DevLearn 2019: What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas!

DevLearn Conference & Expo is, by far, North America’s leading event focused on learning technologies. At DevLearn 2019 delegates had the chance to meet with industry thought leaders and share strategies with peers. Plus, it was a great way to learn about the hottest topics and most innovative new ideas in our industry.

The Omniplex team were excited to attend yet another DevLearn conference last month in Vegas. During the show, our team had a jam-packed few days. Here are some of the key takeaways our team had from DevLearn 2019:

Virtual Reality in eLearning

A key theme at this year’s show was the application of virtual reality in learning. Although VR isn’t a new topic at DevLearn – this year was the first year we believe the true application was tangible.

Virtual reality in learning provides an immersive experience; intensifying learner engagement and motivation. With the recent launch of the Oculus Quest, the reality of using VR for learning has come to life.

However, it was clear throughout our time at DevLearn, that there are varying degrees of virtual reality. This ranges from creating a complete virtual world, for use with a VR headset; to leveraging 360 video to imitate the world of VR, especially when coupling it with the Google Cardboard.

We believe integrating virtual reality in learning is truly the future. It allows learners to experience new environments and practice new skills – all from the comfort (and safety) of their usual work location.

A great example of 360 video can be found here; which shows a panoramic view of the coffee shop, whilst teaching learners how to make the perfect latte.

Augmented Reality

Another key takeaway from  DevLearn was Augmented Reality.

We have seen application of AR in social apps such as Snapchat and Instagram over the past few years but it was fascinating to see its application in a learning environment.

Augmented Reality combines digital information with the ‘real-world’ environment; allowing learners to experience a highly engaging 3D environment. We truly believe the application of AR in learning is limitless. From teaching learners in the automotive and manufacturing industries how to assemble parts; to providing health and safety information around offices.

Notable Women is a great example of how AR can be used in learning. It allows anyone to see 100 historic women where they have been historically left out: US Currency.

User Experience (UX)

UX design was at the centre of everything that we experienced at DevLearn. Focussing on the complete learner experience; UX design considers the behaviours, attitudes and emotions that interacting with the course invokes.

UX design for eLearning covers a variety of topics, including:

• Ensuring your course is responsive so that when learners switch from one device to the other they do not lose the learning flow.
• Including compelling calls to action so that your learners are motivated to click and continue learning.
• Providing punchy titles so that your learners can guess the content by the title, making navigation quicker and reducing frustration.

Microlearning

Microlearning isn’t a new topic either, but it’s importance echoed through the halls of DevLearn 2019. As you probably know, microlearning delivers short bursts of content for learners to be studied at their convenience . Microlearning content can take a variety of formats, such as video, courses or podcasts. But regardless of the format, it should always be short in length and easily accessible to learners.

Microlearning has a whole host of benefits, including:

• Fast delivery: Microlearning enables you to respond quickly to changes in legislation or business goals.
• Learning at the point of need: Allowing learners to tap back into content quickly and easily, when they need to.
• Device fluidity: Typically, microlearning is accessible from a range of devices, and notably smartphones or tablets. This allows learners to pick up the learning whenever its convenient to them.

We’re true advocates of microlearning, and we truly believe in it’s potential. So much so that Omniplex China created this fantastic microlearning course for the China Lottery.

We hope this blog has given you inspiration for your future learning courses, even if you didn’t get the chance to attend DevLearn 2019 – because we’ve definitely flown back to the UK with our minds buzzing about VR, AR, UX and microlearning. Over the coming months the Omniplex and Cursim teams will be diving further into these emerging  trends in learning, so keep an eye out for what’s to come.