knew their subject, but goodness were they boring!Most likely that’s the main thing you remember – how boring they were.So learning designers are always looking for ways to engage, make learning memorable, help it fit with what you already know and your existing experience. We use adult learning principles, learning models and theories, neuroscience research, storytelling principles, gamification… and we apply the elements we believe fit best in each learning project.It’s what we do.SMEs usually pull together content from their area of expertise; designing the best learning experience to get that content across as learning is our area of expertise.Generative AI can gather content. Learning designers can make it ‘learnable’

Evidence

We like evidence. We look for experts, research, data, empirical evidence. There’s lots of evidence on what makes good learning, so we like to use it.As much of what generative AI produces is scraped from the internet, there is an inherent issue with most of the content – it was originally created by humans. Why is this an inherent issue then? Because we know humans have different perspectives, different levels of understanding, and can often perpetuate misinformation – whether deliberate or intentional – human-generated content is not necessarily fact.ChatGPT even warns us: “The model has been trained on a diverse range of internet text, allowing it to generate human-like text in response to prompts given to it.”Remember TayTweets? Microsoft’s Tay was designed to mimic human language patterns (those of a 19-year-old American girl) and to learn from interacting with human users of Twitter. It had to be shut down within 16 hours as it had learned to post inflammatory and offensive tweets. Whether it was because Tay came from Microsoft, whether it was 19-year-old girls rejecting the concept that code could mimic them, or other reasons, at least some of the responses had to be generated by humans wanting to prove they could ‘beat the system’. Humans like to challenge predictable responses. Boaty McBoatface anyone?So how good is generative AI at separating myth from fact? It seems like that’s not guaranteed yet. “When citing sources of information, as is standard in academic work, it simply makes them up.” (We plan to explore an example of myth vs truth in another article.)Another human trait is to rely on information learned previously, which may now be obsolete. The 'half-life of facts' refers to how what we know as 'fact' can change. Think you know the colours of a rainbow? Think again! Heard that adage that you only use 10% of your brain? Brain scanning technology proved this to be completely false. There’s an interesting TED talk on The Half-Life Of Facts, if you want to learn more about that.Generative AI can gather content. Learning designers can determine if it’s myth or truth – at least as it stands at the current time!

Questions

Now this could prove to be interesting!Question writing in learning is commonly underestimated as a skill. Writing a good effective question is hard. These are some of the things learning designers take into account when writing questions:

• Whether the aim of a question is to measure understanding of what’s been covered, or to bring to mind things learned from experience outside the specific learning experience, or simply to engage in thinking about something
• That the question options should not be obvious, but generate thinking (helps it stick better)
• That learners usually want to know why something is right or not, and the feedback should reflect that
• That the question stem should be designed to generate consideration of the answer, not to decrypt mangled grammar in the question itself

The nature of prompts used to generate AI responses may improve questions skills all round. It’s rather helpful to see an immediate response that varies with the nature of the question (prompt). If it’s not the response you wanted, you need to write better prompts! The quality of the question generally directs the quality of the response. A strong question is part of the holistic flow of the learning.Generative AI doesn’t ask questions, but it could improve your question skills! And learning designers can consider all the elements that make questions an integral part of the learning.

Final thoughts

Generative AI will evolve.Yet the ‘big idea’ (LLMs capable of generating human-like text) is out there and its evolution will probably only refine and improve on that idea. So learning designers probably have the shape of where it will fit into our assorted toolkits – first drafts, some editing, and idea threads to investigate. Just as PowerPoint didn’t turn boring presenters into inspiring presenters, LLMs won’t turn collated content into great learning experiences.Until the next big thing, we reckon we don’t need to quake in our boots, and I doubt we’re giving Geoffrey Hinton any sleepless nights.‍

A post by Nikki Ashley, Senior Learning Designer at SiyonaTech.

Increasing online learning budgets

A 2022 report found that while more than 60% of companies increased their budget for online learning in recent years, their employees were disappointed with the results, giving an average lowly NPS rating of -29.

• Globally we are experiencing economic challenges that drive us to consider the value we get from everything. Budgets are squeezed at work and home.
• We are also being warned of skills and labour shortages in countries with high employment.
• The ‘great resignation’ may well be heading to Europe, so we need to consider how to retain and upskill our best people.

There are complex geo-political challenges that are beyond our capacity to solve here at SiyonaTech!

But maybe there is something we can help with…

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NPS scores averaging 70+

Our digital learning courses get NPS scores averaging 70+. Now, that’s not simply because the eLearning looks engaging – in fact, we put a lot of work into making learning that achieves its aims too.

After all, this kind of learner feedback is our raison d’être:

“The course was unlike any other training I've encountered throughout my career... It's usually all business up in here, but this was fresh, visually appealing, and rememberable. And I actually brushed up on the things I might've forgotten… but also learned new things... Props to the team behind this training!"

So how do we manage it?

We keep our NPS score well above the average by employing a variety of techniques which are all backed up by science and research. Science, research, and a wealth of experience tell us that creative techniques such as storytelling, gamification, and the use of dynamic visuals can significantly improve learner engagement (when done well, of course.)

Let’s take a quick look at the science behind each of those examples…

• Storytelling: stories are stored in a different part of the brain from facts; a compelling story engages more of the brain, and is better remembered, than simply stated facts and information
• Gamification: games and learning appear to use similar brain functions; both can increase connection strengths between neurons; plus stimulation of the brain’s reward system can make learning more likely to occur
• Dynamic visuals: by engaging more areas of the brain, relevant and dynamic visuals amplify understanding and retention of content by up 89%

If you’re investing in learning – creating it and allocating employee time for undertaking it – then it can be disheartening to receive that negative NPS score, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Next time you’re planning a learning campaign, consider using the techniques we’ve mentioned here, and you’re likely to see a much healthier positive!

When learners are engaged, the learning sticks!

You might like to check out our blog posts on Storytelling and Visual Metaphors too.

A post by Nikki Ashley, Instructional Designer at SiyonaTech

Since 2015, there’s been a lot about human attention spans dwindling to less than that of goldfish. If you’ve not already been distracted by something else, find out if it’s true…

A shrinking attention span

A report from Microsoft in 2015 – widely referenced in respected media, such as TIME magazine, the Guardian, and USA Today – apparently found that the attention span had shrunk down to a meagre eight seconds. Many mockingly compared this number to the nine-second attention span of the common goldfish*.  

Surely that’s not even long enough for a cat video?

Fingers were pointed at the careless overconsumption of all things digital, the desire for instant gratification was blamed… someone even blamed the hapless emoji for the loss of wit and style.  

Then, in 2017, a BBC article ‘Busting the attention span myth’ found two key errors in the original finding:

• The Microsoft Consumer Insights team did not study human attention spans (they surveyed 2,000 Canadians and studied the brain activity of 112 people as they carried out various tasks)
• The research institute cited for the ‘8 second’ statistic – Statistic Brain – has quoted a 2008 study by Weinreich et al., but this statistic does not seem to actually appear in the study!
• Any attempts to contact Statistic Brain fell short

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Variation across activities

It turns out that one person’s attention span can have a massive variation across activities. The length of time we can concentrate on a task depends on a whole set of factors, like purpose, experience, external environment, and, most importantly: what we are actually doing.

If you’ve ever binge-watched a Netflix series, you’ll know that eight seconds is an absurdly short amount of time for measuring attention (after all, who hasn’t spent eight hours watching two seasons of a gripping true crime?)

((It’s also worth mentioning that this fact also reflects what we know about adult learning principles, one of which suggests that adults are most engaged when learning about things that have relevance to them.))

*Oh, and as it turns out, goldfish don't have short attention spans or memories either. 

Decades of scientific research has studied goldfish learning and memory. One researcher’s findings suggest that Goldfish have a memory of at least six months, if not more. Indeed, scientists have long worked alongside fish to study the process of learning and memory formation and it’s because they have a memory and because they learn! 

We even came across a story where pet fish apparently spent seven hours carrying out activities on their owner’s Nintendo Switch account: pet fish playing Nintendo Switch run up bill on owner’s credit card. 

Our collective understanding of memory is constantly evolving thanks to neuroscience – (and fish, apparently!)  

Thanks to neuroscience, we now know that repetition, relevance, context, and practice all play a part in strengthening the neural pathways that help us remember. We know that problem-solving, storytelling, and techniques such as gamification, all make for more engaging (and attention holding) learning. 

We also know that powerful learning takes longer than eight or nine seconds, so let’s retire than myth about attention spans once and for all – for us and the goldfish!  

A post by Nikki Ashley, Instructional Designer at SiyonaTech

When I sat down to write this blog, I got a little bit stuck.

Thinking of a topic for International Women’s Day (IWD) proved… challenging.

The theme of 2023’s IWD is: DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

Of course, we could tell you what that means, but we think it’s best to let the UNWomen speak for themselves.

We would talk about how women and girls across the world can be empowered and propelled by greater access to digital technologies, but the Poverty Action Lab has that one covered, too.

Then let’s stay closer to home.

Why don’t we talk about how ‘online learning provides an invaluable opportunity to level the playing field for women by connecting them to better opportunities and prospects?’

We could… but I took that quote directly from The World Economic Forum’s article on how we can use online learning to narrow the digital gender gap.

Okay, so, what can we add to the conversation that isn’t already out there?

You know what we haven’t mentioned?

Our voices.

As a majority-female workplace working within the technology industry, we have a wide variety of personal experiences that can bring value and grounding to the conversation.

At SiyonaTech, we work hard to make our culture fit our people, so I went back to the team and asked the women (and female-presenting) members of the team about what challenges they’ve faced in the workplace.

This is what they had to say:

Sam: being a working mum is complicated. The mental load can be overwhelming. The constant guilt can be overpowering: should I be spending more time with my kids? Am I dedicating enough time to work? Do others perceive me as not working as hard as them?

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Nikki: in my early working years, many of the conversations I had were about women in the workplace, rather than about the job I was actually hired to do. They weren’t having these conversations with my male colleagues.

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Jasmin: as a woman with ADHD, there’s always a fear I’ll be perceived as ‘ditsy’ or ‘distracted’ or even ‘overbearing’ in certain situations. In the past, I’ve struggled to be taken seriously and I’ve even lost out on work because of it.

Some of the other challenges mentioned cited a lack of motivation due to gender pay disparities, feeling the need to ‘be one of the guys’ to fit in with male-dominated offices, being devalued due to age.

As women, there’s so much to overcome in the world of work and while there’s definite progress being made – Spain has just passed a bill on menstrual leave, allowing women 3 days of paid leave for debilitating period pain – there’s still a long road ahead of us.

But talking to the women who make up the front line of the technology industry can cast a light on what issues need to be addressed and how we can make workplaces work for everyone.

The most important thing I’ve learned from having these conversations with my team, is that, while our diversity is not limited to our gender and that being a woman is not necessarily the defining factor when it comes to our needs and desires at work…

It is the lens through which most of us feel we are often viewed.

I went on to ask my team how SiyonaTech helped them to overcome these challenges.

Camy: in SiyonaTech, over 60% of employees are female with no gender pay gap. It encourages my creativity to work in a company rich in diversity and inclusivity. Thank you everyone who makes this happen.

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Sam: the forward-thinking approach to flexibility that I’ve found here alleviates a huge amount of stress, and empowers me to give my best to both my family and career.

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Laura: I've been a part of the SiyonaTech family for over a decade now, starting as an intern during university. I've grown alongside the company and am proud to be part of a team that values inclusivity, growth, and collaboration. It's been an amazing journey, and I'm grateful for the opportunities and support that have helped me thrive.

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Nikki: One of the best things about working at SiyonaTech is how being a woman is not particularly interesting. Here and now, my colleagues are having conversations about [learning and development]. My knowledge, experience and ideas become far more interesting than my biology!

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Anita: as an older woman, my experience is valued. As a designer and storyteller my skills and perspective are appreciated. Always learning!

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Jasmin: my team don’t view my ADHD as a weakness. I feel like the work I do has value that’s worth the accommodations I need to get it done. Trust is not something that’s easy to come by when you’re so often typecast as ‘forgetful’ or ‘lazy’, but the trust I receive here gives me the confidence to do the best work I can. I don’t know where else I’d get the same compassion.

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Talking to my team reminds me that we’re lucky to work for a company that understands that being female is just one similarity we share, but it’s the recognition and celebration of our wide range of diversities and differences that makes us such a good team.

Honestly, I don’t think there’s an answer that can neatly summarise these findings, because there is not a one-size fits all answer that can attend to each of our individual needs.

But I think the takeaway here is that it’s only by speaking to those on the ground-floor, to the individuals that make up the collective, that we can start to find solutions.

A post by Jasmin Ford, Instructional Writer at Siyona Tech.

User experience design

We have become accustomed to slick, glossy websites, instant gratification and infinite, scrolling content that grabs us and doesn’t let go...

User experience design on the web has never been so evolved, allowing us to effortlessly navigate sites with ease and enjoyment. But the question at hand is - Why should online learning experiences be any different?

We live in a world where fussy consumers are used to getting the best. In this all-you-can-eat era of Netflix, Amazon Prime and other platforms, our attention spans are limited.

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“Consumer research suggests that a typical Netflix member loses interest after perhaps 60 to 90 seconds of choosing.”
Carlos Gomez-Uribe, Netflix’s vice president of personalization algorithms 

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I get it. In the absence of great storytelling, nuanced characters, a hook and a spot-on aesthetic, I find myself channel hopping too.

Similarly, in the world of online learning, who has time for bland, unimaginative, information delivery anymore? A glorified PowerPoint no longer makes the cut for today’s tech savvy learners.

Let me digress. I am a learning designer by trade, and the ability to change behaviour through learning is how I rate my success, as opposed to how many bells and whistles the learning has.

But saying this, the presentation of content has become increasingly important. It needs to compete with the digital noise that surrounds us. It needs to be inviting, stimulating, have the odd ‘wow’ moment. Just like any other piece of media. We can’t just assume that people will give the time of day to a piece of digital learning, just because the business is telling them to.

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Learning experiences that pack a punch

So at SiyonaTech, we design learning experiences that pack a punch. Explosive, thought-provoking, entirely custom, beautiful learning that does engage learners. But don’t just take me at my word. Our learners love what we do. Here's some of the feedback they shared:

"I love the campaign! Great, modern and exciting content which does not get people bored. Well done!"

"The course was unlike any other training I've encountered throughout my career in the company. It's usually all business up in here, but this was fresh, visually appealing and rememberable."

“I almost forgot I was taking an eLearning!”

“One of the most interesting e-learning which I ever completed. Information shared during e-learning really interesting and attendee does not feel exhausted after completion"

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The showreel above highlights some of the ways we have made learning content relatable, fun, engaging and given it the respect it deserves.

And it’s not just for show. Everything we do is underpinned by learning theory, and understanding the motivations of our learners – what makes them tick.

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A post by a SiyonaTech instructional designer.

SiyonaTech wins 37 awards!

SiyonaTech had an evening to remember at the Brandon Hall Human Capital Management Excellence Awards 2022.

In total, we won 37 Learning & Development awards across 10 categories entered, including 23 gold, nine silver and five bronze awards.

This is a huge achievement for a small independent team working on about 50 projects a year. Thank you to our wonderful clients for making this possible: Swiss Re, Julius Baer, Novartis, Six and Harman.

Now in their 28th year, the Brandon Hall Awards recognise organisations around the world for developing and deploying programmes and tools that have achieved measurable results.

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Results were announced on 18th August. In summary:

23 Gold Awards!

2 x Best Advance in Competencies and Skill Development

6 x Best Advance in Compliance Training

7 x Best Advance in Custom Content

3 x Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program

1 x Best Use of Blended Learning

3 x Best Use of Games or Simulations for Learning

1 x Best Use of Performance Support

9 Silver Awards!

2 x Best Advance in Custom Content

1 x Best Advance in Predictive Analytics

3 x Best Unique and Innovative Learning and Development Program

1 x Best Use of Games or Simulations for Learning

1 x Best Use of Mobile Learning

1 x Best Use of Blended Learning (client entry)

5 Bronze Awards!

1 x Best Advance in Custom Content

4 x Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development

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‍Some snapshots of the work can be seen here:

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Award entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives based upon the following criteria: fit the need, design of the program, functionality, innovation and overall measurable benefits.

‍“Our award winners demonstrated the vision, agility and innovation needed to excel in the unchartered hybrid work environment,” said Brandon Hall Group Chief Executive Officer Mike Cooke.

‍“We added and revised awards categories to ensure that we not only validate best HCM* practices, but also solicit and recognize next practices that set a high bar for everyone.

”As we emerge from the pandemic, this year has been about resurgence, reconnecting and building for the future. SiyonaTech feel proud to have achieved this recognition for ourselves and our clients, and we look forward to new collaborative adventures in the year to come.

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‍About Brandon Hall Group

‍Brandon Hall Group is an HCM research and advisory services firm that provides insights around key performance areas, including Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and HR/Workforce Management.

With more than 10,000 clients globally and 25 years of delivering world-class research and advisory services, Brandon Hall Group is focused on developing research that drives performance in emerging and large organizations, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.

‍https://www.brandonhall.com/*Human Capital Management

In our first post, we looked at ways to use storytelling in combination with interactive strategies to create more effective and memorable learning experiences. Here, we’ll explore the value visual metaphors (themes or concepts) can add to learning through storytelling.

Using Visual Metaphor in E-learning

A metaphor is a comparison between two seemingly dissimilar things which brings out points of similarity between them. This makes metaphors a powerful tool for learning. A strong metaphor helps us to ‘see’ an idea or concept from a new perspective.  

Good metaphors are inherently simple – by creating a point of comparison with something already understood, they can help make difficult learning concepts accessible and memorable.  For example, comparing gardening to investment could help learners understand financial growth and risk – planting annual flower seeds provides a rapid but small return, while planting an acorn means that, though you wait years to see it, your return could be much bigger.

The key is to choose a concept that adds real learning value and supports the learning points being made. Here are some of the ways we have done this for our clients at SiyonaTech:

Building on the familiar: Records management

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Records management is a dry, rules-based subject. We created a NetFlix-style portal where learners could explore each topic through a different genre of tv show. Through 'ILM Man', learners explored the roles and responsibilities involved in records management in the context of a cartoon series. 'Records Management' provided a take on a familiar office, asking learners to test their knowledge of records management processes by negotiating tricky tasks and awkward colleagues.

Making complex ideas accessible: Risk-based quality management

To explain the value of risk-based quality management in clinical trials, we used the metaphor of brakes on a car. In the same way that brakes allow us to accelerate with confidence, risk-based quality management means clinical trials can be conducted more quickly while maintaining safety. 

The use of a simple, universally understood concept effectively communicated a difficult mindset shift. In our client’s own words:

We are asking people to work differently, to trust in data analytics and each other to focus resources on those risks that are most critical. This requires a shift in thinking from being risk averse to risk tolerant. Using a metaphor provided a simple way for teams to understand what we are asking them to do and why, in a way that everyone can relate to.

In another course, to bring the subject of design thinking to life, we created an Indiana Jones style adventure game. Learners used design thinking to uncover the reasons a city had been abandoned and persuade its inhabitants to return.  The compelling simplicity of the concept and tasks helped learners come to terms with techniques such as creating problem statements, doing research and prototyping.

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Casting well known subjects through a fresh lens: Fraud risk

Financial compliance topics tend to be revisited regularly and learner fatigue is real.  Visual metaphors can both spark the learner’s interest in a subject they may feel they know already, and sustain that engagement by focusing in on the key risks and behaviours.

By presenting Fraud risk through a Murder on the Orient Express style mystery, we told a realistic story of human motivation and greed, casting the learner as a Hercule Poirot style investigator interviewing fellow passengers to spot the behaviours that could indicate a fraudster.

Fostering emotional involvement: Ethical Charter

Concepts can create a sense of emotional involvement. When we created learning to introduce employees to their organization's ethical charter, using a popup book format made this feel human and personal.  We placed the story literally in the learner's hands, in the same way that choosing to behave in an ethical way is an individual choice.

Concepts provide limitless scope for innovation and creativity, and the opportunity to surprise and delight your learners every time. How about:

• ...learning the skills of taking ownership by piloting a mission to Mars?
• ...exploring personal and social competence skills through a mountaineering expedition?
• ...spotting bribery and corruption risks through a time travel adventure where you investigate the fall from grace of a high flying executive?

Have any of these ideas fired your imagination? Get in touch if you’d like to talk about how we can help you tell your organization’s learning stories.

In our final post on storytelling, we’ll consider how gamification can enhance storytelling in e-learning.

This is the first in a series of insights where we explore the power of storytelling in learning. Here, we explain how we combine storytelling with interactive strategies to create more effective and memorable learning experiences. In our second post, we will explain the value visual metaphors (themes or concepts) can add to learning through storytelling.

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“To be a person is to have a story to tell.”
‍Isak Dinesen

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The critical role of stroytelling

Every one of us has time to stop and listen to a good story. Not only that, we effortlessly remember the stories that captivate us and often retell them to others. Before literacy, stories were the main way people passed on their culture and values from one generation to the next. Today, they remain critical to the way we communicate with one another.

Stories help us make sense of world around us. They satisfy our curiosity by explaining the origins of things - why events happen, how things change, and how people come to be as they are. Stories appeal to us emotionally - if we can empathise with the characters or see some aspect of ourselves in the story, we are more likely to identify with it, to remember important facts and details, and even feel motivated to change our behaviour as a result.

In short, stories are an intrinsic part of how we learn and change. And this makes storytelling a very powerful tool in designing eLearning courses, where the aim is very often to encourage a change in attitude and behaviour. As one of our SiyonaTech clients put it:

"The work that we do is not about laws or regulations, it's about behaviours and inspiring those around us to do what is right because they WANT to not because they HAVE to. Storytelling is the ignition that sparks our emotion. It's what allows us to learn from others experiences, shape our opinions and strengthen our values. It's how we learn best no matter our age, background, or ethnicity".

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Active learning experiences

How best can we include storytelling in eLearning? Effective eLearning should always be an active learning experience. To create truly effective eLearning experiences, it's important to combine great storytelling with active learning opportunities that place the learner in control of their own learning process.

At SiyonaTech, we combine the power of storytelling with strong interactive strategies to create memorable and motivating learning experiences. Here are some of key elements of how we do this:

Setting the scene

A key principle of storytelling is ‘show, don’t tell’. The learner should experience the story through events, actions, thoughts and feelings, rather than having it explained to them. We use animated video sequences, audio sequences or text and graphic builds to set the scene, depicting events and characters quickly and with maximum visual impact to build a sense of drama and intrigue.

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Compelling characters

We spend time developing complex characters with their own virtues, weaknesses and motivations.  Strong characters should have a back story which provides reasons for why they behave as they do. This insight into the characters emotional lives, their fears, insecurities, blindspots and incompetencies, is what makes them relatable to the learner.

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Plausible scenarios and challenges

The storyline might be based in fantasy (for example, considering insider trading risk by navigating conversations at a 1920s society event) or workplace reality (considering the unfolding impact of a cyber incident within an office). But whatever the context, to sustain the learner’s interest and engagement, it’s important that the situations and challenges depicted are recognisable and realistic to them.

Questions, interactive exercises and gamelets can be framed as dilemmas, challenges and decision points that simultaneously move the story along and provide the learner with opportunities to check their understanding and consolidate what they have learned.

For example, trapping your learner in a mountain cave with fellow mountaineers to wait out a snowstorm could provide an opportunity to reflect on how they respond to stressful situations. The strategies they consider might in turn be helpful next time they are stuck in a confrontational meeting.

Placing your learner at a pharmaceutical conference where they are under pressure to answer questions from an insistent journalist could help them consider how to put their Code of Conduct into practice. Sending your learner on a mission to Mars, where the engines fail and everyone else is looking for guidance, provides a fresh take on how to have an ownership mindset.

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A satisfying conclusion

All good stories need a satisfying conclusion where conflict has been resolved and order restored. This is an opportunity to extend the traditional summary page into a more memorable and satisfying ending that provides:

• a celebration of the learner’s achievement and progress
• a consolidation of the key takeaways
• a call to action

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Our Christmas video to get you in the festive spirit

We have designed a Christmas video to get you in the festive spirit. Written, sung, animated and produced by us, the video captures our values of happiness and grace as well as our dedication to do our very best every day and look after our clients, and each other.

Watch and sing along if you have a few minutes to spare! Hopefully it will put a smile on your face 😃

10 Awards won by SiyonaTech

SiyonaTech had an incredible evening at the Brandon Hall Excellence Awards 2020, winning 10 awards from the 10 categories entered, and another award entered by a partner. The haul includes three gold, four silver (plus a partner silver) and three bronze awards.The Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards, now in its 26^th year, recognises the best organisations from around the world that have successfully developed and deployed programmes and tools that have achieved measurable results.Results were announced on 20th August. Here’s the rundown:

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Gold:

2 x Best Unique or Innovative Learning and Development Program

1 x Best Use of Mobile Learning

Silver:

2 x Best Use of Games and Simulations for Learning

1 x Best Advance in Compliance Training

1 x Best Advance in Custom Content

1 x Best Use of Performance Support (entered by Swiss Re)

Bronze:

‍1 x Best Advance in Compliance Training

1 x Best Advance in Custom Content

1 x Best Advance in Competencies and Skill Development

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Award entries were evaluated by a panel of veteran, independent senior industry experts, Brandon Hall Group analysts and executives based upon the following criteria:

• fit the need, design of the program, functionality, innovation and overall measurable benefits.

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“Organizations around the world highly value Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards – so much so that we received a record number of applications in the middle of a global pandemic,” said Rachel Cooke, Brandon Hall Group COO, and leader of the HCM Excellence Awards Program.

‍“The awards provide valuable recognition and validation of best practices in all areas of HCM* at a time when they have never been more important to both employers and employees.

‍”It’s been a tough year for all adapting to the changes brought by Covid-19, and SiyonaTech feel proud to have achieved this recognition for themselves and their clients – a sign of the team’s hard work and perseverance.

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About Brandon Hall Group

‍Brandon Hall Group is an HCM research and advisory services firm that provides insights around key performance areas, including Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and HR/Workforce Management.With more than 10,000 clients globally and 25 years of delivering world-class research and advisory services, Brandon Hall Group is focused on developing research that drives performance in emerging and large organizations, and provides strategic insights for executives and practitioners responsible for growth and business results.

‍https://www.brandonhall.com/*Human Capital Management

Travel and Tourism students undergo SiyonaTech training

During the academic year of 2018/19 86, 17-21 year old Students on assorted Travel and Tourism courses at three different FE Colleges in the South-East of England, underwent a SiyonaTech VR Cabin Fire-fighting training day. The majority of these Students intended to pursue careers as Flight Attendants and had little or no prior experience of VR programs.The VR Cabin Fire-fighting program requires Students to:

• Follow exactly a strict Immediate Action (IA) drill
• Operate virtual equipment correctly and efficiently
• Communicate clearly and precisely with virtual characters (passenger, crew, pilot)
• Make the correct or least worst decisions as the situation develops (program is performance dependent – quick responders experience a different scenario to slow responders)
• Work quickly, safely and calmly.

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The training day consisted of up to 16 Students (normally split into 8 in the morning, 8 in the afternoon) learning the process and techniques required to fight an aircraft cabin fire in flight using the ‘Training’ phase of the VR Program. This phase features a guiding voiceover within the program and assistance from the Trainer.

It is followed by a debrief performed by the Trainer and the Students’ peers.

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Students perform the drill

When considered able Students were selected to attempt the Assessment phase. This time Students had to perform the drill faultlessly with no voiceover or assistance from the Trainer, although a post attempt debrief was performed. Additionally, subtle changes were made to this phase to test on-the-spot decision making. All Students successfully completed the Assessment phase and were awarded a certificate.

A 30 day duration was then meant to elapse before SiyonaTech staff were to revisit the same Students and ask them to take the Assessment phase alone. This time attempts were to be performed in isolation with no classmates present. They would then be assessed by the Trainer using a 21 point marking sheet.

Unfortunately, this ideal proved impossible as the colleges could not make Students available when required. The average duration figure was 105 days (shortest duration: 48 days, longest: 133 days), between successful completion of Assessment and the Reassessment.This unintended extension of the elapsed period obviously affected the Students’ individual results of the Assessment phase, but also makes the final figures even more impressive.

‍When reassessed the 71 Students who participated returned an average percentage mark of 67% (highest: 97%, lowest: 18%). The result has to be considered within the context for this trial. Emergency procedures make up only a small part of the various Travel and Tourism Diploma courses. In between visits Students had been studying and revising for exams on topics totally unrelated to Emergency Procedures.

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Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

The Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve identifies a typical memory loss of below 20% after only 7 days, but that is for one learning input. This trial used an intensive half-day session where Students would witness a demonstration and then participate in, on average, 4-5 attempts of the Training phase and then 3-4 attempts of the Assessment phase. As already mentioned this participation was supported by Trainer and peer debriefings.Even so to deliver results of a 67% retention after a 105 day average duration is a truly remarkable and a reliable indicator of the value of VR training for these types of critical safety training.

As a tribute to the acknowledged suitability of this delivery method for this type of topic, 2 of the 3 colleges that participated have acquired the program to become part of their course curriculum and are currently expanding the program at other colleges within their organisation.If you would like more detailed information about this trial and the results, then let's talk!

Contact us on letstalk@siyonatech.com

SiyonaTech and NATS were presented with the ‘External Learning Solution of the Year’ Gold Award at the glitzy Learning Awards gala ceremony held at the London Hilton, Park Lane.

A second SiyonaTech project was also shortlisted for a Learning Technologies Award.

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The award standards

The gold-winning Oceanic e-learning suite was developed to support the transformation of airspace over the Atlantic, with the award criteria setting out the standards:

‍The External Learning Solution of the Year Award is presented to a learning provider that has undertaken a major learning and development project or projects for a client that are innovative in concept and have produced demonstrable performance improvement and business impact for the client as well as evidence of value for money.

‍With the advent of real-time monitoring over the oceans, NATS had to undergo a large transformation in its technology and people practices responsible for supporting air traffic over the Atlantic. The mission critical operation had to be implemented with high precision within tight deadlines.

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Working closely with NATS

SiyonaTech worked closely with NATS to deliver a game changing e-learning solution that transformed how Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCOs) were trained to deal with the changes.

Delivered in phases to support the various rollouts, the programme met its goals while it also led to a change in culture towards learning within the organisation.

With this win, SiyonaTech’s award tally for 2019-20 totalled 14.

Multi-award winning company SiyonaTech opened its new central Brighton office in Tower Point, North Road, in January.

This builds on SiyonaTech’s existing presence in the city, well known for the high number of prestigious learning technologies and creative companies that make the most of Brighton’s proximity to London along as well as the inspiration and beauty of the south coast.

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Keeping up the award-winning momentum

With a cache of recent awards behind the company, SiyonaTech aims to keep up the momentum through 2020-21, expanding the team in the south to increase capacity and the ability to deliver more world class independent and distinctive content.

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SiyonaTech’s Director Sambit Mohapatra said:

"Setting up a base in Brighton allows us to tap into the creativity of this vibrant city as well as providing a choice for talented people to come on board this exciting company"

SiyonaTech is pleased to win 4 awards at The Learning Technology Awards 2019 held yesterday evening.

Our awards

• Gold in the Excellence in the design of learning content - public & non-profit sector category
• Silver in the Best learning technologies project - public & non-profit sector category
• Silver in the Best use of social and collaborative learning technologies category
• Bronze in the Best learning technologies project - international commercial sector category

This was the highest number of wins at the awards for any single company.

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Continuing our success

With the 9 Brandon Hall award wins earlier, this brings SiyonaTech’s tally of awards to 13.

‍The Learning Technologies Awards celebrate excellence in learning technology and e-learning and have been running for ten years. Independently judged to the highest and most rigorous of standards, winning one of these awards is no greater recognition of your hard work and commitment.

‍SiyonaTech had been shortlisted a record 9 entries which itself had been proud moment for SiyonaTech and its clients, but, winning 4 awards at the evening has been a game changing moment. It validated SiyonaTech’s commitment to going above and beyond for its clients to deliver truly special experiences that make a big difference.We look forward to doing the very best for our clients and producing outstanding products in ongoing manner.

The second phase of SiyonaTech's Virtual Reality trial is well under way with a second visit, on the 10 May to the City of Oxford College to assess the programme retention of students who underwent the initial training and assessment on the 12 December last year.

Highest class performance so far

The class performance average of 70% is the highest so far. This is an incredible level of recall after an elapsed period 137 days! This is further evidence that VR training, with its realistic environments, performance dependant outcomes and most importantly the opportunity it presents to practice and rehearse over and over again, is the best training tool available for Immediate Action (IA) drills and procedures.

There is a huge shift in the way end-users are consuming content and information today.So, what has changed?

Content overload

Content bombards us through different channels and access to it now quite literally appears at one’s command. Google, WhatsApp, Social media, RSS feeds, intranets, emails, news updates, podcasts, subscription channels, apps with push notifications, personalized preference-based feeds… and the list goes on.

Time spent online

‍The Ofcom Communications Market Report 2018 findings show that people in the UK spend on average a total of one day (24 hours) a week online. Of the total minutes spent online by the entire UK digital population, 62% is through smartphones, followed by desktops (25%) and tablets (13%).

Smart and voice enabled devices

A host of smart devices have stealthily invaded our every waking moment. Smart phones, wearables, computers, interactive television, game consoles, and voice enabled devices (e.g. Amazon echo, Google Assistant, Siri…) have become our gateway to this content. The time we spend interfacing with these devices has dramatically gone up.

Immersive technologies

The sophistication and realism of media and immersive technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality add another dimension to our experiences with content.

Technology learning curve

The ease with which we accept new and evolving technology and then embed it into our daily lives has also accelerated. On the other hand, our learning curve to adapt to new updates of models and versions has improved.

The information overdose through these myriad forms has impacted attention spans. What we remember and retain with this memory overload is very different from what we did in the past. The way we connect the dots in our minds to make sense of the content received through the multiple digital mediums has also altered.

Are we as learning providers and designers addressing what this means to the way our target audience learns and retains knowledge?

A multi-generational workforce is a reality now, with millennials becoming a large part of this target audience. The old ways of presenting reams of content and hoping that, because it is a mandatory requirement, users will go through it, didn’t really work before and certainly doesn’t work now.Our design strategies need to cut through the fog of info that the audience is being bombarded with and grab their attention. As we create learning strategies, gain a better understanding of our target audience, and rework learner profiles, here are a few questions that can act as a lens when analyzing our design and become a first step in initiating this change.Is the content designed:

• In small, easy to digest, self-sufficient units?
• Contextual to the tasks the learners are required to perform and is it application-oriented?
• Using newer engagement approaches such as gamification?
• Using the right blend of technologies and is it compatible to the devices the learner profile are spending maximum time on?
• Using more immersive technologies when possible, to make the fidelity more real-world and improve recall?
• Using contemporary interactivity to keep usability in synch with the apps of today?

The key is to ensure our approach to designing learning content is bespoke to the new learner profile. Keeping pace with technology, it needs to have evolved to make the learning truly relevant, impactful and memorable in today’s environment.

‍A post by Ishrat Shums, Director - Creative Design at SiyonaTech.

SiyonaTech VR used in Travel and Tourism training

On the 7th Nov 2018, 14 City of Oxford College Travel and Tourism Students were put through the Learning and Assessment phases of a Virtual Reality Aircraft Cabin Fire-Fighting programme; all passed and were awarded their certificates.

Assessing progress

On the 27^th Feb 2019 (111 days later) we asked those same Students to attempt just the Assessment phase in order to measure retention and ability. There was no retraining apart from a short tutorial on VR controls.

The Students produced an average mark of 59%, a pleasing result considering their age and experience, the gap between exposures, plus the fact they are in full-time education and will have had to study other innumerable un-related subjects during the intervening period.

The SiyonaTech trial team are hoping to maintain and even improve on this result when revisiting the other qualified Students at the 3 participating Colleges.

Join us at Learning Technologies Exhibition for a great seminar titled: "Harnessing the power of emerging technologies to bridge the ‘Learning - Doing’ Gap - AR, VR and more!"

When: 14th February 2019 - 12.30pm

Where: Theatre 10 - Learning Technologies at the Excel London

Who: Sambit Mohapatra, Founder & Director, SiyonaTech

Bridging the ‘Learning-Doing’ gap has always been a challenge for organisations – often there is a time gap between training initiatives and the application, or a disconnect between the training environment and the real world. Traditional methods to overcome this gap have been through printed job-aids or manuals. With technology/devices becoming ubiquitous and less expensive, it’s become much easier to design performance support and refresher learning at the point-of-performance.

In this session SiyonaTech will showcase a few award-winning examples of effective point-of-performance solutions:

• Augmented Reality (AR) based support on the operation, repair maintenance of Dell laptops
• Augmented Reality (AR) based SmartGlasses support for Food Safety inspections
• SmartPhone based intelligent support for Air Traffic Operators Cabin Fire refresher in Virtual Reality (VR)
• ChatBots for Diabetes awareness.

About Sambit

Sambit is a technology-based learning pioneer, with experience from the early days of floppy-delivered CBTs to the current era of immersive technologies including Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), wearables and SmartGlasses.

His previous leadership roles include UK & European Head for Tata Interactive Systems and NIIT Element K, where he successfully supported a wide range of global organizations to implement learning technology.

Sambit’s passion is in enabling high performance through the creative use of technology and design.

With a multi-dimensional approach to solving business challenges, Sambit has always focussed on how to bridge and minimise the learning-doing gap effectively. His company SiyonaTech combines this passion with the organisational values of ‘happiness and grace’ to deliver award-winning, cutting-edge solutions with a great customer experience.

Whilst you're at Learning Technologies, drop by our stand and say 'hi' to find out more about our solutions and try out some of our immersive training experiences for yourself! You'll find us on stand N25, we look forward to seeing you there!

Session details

Join us at Learning Technologies Exhibition for a great seminar titled: "Virtual Reality versus the Flight or Freeze response"

When: 13th February 2019 - 3.30pm

Where: Theatre 9 - Learning Technologies at the Excel London

Who: Colin Metcalfe, Performance Design, SiyonaTech

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A famous national football manager once commented:

“You can never recreate on the training ground the circumstances of the penalty shootout.”

Was he right and does that rule apply for other environments where non-specialised personnel might be called upon to step up and perform a critical function during an uncommon and stressful event?

Sometimes these individuals confront the challenge chance has chosen to impart upon them, but sometimes they don’t.

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About the session

This session considers:

• What makes an individual: Fight, Flight or Freeze?
• Why have these options developed for our species, and are they always as good or as bad as they first seem?
• What personalities are prone to choosing what responses?
• Can conditioning / training do anything to manage responses and steer employees towards a specific behaviour?

In particular can Virtual Reality (VR), with its ability to create stressful environments overcome the psychological reaction of individuals when confronted with obstacles they have never encountered before, and will probably never encounter again for the rest of their working life?

About Colin

Colin is originally an aircraft engineer who went on to teach at military academies, FE Colleges, and Comprehensive schools. In 1995 he graduated from Oxford Brookes College with a BA in Professional Studies in Education.

In 2000 he left the classroom to move into Learning Design and eLearning. He worked for several new media companies until 2009 when he set up his own Learning Design company.

At SiyonaTech he works in Performance Design and is spearheading their Virtual Reality trial for Aircraft Fire-Fighting programmes.

Whilst you're at Learning Technologies, drop by our stand and say 'hi' to find out more about our solutions and try out some of our immersive training experiences for yourself! You'll find us on stand N25, we look forward to seeing you there!

Reading College joins Siyona Tech's VR Cabin Fire-Fighting Trial

On the 23rd January 14 Diploma in Travel and Tourism, Level 3 students became the first Reading College class to successfully complete the Siyona Tech VR Cabin Fire-Fighting programme and earn their Achievement Certificates.

College Lecturer, Christina Elkins, described the day as a: 'fantastic learning experience'!

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Oxford Students Receive Certificates

Big thanks toCheri Ashby,Group Executive Director at Activate Learning & Head of City of Oxford Campus, for presenting the Virtual Reality Aircraft Cabin Fire-Fighting Programme achievement certificates to successful students last month.

SiyonaTech paid their second visit to the City of Oxford Further Education College on the 14th December as part of their Virtual Reality trial. In front of a range of interested visitors and observers from Oxford and other colleges, 16 first year students were put through their paces on the Aircraft Cabin Fire-Fighting programme.

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100% student pass rate

All 16 passed and that now means the total number of students, from all participating colleges, who have successfully completed the programme stands at 43. This means almost half of the target sample group has qualified during the first academic term.

A tremendous achievement by all concerned, but especially the students who, despite the vast majority having no prior experience of VR, have thrown all of their efforts into passing the programme and gaining their Certificate of Achievement.

For the SiyonaTech team this makes performing the trial doubly gratifying.

City of Oxford College joins SiyonaTech's VR Aircraft Cabin Fire-Fighting programme

The City of Oxford College has become the second institution to join SiyonaTech's VR Aircraft Cabin Fire-Fighting programme trial. On the 7th November 13 Students, on an extended Diploma in Travel and Tourism course, successfully completed both phases of the programme.

Many students who enrol to study this course go on to apply for Flight Attendant positions with UK major airlines; so a highly relevant topic.

Observers from the college management team and tutors called in to observe the session and many remarked how involved the students appeared to be with the programme. Peter Reynolds, Faculty Director – Business, Tourism, summed up everybody's feelings when he commented: "This is developing into a great project."

Siyona Tech are sponsoring this year’s OEB Global, which incorporates Learning Technologies Germany and will take place at the intercontinental in Berlin from the 5th to 7th December.

OEB is a Global, cross sector conference and exhibition which brings you to the forefront of leading technology supported learning and training. It has a unique cross sector focus fostering exchange between corporate, education and public service sectors.

Experience SiyonaTech award-winning solutions

SiyonaTech will be showcasing a range of award winning learning and communication solutions at the stand from our portfolio:

• Digital Learning and Communication (micro-learning, gamification)
• Immersive Training and Communication (Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR))
• Performance support (including via smart Glasses).

Ifyou are reading this and are planning to visit the OEB, drop in at our stand Pavillon L42 to get hands on experience on repairing a laptop using an AR application, dousing a cabin fire within a plane using a VR application or sample our gamification based e-learning.

Each winter we have a tradition at SiyonaTech. We reach out and help those less fortunate than ourselves. This usually takes the form of the team heading out into the evening streets and distributing as many blankets as possible to those with no roof over their heads.

This year we wanted to do a little more.

‍There are so many essentials which we all take for granted, but so many people in our local area don't have easy access too.

The SiyonaTech team have put together 50 'Happiness & Grace bags' and intend to offer them to rough sleepers in two of our local cities.

Tomorrow evening, the team will be in Reading, Berkshire, providing these bags to anyone and everyone who may need a little extra help this year.If we have inspired you to spread a little more happiness & grace this winter, and you want to create your own bags to share, some of the items we've included are listed below:

• Thick socks (socks are often the most requested and least donated item for rough sleepers!)
• Warm hat
• Gloves
• Blanket
• Hand warmers
• Antibacterial Hand wipes
• Tissues
• Soap bar
• Toothbrush & toothpaste
• Sanitary products (included in 40% of the bags)
• Emergency (space) blanket
• Snacks (dried fruit, nuts, breakfast bars etc.)
• Water bottle
• Bag to keep everything in
• Ziplock bags to store the food
• List of local resources and services which offer help.

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Happiness & Grace

‘Happiness & Grace’ are SiyonaTech’s core company values - we aim to incorporate them in everything we do. Doing so should deliver happy outcomes not just for us, but others as well and always ensure we conduct business and ourselves gracefully.

‍Happy Christmas,The Team at SiyonaTech

A post by Laura Hanmer, Delivery Manager at SiyonaTech.

The SiyonaTech team made their second visit to West Herts College in Watford on the 19th November as part of the Virtual Reality trial for their Aircraft Cabin Fire-fighting programme.

13 students passed the assessment

13 students satisfactorily completed the Learning phase and then successfully gained a pass in the Assessment phase. Mr Adam Kenworthy (centre), Training Manager – Strategy & Projects at Easy Jet, was on hand to present their achievement certificates.

In the New Year the students will attempt just the Assessment phase again in order to measure retention and knowledge decay.

Virtual Reality (VR) programme trial at West Herts college

SiyonaTech initiated their Virtual Reality (VR) programme trial at West Herts college in Watford yesterday with a class of Diploma in Air Cabin Crew / Aviation students. The VR programme taught and tested the class on dealing correctly with an aircraft cabin fire.

The trial, which is being conducted at colleges throughout the South-East of England, aims to investigate the effectiveness of such learning tools for these types of students and subjects, with particular regard to long-term retention.

Virtual Reality (VR) Trial

In October 2018 Siyona Tech are commencing a trial of their Virtual Reality (VR) Cabin Fire-Fighting programme at Further Education Colleges throughout the South-East of England.

The aim of this exciting trial is to investigate the effectiveness of VR learning tools for critical processes and emergency procedures. Although much data already exists supporting the effectiveness of VR training for medical procedures, there is little available material for more practical less technical processes.

Students studying Travel and Tourism and Aviation related courses will first experience a learning exercise, on which they will have to prove competence before taking a practical VR assessment.More updates will appear on this site as the trial progresses.

‍For more information contact: letstalk@siyonatech.com

Collaborative Working app now launched on the app store!

‍Created by NATS, endorsed by ICW and developed by SiyonaTech, this App is a powerful tool designed to be used by a broad range of users, from beginners to more experienced practitioners.

For beginners, there are features to introduce them to the purpose of collaboration and help raise their awareness through access to information and learning material. Then there are concepts that build on this, such as describing leading collaborative behaviours, references to successful projects that have embraced collaboration, as well as the availability of International standards; all of which will be of interest to individuals who want to embark on collaborative ventures or more experienced practitioners.

This app has been created for NATS, the UK’s leading air traffic services provider, primarily as a learning tool for the many partners it works closely with to deliver and maintain the UK’s air traffic management services. However, it is also hoped to deliver value to other organisations with complex business challenges where collaborative behaviours and relationships are crucial to success.

NATS is a member of the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW) and won the ICW’s prestigious ‘Collaborative Pathfinder’ Award in 2017, which recognises an organisation that has shown both leadership and innovation in promoting and harnessing collaborative working approaches within its sector.

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Endorsed by the ICW

The app and the contents within it have been endorsed by the ICW. Some materials within the app have also been created by the ICW. The ICW is a joint initiative between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Confederation of British Industry to promote the development of effective business relationships through collaboration.

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Take a look at the video below to learn more about how working collaboratively and with technology is shaping the future:

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A post by Laura Hanmer, Delivery Manager at SiyonaTech.

Virtual Reality (VR) presents unlimited opportunities for learning as it places the learner within a realistic environment, stimulating their senses, and enabling them to focus on the salient information and tasks. Here are a few points to assist you in creating a powerful training experience.

Do

Engage your audience with compelling scenarios

‍Creating a lasting impression enhances the training experience with learnings more likely to be retained.

Be creative with how you present information

You’re no longer restricted to a 2D screen. Think about ways information can be displayed that enhance the user’s experience.

Avoid: ‘This looks real, but it doesn’t feel right’

We all know how objects and movements should look and feel. However, close but ‘not quite right’ experiences can be jarring.

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Don't 

Throw users into immediate action

Users will want to explore a virtual world and orient themselves. They should not feel rushed in a new environment — Instead let the user explore their virtual environment, and give them time to adjust.

Take control away from the user

Although it’s tempting to put the user on a ‘magic carpet’ and have them fly-through a VR experience but that can disorientate and lead to motion sickness. Instead make your experience learner centric and offer total control to the user.

Avoid: ‘This looks real, but it doesn’t feel right’

We all know how objects and movements should look and feel. However, close but ‘not quite right’ experiences can be jarring.

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Are there any things you've experienced which should be added to this list? Leave them in the comments below!

A post by Katherine Haffenden, Digital Design Executive at Siyona Tech Ltd.

Augmented Reality (AR) is about delivering content that allows users to view their real environment through their device camera, with another layer of information superimposed over the top. This could be graphics or text information, such as labels identifying components on a system. Or sound, video or GPS data supporting the user in following a process or checklist.

Do

Consider your environment

Would the experience work better delivered via a different format?

Remember to look at things from the user’s perspective

To help improve training make both the AR and mobile functionality appropriate for the working conditions.

Make the experience valuable

The application should be informative, rewarding, useful and most of all, fun!

Don't

Assume mobile AR is the only way to go

While it can be a great cost effective solution, it may not be suitable for applications where the user requires both hands free. Always confirm the functionality fully supports the intended use.

Overpopulate a scene with 3D objects

Make sure each object on screen is serving a purpose, mobile processing power can be limited — use it sparingly!

Be afraid

AR is not new, it can be a powerful learning tool when the experience is planned and well executed.

Are there any things you've experienced which should be added to this list? Leave them in the comments below!

A post by Katherine Haffenden, Digital Design Executive at Siyona Tech Ltd.

Whether you’re looking to improve safety compliance, or productivity and efficiency or providing critical hands-on training to dispersed teams without the associated difficulties - there’s no doubt that the next generation of Performance Support solutions will include Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality solutions.It’s no longer about delivering learning to learners; it’s about putting learners into the cockpit for a first hand, jump-in-and-fly-it-yourself experience.Whether you’re actively looking to adopt immersive learning, or just surveying the territory, here are some tips that we’ve put together to help you get comfortable for the ride ahead.

The key terms

Augmented Reality (AR)When we say AR, we are talking about delivering content via a wearable device that allows users a view of the real environment, with another layer of information/digital data superimposed. This could be graphics or text information (for example, labels displayed on the components of some system the user is looking at), but it could also be sound, video or GPS data to support the user with their current task at hand. The application can be designed to provide triggers from the real world, such as a coin, or an image, to launch the AR content. AR devices come equipped with their own camera and other features that allow users to capture and deliver digital information from where they are, without the need for additional devices.Virtual Reality (VR)VR provides an immersive 360-degree experience that tricks the mind into believing it is physically present in the simulated environment. You can create powerful scenarios for exploration and guided discovery sets in artificial/computer-generated environments, or use real-world backdrops like 360-degree images or videos with real actors, for example, for sales and negotiation training. You can recreate challenging environments such as dark, underground confined spaces, which lend themselves perfectly to the use of VR. Utilising a virtual environment, users can be safely trained on specific tasks which might otherwise be difficult (or expensive) to prepare them for. Immersive solutions can be distributed in several ways. You could start with pushing the content out to the users’ own smartphones, or build more advanced scenarios for highly specialised (often tethered) headsets that are powered by a computer for even richer graphics and more options to interact with the environment for a truly immersive ‘out-of-this-world’ experience.Mixed Reality (MR)MR like its name suggests provides a combination experience, where the user sees the real world embedded with believable, 3D virtual objects, which can be anchored to a point in real space. In a way one could even say that mixed reality combines the best of both, Virtual Reality as well as Augmented Reality. With both, virtual as well as real objects being visible at the same time, the user can seamlessly navigate (or interact with) both environments at the same time.

Think about utility

Critical to the decision to adopt an Immersive Experience solution is whether this is what will give you the greatest impact. From experience, here are some key considerations for the decision to use AR/VR/MR one should think about:

• Do learners need to step into the frame and be present, active and immersed in the experience?
• Is it expensive, dangerous or difficult to offer real-world experiential training?
• Can the experience be effectively recreated in AR/VR/MR mode?
• Does it offer a significant shift in the way learners see and understand the concept?
• Is the operating environment suitable for this immersive approach?
• What are the hardware requirements, and how do these fit in the budget?
• How will returns make it cost-effective?

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Weaving your story in 3D

 It’s easy to get lost in space when you’re creating a new world for the learner to move around in. Consider the setting carefully, and keep in mind space is a key ingredient of the AR/VR story. Here are also some key considerations for ‘storytelling’ for a truly immersive 3D experience:

• Is the story meaningful? How does the user’s presence, goal and intention drive the story?
• How are you using the 3D space to weave in the story?
• How does the story progress as the user looks around and moves in this space?
• How much space do you need in the real world to set up the system and get it working
• What cues are you using to guide and direct the user journey?
• Are gestures, gaze, hand-movements subtly and effectively included to trigger interactivity?
• What do you expect users to know, think, or feel? Is the message being conveyed effectively?
• Is there a clear take-away and call to action?

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Make it authentic

You are creating a 3D immersive, interactive world that will put learners in a state of suspended disbelief. So keep the communication intuitive, and remember to use the full field of vision. Again, here are some key design considerations we suggest you too look at:

• Have you thought about the entire learner experience, from start to finish?
• Are the settings accurately constructed, and are sound effects and art realistic and authentic?
• Are you planning for size, scale, perspective, depth, colours, contrast, lighting, shadows, movements and actions such as rotating a 3D object, peeling off layers, stepping into or out of a space?
• How will you communicate primary information (focus area) and how will you provide secondary information (periphery)?
• Will 3D objects be locked at a fixed distance, or will these move with the viewer?
• What cues will you use to interface / communicate with users so they know where to look, what to interact with and how to trigger events?
• How will you avoid overwhelming the user?

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Real & natural

At the end of the day, you need to create an experience that stays with learners (in a good way!) and leaves them wanting more. There’s no list of best practices when you’re making magic, except to make it feel as real and natural as you can! 

‍An article by Sambit Mohapatra, Founder and Director at Siyona Tech Ltd.

What is Virtual Reality?

In technical terms, Virtual Reality (VR) is a term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person then becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.In simple terms, VR immerses the user within a virtual environment by blanking out the real environment (fully or partially) through the use of a headset and computing device – a smartphone, computer or within the headset itself. The user, through the VR application on the computing device, can visualise, experience and interact with the virtual environment.Virtual Reality is ideal for training applications where there is a benefit in the learner being situated within the context, whether it be for entertainment, training, simulations, architectural renders or any other kind of visualisation scenarios.

What different formats does it take?

There are a number of different formats of VR. Which one is most appropriate depends on the platform and use-cases.From a platform/hardware perspective, there are two main formats:

• Tethered: This is where the software application resides on a computer/desktop and the headset is connected to it. The advantage is that one can run high-end VR solutions on a desktop and interaction possibilities are extended. The main disadvantage is that it’s impractical if the VR needs to be distributed to a larger audience. An example of a tethered solution is the HTC Vive or Oculus system.
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• Non-Tethered: In this, the VR application resides in either a standalone VR headset, such as the Oculus Go; or a SmartPhone, which can be used within a VR headset, such as the GearVR. Although the computing power is less and the interaction possibilities slightly limited, this can be deployed to a larger audience. One can extend the interaction possibilities by combining a gaze cursor within the application or with handheld controllers.

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Virtual Reality can also be implemented in a number of visual formats:

• Full 3D environments
• 360 degree photography-based environments
• 360 degree video or animation environmentsAn approach is selected depending on the level of immersion and interactivity required.

Typically, VR solutions are delivered as an App that resides on the SmartPhone or Desktop, however they can be deployed online as well. Online solutions are slightly restrictive in terms of what one can achieve with the bandwidth.

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What are the possibilities of VR for training learning?

The saying from a Chinese philosopher is often quoted in technology-based learning/active learning:“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”In our view, Virtual Reality (VR) takes it to the next dimension:“I immerse and I transform”VR has huge possibilities in learning as it can place the learner within the real context, get them to focus on tasks and provide a multi-dimensional learning experience where all the senses are truly engaged. Some of the use cases can be around:

• Induction – Familiarising learners with a new environment;
• Health and Safety (H&S) – Practising H&S within a safe environment that mirrors their real environment;
• Situational simulations – Sales and other situations;
• Conceptual learning – delivering conceptual learning in a really impactful manner;
• Visualisation – Visualising a complex concept that can’t be easily demonstrated in a 2D environment or the items can’t be brought together in the real world.

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Benefits

Learning within VR can have tremendous benefits for learning as demonstrated by the above examples.Although research and data are at the early stages, there are demonstrable benefits across a number of trials and research:

• Learners recall VR experiences and the content they cover within them for longer periods than other training methods;
• Being able to visualise in a multi-dimensional environment helps internalise the topic;
• VR has a high impact on the senses and therefore the ability to transform behaviour;
• Truly being able to situate the learner within the ‘Context’ has a huge impact on the learning;
• It’s a novel and innovative way of learning and generates more interest and engagement;
• Finally, the learner is less distracted by being within the VR environment and is more likely to focus on the learning.