On April 26^th VenueGen Chief Learning Officer Richard Kristof delivered a presentation called the Gamification of Learning.  The presentation covered the inevitable transformation the learning industry is making to the use of video game technologies and techniques to improve the learning experience.  The talk focused in on the online learners from grade school through adult who are seeing neurocognitive benefits from the application of immersion to engage learners through the active suspension of disbelief.  When attention spans increase and rich media is used to stimulate learning memories are more vivid and recall is more reliable.

Please visit www.ecgconf.com for more information and videos of all the presentations from this two day annual event.

Are we truly ready for the next generation of workers? They want more than a cubicle and a health plan.
[url=http://www.cisco.com/assets/sol/ent/business_trend/borderless/ccwtr/tech_world_report2.html]T
his infographic[/url] from a study published by Cisco in 20111 shows some surprising new attitudes
toward their work environment that business and education will need to take into account if they want
to attract and engage the best and brightest. Our newest workforce generation, aka Millennials or
Generation Y, want new heights of control over their own job-related technology. There’s also a
growing attitude that brick-and-mortar solutions such as offices and classrooms are outdated and
inefficient.

A survey was given to a subgroup of millennials–those who are in the final years of college or the early
years of post-graduation employment. There’s a temptation to dismiss their attitudes as naive, and
surely some will find a rude awakening awaits. The fact remains, however, that these are the kinds of
perks and working conditions that will motivate them as a group. The top cream of the crop will be
able to demand all of these things–and get them–from employers and the sound of that will echo all
the way down the hierarchy of employment.

This generation of “digital natives” grew up like none before it, and the result is a new kind of talent.
They’ve grown up saturated with technology–cell phones in pockets, Nintendo™ in every living room,
laptops and tablets strewn about every home, and continuous work with computers in school from a
very tender age. Using this technology during early development has changed the way their brains
process information about the world, and that effect cannot be duplicated by training later in life.
Obviously they’re not the only generation with “skills,” but their skills are considerable, and can’t be
wasted if progress is to move forward.

Toward the bottom of the infographic, they mention that these kinds of attitudes are spreading among
workers of all ages and stages of employment. This is an important point to consider as well.

It should also be noted that many young, educated workers will be forming their own companies in
short order, sometimes while they’re still in school. In five years, you could be working for a boss who
believes firmly in your right to work at home–you just never know.

Lorrain Sargent is  a virtual world enthusiast and contributor to the VenueGen Blog.

Infographic used by permission from Cisco – Click to enlarge.

VenueGen CEO, David Gardner will be speaking virtually at the physical conference in San Diego at 1:15 ET January 10^th.  He will be joined by two other virtual industry CEO’s discussing the value of greater online engagement, what audiences/use cases are the best fit for  immersive modalities and where online immersion creates the greatest ROI.

David Gardner, CEO of VenueGen

Although the VEW conference have been an annual physical event for years, this is the first time one of the presenters has presented virtually at the event.   “There’s certainly some irony in flying each year to a physical conference about meeting virtually”, Gardner states.   This milestone is yet another indicator that immersive technologies have matured and are ready for the enterprise.    Gardner will be using the VenueGen platform for his virtual appearance, content and audience interaction.

Click on image to view session information

Thinking and Learning in 3D: How to Create Successful Virtual Learning Experiences

Wednesday, December 7 from 2 – 3 pm EST in VenueGen

In this age of far-flung workforces, reduced budgets and digital communication, we’re all seeking a way to replicate the engagement of face-to-face instructor-led training (ILT) online. To do this, a growing number of organizations−corporate and academic alike−are turning to immersive 3D environments: virtual classrooms that employ live avatars to let remote teams interact and engage with one another as naturally and effectively as they would in the physical classroom.

Randy Hinrichs, author of "Transforming Virtual World Learning" to present in VenueGen

But what does it take to successfully train and learn in 3D? Join Randy Hinrichs, online training expert and author of the new book Transforming Virtual World Learning as he presents the latest research on how to plan, design, develop and implement a successful 3D virtual learning program. In this interactive VenueGen seminar, you’ll experience first-hand the value of immersive 3D learning while discovering the answers to questions like:

• What does it mean to think in 3D? How does thinking in 3D transform the way we learn?
• How is training and learning in 3D different than in a physical classroom?
• How can instructors adapt the social rules of face-to-face interaction to create successful learning experiences online?
• How can you leverage your current instructional design assets and methods in a 3D virtual classroom?

Register to win a copy of Randy's new book.

Randy will also share real-life case studies about the successful use of 3D virtual environments for managing faculty development, conducting intercultural collaboration, integrating departments, and more.

A drawing for a free copy of Hinrich’s book, Transforming Virtual World Learning, is being sponsored by Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Everyone who <registers for the event> will be automatically entered to win, so the giveaway is not limited only to those who are able to attend.

Don’t have a VenueGen account yet? It’s fast, easy and free to sign up. Just click the Register button below to get started.

Virtual seats are limited to the first 40 people to arrive on the day of event, so register now to get a headstart!

A Second Glance at 3D Virtual Learning: Cheaper, Easier, and More Robust

Wednesday, September 28 from 2 – 3 pm Eastern in VenueGen.

Caroline Avey of ACS Learning Services, a Xerox company

Join training expert Caroline Avey, Director of Innovative Solutions at ACS Learning Services, a Xerox company, for this limited-seat, interactive virtual presentation. Learn from her first-hand experience helping clients evaluate, select and implement various immersive training environments.

• Discover what’s new in the next generation of immersive virtual training environments
• Compare the functionality and cost models of today’s platforms
• Learn the major factors that every organization should consider when evaluating virtual worldsvirtual

Only a few short years ago, the learning industry was enamored with the idea of immersive, or 3D, virtual worlds. They held promise of training more learners more efficiently than ever–without sacrificing the engagement and interactivity of the physical classroom. But for most of us, the love affair was quickly cut short by early problems with security, usability, bandwidth requirements, and cost.

3D worlds for business use may have faded from the spotlight in recent years, but behind the scenes, the latest virtual training environments have matured to fulfill their early promise: a viable online solution that’s as easy, natural, and effective as face-to-face instructor-led training.

Don’t have a VenueGen account yet? It’s fast, easy and free to sign up. Just click the Register button below to get started.

Virtual seats are limited to the first 40 people to arrive on the day of event, so register now to get a headstart!

VenueGen CEO and President will explore how virtual environments can make distance education as powerful as face-to-face instruction

(Research Triangle Park, NC: June 3, 2011) “Virtual instructor-led training (ILT) and distance education programs are only as powerful as their ability to truly engage dispersed teams,” says David Gardner, CEO and creator of VenueGen (www.VenueGen.com), an immersive virtual classroom and collaboration lab. “If learners are less involved, engaged, and present in the e-classroom than they are in the physical classroom, then where’s the ROI of going virtual? Even if you reduce travel and time out-of-field, a disengaged workforce is less effective and more costly over time.”

Gardner and VenueGen President Jeff Crown will explore this gap between face-to-face and virtual ILT, as well as the potential of new immersive e-classroom platforms to finally bridge it, with a presentation titled “Making Virtual Environments Work for Distance Education” at two June 2011 conferences.

Gardner will speak Thursday, June 9 at the International Conference for eLearning in the Workplace (ICELW) 2011, from 2 – 3 pm EDT at Columbia University in New York, NY. To learn more about the Conference or to register to attend, please visit www.icelw.org.

Crown’s presentation will take place at eLearning DEVCON 2011 in Salt Lake City, UT Wednesday, June 15 from 11:30 am – 12:15 pm as part of the conference’s Project Management track. Conference and registration information is available at www.elearningdevcon.com.

Making Virtual Environments Work for Distance Education will explore the following topics:

• The value of immersive virtual training environments—beyond simply reducing travel costs—to enterprise organizations;
• The strengths and weaknesses of currently available immersive technologies;
• How to utilize these technologies to demonstrate measurable impact on learning;
• Common mistakes and pitfalls encountered when adopting virtual environments for ILT;
• Risks and critical success factors that should be considered when planning online learning strategies.

For more information, or to schedule an interview or meeting with Gardner or Crown at the events, please contact Kate Hendrick by phone at 919-727-9089, by email at khendrick@venuegen.com, or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/venuegen.

May 3 – 5. Raleigh Convention Center. Between Ballrooms 305 & 306.

Come by our table!

• Exclusive to conference attendees: Sign up for to try VenueGen free for 15 days.

• Discover how to train your remote workforce online without sacrificing the engagement of face-to-face instructor-led training.

• Demo how immersive e-classrooms for virtual ILT improve both learner engagement and trainer efficacy.

Partnering for Performance is hosted by TrainingIndustry, Inc. Visit the website to view the conference agenda and register.

Presented by

April 25, 2011. 2 pm ET / 11am PT. Visit TrainingIndustry.com to watch the recording.

A special, limited-seat encore presentation will take place Wednesday, May 25 at 2pm Eastern in VenueGen. Contact us for an invitation.

In an effort to drive efficiency, many of us are exploring virtual environments for instructor-led training. But virtual ILT platforms, particularly those originally designed for web conferencing, can feel more like a barrier to learning than a solution. To improve learning outcomes online, the e-classroom must be just as engaging as the physical classroom.

Join us for this informative and challenging TrainingIndustry.com webinar, sponsored by VenueGen, as we tackle the problem of moving ILT online without sacrificing the engagement and outcomes of face-to-face learning.

In this free, one-hour webinar, we’ll draw from real-world solutions and learning psychology to:

• Quantify what engagement is and why it is so critical to learning outcomes;
• Identify the four subtle but crucial components that foster engagement in learning environments;
• Rank various modalities as to their engagement effectiveness

VWBPE 2011 Presents:

The Four Factors that Create Engagement in Virtual Learning Environments

Join VenueGen CEO David Gardner for this special virtual presentation

Friday, March 18 2011 at 9am EDT in Second Life.

Abstract: Virtual educators know how difficult it is to maintain control over learners’ attention. Without the interpersonal cues and interactions we share when communicating face-to-face, the learning experience can feel unnatural and disengaging, extracting a heavy toll on knowledge transfer.

But why do virtual programs often seem less conducive to learning than ILT? The missing element is engagement. This session will examine:

1. The crucial nature of engagement to successful learning environments;
2. The four factors for creating engagement;
3. The ability of various online modalities to engage
4. How the immersive web can help simply and cost-effectively replicate the in-person experience.

Speaker Bio: David Gardner is a serial entrepreneur, technology investor and futurist with a proven track record of early identification of paradigm-shifting technologies. He is a trusted advisor concerning new technology trends who believes Web-3D is on the verge of dramatically transforming many web-based business models as we know them today.

Experienced in taking IT products and Internet-service model companies to market, Gardner has founded seven technology companies—including PeopleClick, the first hosted software-as-a-service enterprise application; and healthcare communications technology exchange ProviderLink, now owned by Compuware—without a single failure or loss of investor funds. He has served on several boards, spoken at multiple industry conferences, and published over twenty forward-thinking papers and articles on technical, business and managerial topics.

In 2007, Gardner founded VenueGen (www.VenueGen.com), a company dedicated to creating a new standard of in-browser web-conference platform for more engaging, productive and efficient online training, meetings and events. He currently serves as CEO.

For  more information about how to catch the presentation, visit the VWBPE Conference website or contact Kate Hendrick, director of marketing at VenueGen.

Co-authors of the new book “Learning in 3D” will virtually join 40 attendees to explore the impact of the immersive Internet on the future of enterprise learning

(Research Triangle Park, NC: March 9, 2011) Two of the training industry’s most prominent figures, Dr. Tony O’Driscoll of Duke University and Karl Kapp of Bloomsburg University, are teaming up to share their immersive e-learning expertise in a free, limited-seat virtual event March 30 at 11 a.m. EDT in VenueGen. Online registration will open next week, and the 40 virtual seats will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those who would like to receive an email alert when registration opens can sign up here.

Dr. Tony O'Driscoll

According to O’Driscoll and Kapp—both of whom specialize in the intersection of learning, business and technology—the reason behind the event’s exclusivity is simple. “We want the audience to fully experience how engagement and learning can thrive in an immersive Internet environment,” said O’Driscoll. “By limiting the event to 40 people, every attendee will be able to actively interact, communicate, learn, and share ideas nearly as effectively as if we were in a physical room together, instead of in 40 different locations.”

Karl Kapp, Ed.D.

“Most business-specific Web3D environments are much more simple and natural-feeling to use than many people realize,” added Kapp. “We want to demonstrate that the immersive Internet has a very real value to enterprise training. By boosting user engagement, these environments make it possible to improve learning outcomes online and, ultimately, to increase ROI.”

The panel will be moderated by VenueGen CEO David Gardner.”We are extremely excited about partnering with Tony and Karl for this event,” said Gardner. “Anyone who is interested in training and learning in business environments will benefit immensely from their research.”

O’Driscoll and Kapp are co-authors of a new book titled Learning in 3D: Adding a New Dimension to Enterprise Learning and Collaboration, published by Pfeiffer, an imprint of Wiley. In support of the book, Pfeiffer will hold a drawing for three free copies. Those who sign up for the registration e-mail alert will be automatically entered to win, so the giveaway is not limited only to those who are able to attend.

For information about Learning in 3D, or to purchase a copy, visit the Pfeiffer website.

For more information about the event, please contact Kate Hendrick, director of marketing at VenueGen by phone at 919-228-4995, by email at khendrick@venuegen.com, or via Twitter at @VenueGen.