David Kelly’s Curated Content for the Week of 05/29/17

This week’s curated content includes links exploring the following:

• tools to build visualizations to ideas and data
• how virtual reality designers are creating exploration activities
• how to create an SMS bot
• demystifying LMS, LRS, and xAPI
• industry thoughts on the possibilities and opportunities of gamification
• examples of interactive video in practice

Here’s the content for this week:

15 Awesome Visualization Tools And Libraries For Creating Charts And Diagrams by OXP Editorial
The right image can often convey ideas and data faster and more effectively than can be done via text. But creating such an image isn’t always easy. That’s what makes tools like the ones listed in this post so valuable – they can help us pull out the stories hidden in our data and share them with the world.

How 3 Games Make Players want to Explore in VR via Oculus Rift
Virtual Reality has the ability to transport us into entirely new worlds. But once there, how can we explore these new places while physically tethered to a computer? The gaming industry has been tackling these challenges for some time, and currently leverages three primary tools for BR exploration: teleportation, room-scale, and third-person. This quick video shows three great examples of each in practice. If you’re curious about how VR can accommodate exploration, this video is great.

Program an SMS Bot Using Python and Twilio by Liz Petrov
There’s growing interest in the ability for bots to be used for learning and performance support. But where does one even get started in exploring the world of bots? Sometimes it’s best to just jump in and play, and that’s what this post does. It provides a step-by-step guide to creating your own bot that works through SMS. If you’re interested in the potential of bots for learning, the few hours required from this project could be a very valuable learning experience.

Demystifying the Connections Between the LMS, LRS, and xAPI by Brian Carlson, Margaret Roth, & Michael Hruska
Have you been struggling to connect the dots between the LMS world you know and the rising interest in LRS systems and xAPI? You’re not alone. While there are plenty of early adopters in the space, many still struggle with understanding what these new technologies do, and how they can enhance the work we do. This post helps fill that knowledge gap, doing so with what I feel is one of the most effective tools – case studies showing these technologies used to solve real business problems.

What do eLearning Experts have to say about Gamification? by Chloe Wibaux
Gamification is a hot topic in our industry, with many still trying to figure out what it’s core value is. This post compiles the thoughts of a number of industry professionals to explore what the possibilities and opportunities of gamification are for our industry.

Is Interactive Video the Next Big Thing? 3 Creative Examples from Brands by Adam Hayes
The interest in video continues to rise in L&D. This growing interest is fueled by not only the increasing accessibility of the technology and bandwidth to use it effectively, but also through new technologies that enable videos to be more interactive than ever. This post explores that trend and examines three examples of interactive video in practice.

Interested in taking a deep dive into the opportunities mobile, games, and video present for Learning and Development? Join us for FocusOn 2017 this June in San Diego!