3 Tips To Keep In Mind When Using Corporate Learning Reinforcement

Posted on July 28, 2022July 29, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

Training is not a set-it-and-forget-it task – it’s an ongoing process of engagement, development, and reinforcement.

Modern employees have multiple and often competing demands for their time and attention, which is far from ideal for learning new skills and retaining training content long-term. With some planning and a little creativity, you can use learning reinforcement to help your training content stick and help your employees build the skills they need to succeed.

At Roundtable Learning, our team of instructional designers has helped organizations design and implement training programs that meet the needs of their learners. We’ve designed customized learning programs that help employees learn new skills and created learning reinforcement activities to create a space for employees to practice what they learned and meet the objectives of the training.

This article will define learning reinforcement and provide tips for incorporating it into your corporate training programs.

What Is Learning Reinforcement?

Learning Reinforcement is a strategy that helps learners solidify their understanding of a concept or skill. After a learner has been exposed to a new idea, the training is strengthened through application, assessment, or expansion. By continuously building on previously learned concepts, learners’ will remember that information, driving sustainable behavior change.

Let’s look at a real-life example, learning to drive. Most of us started the process of learning to drive by observing others. That learning may have been reinforced with a classroom Drivers Ed experience. After that, we applied our knowledge by getting behind the wheel of a car and practicing and practicing, eventually taking (and hopefully passing) a driving test. Over time, we built on our prior learning by learning how to drive other cars and even other types of vehicles.

Each stage compounds new information and perspectives needed to make a drive a car. This is what learning reinforcement does – it promotes retention and solidifies our understanding by emphasizing application. Learning Reinforcement accomplishes this by creating a full cycle of development that engages learners before and after their main learning activity.

Using Train Me, Try Me, Test Me For Learning Reinforcement

You may have heard the expression, “use it or lose it.” Learners forget 90% of what they’ve learned within the first month after training if their learning isn’t properly reinforced. This can be avoided with Train Me, Try Me, and Test Me, an eLearning strategy designed for learners to break down new learning material in digestible chunks. Train Me, Try Me, and Test Me is completed as such:

Train Me: During this stage, learners are exposed to new materials and concepts. Learners acquire the prerequisite knowledge required to practice and gain mastery over new learning material.
Try Me: During this stage, learners are tasked with applying and retaining learned information through activities. Development at this stage is an iterative process of practice and feedback.
Test Me: During this stage, learners are assessed on their mastery and understanding of new concepts and skills. This can be done by self-assessment, observation, or formalized assessment.

Tips For Incorporating Learning Reinforcement Into Your Training

Here are three tips that you can use to integrate learning reinforcement into your training successfully:

Tip 1: Don’t Overcomplicate Pre- And Post-Session Activities

Learning Reinforcement ensures that training content is retained long-term, but make sure that your pre- and post-session activities don’t overload learners with too much information or activities that feel like busy work. When designing a training program, remember to keep it simple.

Pre-session activities should act as “exposure” for learners to understand what will be covered during the training and engage them in the content. For instance, if the primary learning activity is classroom-based, consider sending a short eLearning module to learners before the training introducing key concepts. This way, learners are more prepared, and the classroom session can be more interactive.

Post-session activities should act as “reminders” and drive application. For example, a simple email reminding learners about key points of the program and ways to apply the training can help solidify their understanding and drive behavior change.

Tip 2: Be As Context-Specific As Possible

Organizations need to make pre- and post-training materials as specific to each learner as possible. If you want to encourage the learner to apply their learning, you have to show them how the learning is applied in the context of their day-to-day job.

In order to do so, organizations can provide multiple job-specific resources to their learners. Learners can be sent a “Thanks for Completing Your Training” email with an attached, customized job aid they can refer to moving forward. Learners can also be sent a document that highlights important key concepts from training, alongside brief descriptions of those key concepts.

Suppose learners participated in training that reinforced their knowledge of stocking warehouses. In that case, all the pre-and post-training materials should cover those key areas, such as stocking guidelines, safety protocols, and how-to instructional manuals that may be useful at their specific job.

Tip 3: Keep Consistent Language In Your Training

Your entire training should use the same language within its pre-session, post-session, and main learning activities. This avoids confusion in learners and helps to create consistent overall training, as learners won’t be confused about sudden new terminologies.

Keeping language consistent in your training also avoids the risk of learners forgetting information.

For instance, let’s refer to our warehouse stocking example. If learners are taught about specific locations within warehouses, keep the terminologies the same: don’t refer to the same location as both “Aisle 1” and “Row 1” so that learners are not confused about their learned material.

Improve Your Training Program And Incorporate These Tips!

We hope that by reading this article, you’ve learned about learning reinforcement and three tips that will help you with its implementation. Schedule a meeting with our team of experts to learn more!

What Is Functional Skills Training? Less Than 100 Words

Posted on July 21, 2022July 20, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

Ready to learn more about Functional Skills Training? Let’s dive into why it’s essential, alongside some examples.

What Are Functional Skills?

Functional skills refer to the competencies necessary to complete your role’s daily tasks and can vary between roles and organizations. Since these skills are typically more technical in nature, functional skills training aims to ensure that learners are completing job tasks correctly; however that is defined (safely, efficiently, timely, etc.).

Examples of functional skills are, but are not limited to:

How to replace machinery parts
How to organize warehouse items
How to perform safety protocols

How To Train For Functional Skills

While training an employee for their role’s functional skills seems easy, there are many ways to approach functional skills training depending on your organization, budget, and time. The key to functional skills training is to provide instruction supplemented with the ability to practice those skills and receive feedback.

This section will explain how you can train one skill with different learning modalities if you hire a new employee to stack pallets in your warehouse. There are a few ways you can get this employee trained safely and efficiently:

Job Shadowing: Pair the new hire with a tenured employee to close any skills gap between the two employees. The new hire will observe the functional skills that the tenured employee uses when stacking pallets, and after an extended period of time, the tenured employee will ask the new hire to complete those same stacking skills. The tenured employee will provide real-time feedback while the new hire is practicing, which provides an opportunity for new hires to mentally ponder and physically practice these new skills – resulting in the retention of that information.
eLearning: Design eLearning modules to walk your employee through the process and theories behind how to stack pallets properly. These modules provide information for learners, followed by multiple-choice questionnaires that learners have to select the correct answer.
Video Learning: Record tenured employees properly stacking pallets and have your new hire watch the recording. New hires should watch these videos to gain an understanding of what their job tasks look like, as well as how to complete warehouse stockings.
Full VR: Allow your new employee to practice stacking pallets within a virtual reality space. Provide new hires a virtual reality headset, and place them into a fully-simulated virtual space that allows learners to physically practice pallet stacking skills without causing any issues or mistakes in the real world.

You don’t have to use these modalities separately – you can combine them through blended learning. This comprehensive training approach combines traditional and digital learning to create a training program that works for every learner.

Through blended learning, training is more convenient for new hires; appealing to multiple modalities increases engagement by accommodating multiple learning styles; combining modalities is an efficient use of time and money.

Ready To Learn More?

We hope that you have a thorough understanding of functional skills and what functional training in the workplace looks like. If you have any questions, please schedule a meeting with us, and we will be happy to answer all of your questions!

The 3 T’s Of VR Training

Posted on July 14, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

Virtual Reality has already transformed training at workplaces throughout the globe, but don’t take our word for it. According to Superdata, 91% of businesses currently plan or have adopted VR technology for their training programs.

The evidence is clear, but adopting the technology is not enough; you will need to implement your VR training strategically, and you can do that with The 3 T’s of VR Training.

This article will cover what VR training is, how to implement The 3 T’s with VR training, and examples of how you can use The 3 T’s for your program.

What Is VR Training?

Virtual reality (VR) training creates an artificial environment in which the user is fully immersed in an experience. Through a VR headset, desktop, or mobile device, learners enter a virtual world created with video or through a fully simulated environment.

With VR, you can have 360° VR or Full VR experiences. Here are the differences:

360° VR Training

3 60º VR places learners in a fixed position with limited mobility. Learners can look left and right or up and down while interacting with the environment through gaze control or a laser pointer controller.

In 360º VR, learners typically receive instruction by watching pre-recorded 360° videos. Learners look around to view every aspect of the video and participate in choice selection using their VR controllers.

This type of instruction helps teach soft skills. For example, if a learner is taking part in diversity training via 360° VR:

They watch a pre-recorded conversation that pertains to diversity issues
They are prompted with a multiple-choice question about how to respond to the conversation appropriately
Learners use the controller to select their answer
The VR training marks answers as correct or incorrect and why, as well as a chance to repeat the question if necessary

This allows learners to learn diversity-based conversational skills without damaging relationships at their workplace. Learners are free to make mistakes and learn from them – without consequence.

There is evidence for this. In 2013, Stanford University published a study that demonstrated the use of VR in developing empathy with those who have color-blindness. When asking individuals to assist those with color-blindness, they observed that participants in their test group volunteered nearly twice as much as the control group.

Full VR Training

Full VR places learners in a position of free mobility. Learners can move forwards and backward, up and down, and right to left while interacting with digital objects. In this environment, learners practice physical skills and tasks that they would require in the real world.

In full VR, learners typically receive instruction by following on-screen instructions and completing tasks successfully.

This type of instruction helps teach hard skills. For example, if a learner is undergoing full VR training with maintenance:

Learners see a piece of equipment in front of them that needs maintenance
On-screen prompts walk the learner through the maintenance process, step-by-step
Learners use the full VR environment to physically complete each step
The VR module determines if they correctly completed each step and provides feedback when necessary

There is also evidence for this. Boeing increased the wiring speed and accuracy of its learners by 33%.

Using The Three T’s To Train With Virtual Reality

When implementing VR technology, you’ll need a learning approach that breaks down new skills in a calculated, strategic manner. Using The Three T’s is recommended because each of its three stages reinforces skill acquisition.

Let’s dive into each step:

Train

During this stage, learners are introduced to new skills. This introductory stage sets the groundwork for introducing the learning objectives and explaining the concepts for the learning activity. The material can be presented through a variety of modalities, such as video examples, instruction, or demonstration.

Try

During this stage, learners are tasked with practicing their new skills. The emphasis is on the freedom to practice and make errors in a safe space, which is where VR technology is helpful. A great way to set up the Try stage is to allow learners to practice what they learned in the Train stage while showing corrections in real-time with corresponding feedback.

Test

During this stage, learners are assessed on their ability to show mastery of their new skills. This can be completed by giving learners the opportunity to perform activities based on the knowledge they learned without real-time correction or feedback. At the end of the activity, a score or other form of feedback can be provided to the learner and reported to the facilitator.

Examples Of The Three T’s In The Workplace

When combined with VR technology, this approach can be used for many training topics, teaching soft and hard skills.

Using The Three T’s For Diversity Training

360º VR can be utilized for soft skills training by using actors to show emotion and microaggressions. In this example, we will walk through how you can use The Three T’s for diversity training.

During the train stage, learners will watch a scenario where a coworker exhibits microaggressions at a team meeting and how a leader can properly address the situation.

During the try stage, learners will practice using the skills they observed during the train stage. Learners will have the opportunity to guide a conversation from the manager’s point of view by using choice selection – when the wrong choice is clicked, the activity will correct them with information.

During the test stage, learners will participate in a role-play activity to guide a conversation

without assistance to see how the conversation plays out with the choices they make on their own. When complete, the learner and facilitator can see how the conversation went and identify if more training is needed.

Using The Three T’s For Warehouse Training

Full VR training is a great opportunity to allow learners to safely practice physical tasks while limiting the risk of injury or property damage. In this example, we will walk through how you can use The Three T’s for warehouse training.

During the train stage, learners will use a VR headset to learn how to stack boxes in a warehouse properly. CGI characters will describe how to efficiently and safely carry each box and stack boxes on pallets.

During the try stage, learners will be prompted to work through an activity that has them physically practicing their new skills. Learners will be tasked with grabbing, carrying digital boxes, and stacking them on a pallet within the guidelines illustrated in the train stage. When tasks are done incorrectly, the activity will notify the employee and provide guidance to correct their form.

During the test stage, learners will be tasked with successfully stacking boxes without guidance. Learners will be given the activity and asked to work independently to see if they implement the skills they just learned. When complete, the learner and facilitator can see how the activity went and identify if more training is needed.

Get Ready To Train, Try, and Test Your Learners!

This article has covered all the components of The Three T’s and their relationship with VR training. We hope you feel more confident moving forward with your training program and observe all the benefits this model brings towards skills acquisition.

Schedule a meeting with our team of experts to learn more!

What Is Just-In-Time Training? Less Than 100 Words

Posted on July 7, 2022June 29, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

Ready to learn more about JIT training? Let’s dive into why it’s important, alongside some examples.

Why Is Just-In-Time Training Important?

Comprehensive training for your employees is important for them to learn the skills needed for their role, but when employees need quick topic/skill-specific training, JIT might be just what you need. JIT training offers an alternative way to learn for your employees that are unable to spend their time participating in traditional training activities.

JIT training follows the principles of microlearning, a methodology of learning that offers information in small, focused amounts. You can see this come through in the content of JIT training – short bursts of information are provided for learners to quickly grasp.

Rather than having a field technician flip through an entire maintenance manual for a piece of equipment, you can provide them with quick videos that walk through each part of the equipment. This shortens the time it takes them to find the information they need and enables them to provide timely service for their customer.

JIT training can keep your employees productive while ensuring they are acquiring the knowledge they need. This microlearning methodology can help to maintain engagement and ensure long-term knowledge retention when learners can apply what they learn almost immediately as well as referring back to the content as needed.

Examples Of Just-In-Time Training Tools

JIT training can come in many forms – the goal is to meet your learner when they need the content the most. And luckily, with modern technology, we can meet learners almost anywhere!

The following are a few examples of JIT training tools:

FAQ pages on a website or intranet
Short eLearning modules
Videos hosted publicly on YouTube
A tablet loaded with instructional videos
Job aids that can be printed or downloaded
A Product Knowledge Manual that can be accessed digitally

JIT training tools are designed for specific needs and easily transferable knowledge. Think of them as TikToks – they’re short and convey content to the audience immediately.

Are You Ready To Adopt JIT Training?

This article defined JIT tools, their importance, and provided real-life examples. We hope you can get started with JIT training tools today.

If you’re looking to learn more about JIT training tools, feel free to schedule a meeting and one of our L&D experts will reach out to you!

How To Show Your Culture When Virtually Onboarding

Posted on July 5, 2022June 29, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

An ideal onboarding process retains employees, boosts new hires’ productivity, and creates a welcoming atmosphere in your workplace culture– but what happens when onboarding can’t be done in person?

The answer is virtual onboarding, which is the process of integrating new hires virtually.

At Roundtable Learning, our team of experts partners with organizations to create or improve their onboarding programs.

This article defines what virtual onboarding is, discusses common challenges of virtual onboarding, and shares tips to establish a positive workplace culture for remote employees.

What Is Virtual Onboarding?

With the rise of remote positions in workplaces worldwide, the need for efficient virtual onboarding has also increased. Virtual onboarding provides your new employees an understanding of your organization, core values, daily routines, and workplace culture – through online means such as Zoom, Slack, or Teams.

For a successful virtual onboarding process for new hires, your process should be structured around these five goals:

Impression – Affirm the new employee’s decision to join the organization.
Introduction – Build the employee’s understanding of the organization.
Integration – Ensure that the employee understands their role, how they contribute to their team, and how their team adds value to the organization.
Immersion – Build the employee’s knowledge of the functions, processes, and skills required for success in their role.
Independence – Validate that the employee can perform the critical functions of their role.

However, this is easier said than done, as 88% of employees believe their organization doesn’t onboard effectively. Effectively establishing your workplace culture when onboarding virtually shows your organization’s core values and problem-solving skills – which portrays your organization’s culture in a positive light.

Common Challenges Of Virtual Onboarding

Virtual onboarding comes with its own set of challenges, along with the challenges that onboarding processes inherently struggle with – but when addressed correctly, virtual onboarding can become an effective and convenient way to onboard new employees and introduce your workplace culture from near or far.

To create a virtual onboarding experience that successfully conveys the workplace culture, identifying key challenge areas is critical. Here are some common challenges of establishing culture when virtually onboarding:

Information Overload

One challenge in virtual onboarding is the conversion of an organization’s in-person onboarding materials into a virtual onboarding program. Many organizations make the mistake of utilizing the same training material used in an in-person session and attempting to do this over video conference.

Solution: Convert Materials Into Multiple Modalities

Learning content is most effective when it is used for the modality it is designed for. This means that taking content from instructor-led training sessions and presenting them in a virtual format may not be as effective as redesigning the material for the new modality.

A rule of thumb is that an experienced virtual facilitator can cover between 66% and 75% of the amount of content that they could cover in a traditional face-to-face environment. By taking the time to convert your content into different modalities such as virtual instructor-led training, eLearning, videos, or others, you can increase the effectiveness of the material.

Establishing Human Connections

Employees work at their best when they feel connected to their coworkers and have built positive relationships in the workplace. However, being remote limits the opportunity to organically build these relationships.

Without connecting with other team members in a meaningful way, new hires could struggle in their new positions. If they struggle to connect with their colleagues, how can they hope to connect with your workplace’s culture?

Solution: Utilize Virtual Introductions

Setting up a virtual meeting with your team to introduce your new hire is essential for integrating your new hire. Having everyone turn on their cameras is helpful, as new hires can then place names on faces.

During this time, new hires can also be introduced to different aspects of your organization, what they do, and how all your systems work together towards your overall organizational goal. In doing so, new hires similarly experience an onboarding process that would occur if it were in person, and will gain an understanding of what your workplace culture is like.

4 Tips for Successful Virtual Onboarding

The above challenges can result in a difficult experience for your new hires, but when utilized effectively, virtual onboarding can be an efficient method for integrating your new hires into the workplace culture. The following are some tips for successful virtual onboarding:

Start With a Welcome Package

Your new hire’s enthusiasm for their new position may be boosted by sending them a “welcome package”. This establishes your workplace culture as a prepared organization that prioritizes the treatment of its employees. Your package should include:

Company-themed items (clothing, hats, pens, etc)
Required on-job materials (work computer, earbuds, etc)
Business cards (if applicable)

Utilize Technologies to Bridge the Gap

In the new age of technology, a new hire doesn’t need to physically be in a location to experience a location. Consider using virtual reality to introduce the key locations through tours and other activities to help new hires feel more connected to the organization. Augmented reality is a great tool to bring machinery, products, and equipment to your learners from anywhere.

Maintain Consistent Communication

When new hires are remote, it is essential to schedule consistent touchpoints with them to answer any questions they may have. During these calls:

Explain everything about your organization
Share important information about “who is who”
Describe how your organization is structured
Share what the workflow process looks like
Provide the appropriate documentation that your new hire will need

In doing so, your new hire will experience an effective onboarding process and will gain an understanding of your workplace culture.

Consistent communication does not need to only be with leaders. Encourage your team to schedule time with your new hire, so they can be acquainted with different team members. During these meetings, team members can describe their specific roles and how it fits into the organization.

This also allows your new hire to build connections with multiple people, which builds a sense of community.

Provide Plenty of Opportunities For Engagement

Remote employees run the risk of lacking engagement with their new workplace. To make up for this, schedule as many remote activities as possible.

This includes involving all team members in project meetings, fun virtual activities, or allowing opportunities for your new hires to check in with leaders as much as necessary. Examples include:

Scheduling a virtual lunch
Schedule a video call with your entire team
Send your hire some company-branded items
Schedule a virtual Happy Hour

The most important aspect of this is to provide your new hire with information and engagement with your organization in a positive, supportive light.

Could Virtual Onboarding Benefit Your Culture-Establishing Endeavors?

Looking to learn more about virtual onboarding and its benefits in establishing workplace culture? Reach out to one of our experts today and they will answer any questions you have!

Getting To Know Roundtable: Max Calhoun Employee Spotlight

Posted on June 29, 2022June 28, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

This week, we sat down with Roundtable’s Max Calhoun to talk about his role, XR Developer, and some industry trends that he finds interesting.

What does your title of being an XR Developer mean? What do you do for Roundtable?

As an XR Developer, I build applications that make use of extended reality technologies, such as virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality. At Roundtable, I work in a team alongside 3D Modelers, Instructional Designers, and occasionally other developers to build training applications for our clients.

How did you get into XR development?

I’ve always had an interest in computers and technology since childhood. I took my first programming course in high school, and upon completion, I decided that this was the career path I wanted to pursue. I went to Kent State University and majored in computer science with a focus in game programming. While there, I made several connections while working on games with peers, which connected me to Roundtable.

What is a trend in learning technology that’s exciting to you?

One trend I’m excited about is the increase in tracking capabilities of XR Hardware. Products like the Leap Motion Controller by Ultraleap allow for tracking precise hand and finger movements. This eliminates the need for physical controllers by allowing the user to interact with the virtual environment using their hands and fingers.

Finish the sentence. Learning is essential to an organization because…

It keeps your organization competitive. This results in better-trained workers, which in turn produce better products and services.

What is something you have done in this role this year that you are proud of?

I’m really proud of the work that my team and I put into the Tier 4 project for BNSF. This application is a “titan.” Not only have countless hours been spent on programming the training itself, but loads of work also went into modeling and developing the instructional material. We’ve encountered many obstacles along the way, but our brilliant team overcame them all. The end result looks great, and it’s amazing to see how much the project has progressed through our collective efforts.

What are some interesting facts about you?

I graduated from college in 3 years. I’m also a gamer, and I’ve played quite a few video games over the years. Some of my favorites include the Halo trilogy, Rust, Rimworld, and Borderlands 2.

What Are CGI Characters? Less Than 100 Words

Posted on June 28, 2022July 20, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

Ready to learn more about using CGI characters for your VR training? Let’s dive into what CGI characters are, how they fit into full VR training, and the four benefits of using these characters within VR training.

What Are CGI Characters?

CGI characters are a form of computer-generated animated models. The characters’ interactivity with learners changes depending on the medium it is designed for (video games, VR training). CGI characters are created digitally and can be customized, edited, or repurposed at any time, for any purpose. They can be as simple as Microsoft’s Office Assistant Paperclip, or as complex as a movie character.

How Are CGI Characters Used For Training?

CGI characters can be used in a full VR environment to enhance learners’ experiences. These characters are customized to meet the needs of the training; they can be repurposed to be proxy avatars in the background, interactive characters that test the skills of your learners, or they can illustrate tasks for learners to observe.

When used properly, CGI characters can serve many purposes for your training activity:

Represent customers or coworkers
Serve as an activity narrator
Be used to demonstrate an activity or job function
Assist learners when stuck in an activity with directions or tips
Fill out the virtual environment to be more realistic and train learners to ignore distractions

Benefits Of Using CGI Characters In Full VR Training

There are four major ways that CGI characters can enhance your VR training experience:

CGI Characters Can Fill The Need For Humans – Using CGI characters in a VR training experience allows you to recreate human interactions, on-demand.
CGI Characters Allow For Easy Training Program updates – If you need to update the information your characters say, how the character is dressed, or how the character looks, it can all be done without having to start from scratch.
CGI Characters Can Increase Learner Engagement – CGI characters assist the learning process because they provide learners opportunities for active engagement.
CGI Characters Can Safely Emphasize Safety Risks – VR training can use CGI characters and place learners in hazardous situations, instantly conveying to the learners what could happen if safety protocols are not followed.

4 Benefits of Using CGI Characters For Your VR Training

Posted on June 23, 2022June 21, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

CGI characters enhance video games, television, and films – so why not use them for training as well?

Training is most effective when learners are engaged with the material in multiple modalities. When learners can hear, see, and engage with their learning material, they will retain information faster and for longer periods. CGI characters are integral to this process.

At Roundtable Learning, we work with clients to develop VR training to fit any need. This often requires creating CGI characters to assist in their learning experiences.

This article will explore what CGI characters are, how they are used in training, and 4 ways CGI characters can maximize your training experience.

What Is Full VR Training?

VR is an extended reality technology that places learners in an entirely digital environment using a VR headset.

Full VR allows a person with a headset to move freely within a virtual environment. Learners can move forward and backward, up and down, and right and left while observing and interacting with objects placed in the environment, just like they would if those objects were real.

The goal is to replicate real-life as closely as possible so that learners gain the necessary skills needed to perform their daily tasks without making mistakes in the “real” world.

What Is A CGI Character?

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) characters are digitally-created models that resemble and behave like real people. You’re probably familiar with CGI characters from animated movies or modern video games. These characters are entirely computer generated and designed to fit any need.

The characters’ level of interactivity with learners depends on the medium it is designed for – characters designed for VR training can be used to assist learners as they work through their training activities. CGI characters can be as simple as Microsoft’s Office Assistant Paperclip or as complex as a movie character.

How Are CGI Characters Used For Training?

CGI characters are a great tool for corporate training programs. Full VR training activities utilize CGI training characters to further the immersion for learners through meaningful interactions and to help set the scene.

When used properly, CGI characters can serve many purposes for your training activity:

Represent customers or coworkers
Serve as an activity narrator
Be used to demonstrate an activity or job function
Assist learners when stuck in an activity with directions or tips
Fill out the virtual environment to be more realistic and train to ignore distractions

Modern technology allows us to create CGI characters that closely resemble humans. This realism can help immerse your learners in the virtual training environment and guide them through their learning objectives seamlessly to boost engagement and knowledge retention.

Using CGI characters for your training can help immerse your learners in their VR training experience and increase the flexibility of your program to last long-term.

4 Benefits Of Using CGI Characters For VR Training

CGI characters can elevate your learners’ training experience. Let’s review four benefits of using CGI characters for corporate training and real-world examples.

CGI Characters Can Fill The Need For Humans

In-person interactions are one of the best ways to learn, but it may not always be possible to have employees train with actual customers or coworkers on-demand. Using CGI characters in a VR training experience allows you to have on-demand training available in a safe environment.

Example: VR Training For Customer Service

Customer service can be tricky to train; your employees need to practice their skills while your customers still receive the best experience. With VR training, you can create CGI characters to replicate customer interactions and allow your learners to practice role-playing without risking your customers’ experience.

CGI Characters Allow For Easy Training Program Updates

CGI characters are created by computer graphics, which means that they can be customized, edited, or repurposed at any time. If you need to update the information your characters say, how the character is dressed, or how the character looks, it can all be done without having to start from scratch. You also can reuse characters in other VR environments, saving your organization development time and money.

Example: Keeping Your Training Up To Date

Product knowledge training is important to keep your employees up to date with the latest offerings and advancements. If you have a VR training activity that allows your sales team to practice a sales interaction through role-play, you can easily update your activity to account for new products without the need to create a new activity. Your team can program new sections and learning paths while keeping the same environment and CGI customer character.

CGI Characters Can Increase Learner Engagement

CGI characters assist the learning process because they provide learners opportunities for active engagement. CGI characters can be created as “narrators” for your training content; they can interact with learners for soft skills development or fill out the virtual environment to help learners avoid “realistic” distractions.

Example: Using CGI Characters To Create A Realistic VR Scene

Great VR training activities can accurately recreate a learner’s work environment. If an employee is training for a job that takes place in public, it’s not realistic to have the learner practicing in an activity with no distractions. CGI characters can be programmed to walk around the environment along with cars or other natural noises. This will help your learner learn how to focus on their task at hand in the same type of environment they will face in real life.

CGI Characters Can Safely Emphasize Safety Risks

Depending on the organization, health and safety protocols may be integral to a learner’s daily tasks. VR training can use CGI characters and place learners in hazardous situations, instantly conveying to the learners what could happen if safety protocols are not followed.

Example: VR Training For Armed Robbery Training

Some topics can be difficult to train for, including armed robbery training. By using VR for this type of training, you can test your learners’ ability to make decisions under stress – while staying safe. An armed robbery VR training activity can show a learner the outcomes of their chosen actions (whether good or bad) without putting them in harm’s way. You can use CGI characters to play the robber along with coworkers and customers.

Ready To Learn More?

We would be happy to answer any additional questions you have and get you started with using CGI characters for your VR training program! Schedule a meeting with us, and we will contact you as soon as possible.

What is AR-Based Remote Assistance And Can It Be Used For Corporate Training?

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

When training on complex tasks helps to have subject matter experts (SMEs) at hand. However, what happens when you have multiple locations across the globe and a limited number of SMEs?

Meet AR-based remote assistance. By combining augmented reality technology with video conferencing, you can connect your learners with SMEs when they need it the most.

In this article, we’ll review what AR-based remote assistance is and cover a few ways it’s being used.

What Is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality (AR) is a type of extended reality technology that allows you to insert text, images, video, 3D models, and other digital assets into the real world by using a smartphone, tablet, or headset.

As organizations utilize AR for training and development, they are also exploring how AR technologies can be used for real-time learner support. By enhancing reality with digital elements, you can draw your learners’ attention to exactly what they need to learn.

How Organizations Are Using AR

DHL set a goal to improve the quality and overall productivity of their picking process with the implementation of AR-based smart glasses as a support tool. Learners quickly learned product location, product quantity, and aisle stock by using AR-based smart glasses. The initiative improved DHL’s warehouse performance by up to 25%, improving DHL’s overall productivity.

What is AR-Based Remote Assistance?

AR-based remote assistance combines the interactivity of AR technology with the ability to connect to others in real-time through voice or video calls.

Organizations can use AR-based remote assistance to connect employees and share information from anywhere in the world. Field technicians can connect with their home offices, medical professionals can connect to see patients, and equipment operators can connect to senior technical advisors to help troubleshoot equipment.

Your organization is no longer stalled when on-job SMEs are unavailable, allowing learners to access SMEs easily and preventing delays. This eases logistics and saves your organization valuable time and money.

There are two ways to access AR-based remote assistance:

Handheld Devices: tablets, smartphones
Wearable Devices: VR headsets (Oculus, Pico Neo 3), AR-based smart glasses

AR-Based Business Applications

You may be surprised to hear that organizations already use AR-based remote assistance every day. Let’s take a look at practice business applications of AR-based remote assistance.

Connecting Field Technicians To Experts

According to Gartner’s Future of Field Service, more than 50% of field service management deployments will include mobile augmented reality collaboration and knowledge-sharing tools by 2025.

Employees working in the field can use augmented reality technology to access critical information from anywhere they need to be. And now, with AR-based remote assistance, they can connect to experts in real-time, sharing what they see and working collaboratively to solve problems in the field.

Technical Support During Equipment Set-Up Or Troubleshooting

When working with complex or expensive equipment, limiting downtime is key. When you have equipment down, it’s important to safely and efficiently get it up and running.

Employees working on setting up, troubleshooting, and maintaining equipment often have access to documentation and senior employees to share knowledge. But now, with AR-based remote assistance, a single technician can put on smart glasses and have access to equipment documentation, tutorials, diagrams, and even experts at their fingertips. Whether the SME is a senior technician or the equipment manufacturer, your technician on site can share what they see and receive input in real-time.

Is AR-Based Remote Assistance A Good Training Tool?

Consider the ways people learn: by hearing, seeing, and doing; using AR-based remote assistance supports all three.

AR-Based Remote Assistance makes a great performance support tool for your employees. While other learning modalities are better suited for initial training to meet learning objectives, having access to SMEs to assist for just-in-time assistance can help with long-term knowledge retention.

There are several benefits to AR-based remote assistance:

Giving Instant Access To SME Assistance – Using AR-based remote assistance allows an extra pair of eyes to help the learners with whatever issues they face, completing each complex task step-by-step alongside the SME.
Cost-Effectiveness – AR-based remote assistance reduces the need to have a senior staff or SMEs on-call or on location at all times.

AR-Based Remote Assistance Vendors

Now that we know what AR-based remote assistance is, let’s see how it’s currently used.

Re’Flekt’s Remote

Remote, created by Munich-based Re’Flekt, is an AR-based service and support app on the market. Learners can connect to a SME and share annotated files and photos to assist with on-the-job issues. SMEs can use augmented reality to connect directly to the learner’s device, where they can highlight problem areas and focus on immediate solutions.

TeamViewer’s xAssist

TeamViewer’s xAssist uses smart glasses to provide AR-based remote assistance. xAssist is compatible with HoloLens, Google Glass, Sony AR headsets, Vuzix, and Epson. Using smart glasses, xAssist displays the learner’s work-related issue for SMEs, who then walk learners through appropriate steps towards the solution – and an additional bonus is that this makes all assistance hands-free for learners.

Are You Ready To Apply Augmented Reality-Based Remote Assistance To Your Employees?

This article covered AR-based remote assistance and how you can use it for your organization. Are you considering new learning technologies for your program? Feel free to schedule a meeting with us, and we will answer any questions you may have!

Mercury Extended Reality System: Frequently Asked Questions [June 2022]

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Aubrey Barto

If you’ve decided to utilize virtual reality (VR) to address your training needs, you’re likely thinking about this question:

How do I measure training progress?

Never fear… Mercury XRS is here! This intuitive extended reality (XR) system manages every aspect of virtual reality training, from content management, tracking employee progress, and releasing content updates from one, singular platform.

At Roundtable Learning, our team uses the latest-and-greatest technologies to enhance organizational training. With many successful training programs under our belt, we are experienced in helping organizations manage their XR training efficiently and easily.

In this article, we will answer the top questions we get about our Mercury XRS platform.

What is Mercury XRS?

Mercury XRS helps you manage, deliver, and report on the data from your VR training. By consolidating all of these tasks into a singular web-based platform, you can implement effective and organized training content on a large scale. Simply put, Mercury XRS organizes your training so that you don’t have to.

Mercury XRS gives you the ability to:

Deliver and update training by user, device, and location – allowing you to pinpoint whoever needs specific training materials and deploy content from anywhere.
Collect and observe your top-performing training metrics, as they occur, through customizable dashboards and reports.
Begin, progress, and complete training from multiple devices. For example, trainees could begin their training on smart glasses, continue on a tablet, and complete it with a headset.

Does Mercury XRS work with all XR training types?

Mercury XRS currently supports 360º virtual reality, full virtual reality, and augmented reality training activities.

Can I integrate Mercury XRS into my current LMS platform?

With the use of xAPI or AICC communication technology, Mercury XRS can connect to your LMS platform* – keeping your learning paths intact.

There are 2 primary ways to communicate with an LMS:

The first is xAPI which is native in the platform code itself. We accumulate the messages and can pass them along in a stream. If the customer already has an existing system with the LRS system – we can get better data reported.
The second is to offer AICC communication back to a conformant LMS system. AICC is the older standard, and this offering lets you communicate with older LMS implementations.

*Your LMS provider will have to help configure the integration with our team. Consult our experts for more information.

Can I migrate my existing XR content over to Mercury XRS?

If you have VR training content developed with Unity, there are capabilities to integrate your existing material into the Mercury XRS platform.*

Mercury XRS comes with a software development kit (SDK) that allows organizations to create their own XR content in one installable package. An SDK may include content libraries, training samples, guides, development tutorials, and more.

*This is dependent on an evaluation of VR content files.

How much does Mercury XRS cost?

There’s no exact answer here due to the customizable nature of Mercury XRS. This results in a price that can range from $1500 per month, to over $10,000 per month.

Let’s break down the 3 factors that influence cost in more detail.

Headsets and Licenses – Your biggest expense will be the number of headsets you require for your training. You can work with our experts to choose the best hardware for your project (Meta Quest, Pico Neo, HTC Vive, etc.) and get the right quantity ordered.

The cost of the Mercury XRS software is purchased per headset being used for the training program. Installation of Mercury XRS on each headset may also carry an additional charge.

Scope of Integration – The scope of integration refers to both the number of systems and the data that will be sent both to and from the Mercury XRS system. The more your XR training is a part of your business process/decision making, the more you’ll want that data available to your other reporting solutions. This takes into account any HRIS, LMS, BI, or LRS systems and the amount of information moving from one system to another.

Profile Syncing And/Or Content Assignment – Part of the initial setup of Mercury XRS involves profile syncing or content assignment to specific users within the system. While you may use single sign-on to populate profiles, this login system may not provide enough information about users, requiring a secondary user feed.

When a secondary user feed is required for profile syncing or content assignment, you can expect the cost of Mercury XRS to be higher given the non-standard authorization of users from that secondary feed.

*Cost ranges are general estimates; each training program is unique, and costs can vary. Please seek a professional quote for more specific and reliable costs.

What headsets are compatible with Mercury XRS?

Mercury XRS is currently compatible with:

Oculus Quest 1
Oculus Quest 2
Pico Neo 2
Pico Neo 2 Eye
Pico Neo 3
VIVE Focus 3
Hololens 2

If your training program requires a different headset, our team will work on compatibility options for you.

Learners and administrators can also use their computers to access Mercury XRS from the following internet browsers:

Google Chrome
Microsoft Edge
Mozilla Firefox
Apple Safari

How do I login to my Mercury XRS account on a headset?

Logging into Mercury XRS on your headset is simple:

You access the Mercury XRS app within your App section on your VR headset.
The opening screen will prompt you with the ability to ‘Activate’ your device. This will generate an activation code.
You then remove your VR headset and access the browser version of your Mercury XRS account from another device (laptop, smartphone).
You can type in the code generated by the headset.
Once entered, you are logged into Mercury XRS through your headset and ready to go!

How do I assign training through Mercury XRS?

Administrators can assign training to employees from the online admin portal. After each device is registered and licensed in the Mercury XRS system, organizations can deploy training content directly onto the device through the Mercury XRS app that sits within the headset.

Organizations can organize their training content and deploy as needed to their employees. Administrators can assign training to specific devices for individual employees or by device groups based on locations or teams.

Does Mercury XRS offer offline access?

Take your training anywhere with offline capabilities. Mercury XRS will automatically push out updates and deliver content to your headsets through their WiFi connection.

Users can access any training assigned to them that you delivered to your devices before disconnecting from the internet. Mercury XRS will store any training metrics on the device and send them to the dashboard when it’s back online.

How do I get started with Mercury XRS?

We would love to begin your journey with Mercury XRS! Schedule a meeting with our experts to learn more!