As online/hybrid work has become a norm in the post-pandemic world, it demands instructional designers and trainers thoughtfully and creatively rethink how training should be designed or transformed to keep learners engaged across various modalities. When trying to innovate in the field, there are many challenges that instructional designers face including 1) ensuring that cutting-edge designs are inclusive and accessible to learners using their personal devices; 2) creating meaningful experiences that tell a story from beginning to end; and 3) showcasing the design possibilities to invite SMEs to collaborate on and innovate in learning design creation. Gallery walks are a commonly-used strategy in face-to-face settings, as it requires learners to actively engage in the learning process by exploring multiple artifacts curated and exhibited around the room.

This session uses gallery walks as an example to discuss and demonstrate various approaches and considerations to reimagine training for the online/hybrid situation. In this session you will learn common design considerations, useful approaches, and techniques to overcome challenges/limitations of online/hybrid training for a global audience. You’ll explore the ways in which you can reimagine the traditional gallery walk experience to actively engage your learners in the online/hybrid environments. Gallery walks can simulate showcases, linear and nonlinear (choose your own adventure) stories, and immersive experiences to facilitate training that brings learners together across devices/spaces.

In this session you will learn:

• Considerations for transforming an in-person training for online/hybrid environments for global audiences
• Why the gallery walk is a useful teaching strategy across various modalities
• Use-cases for online/hybrid gallery walks to tell meaningful stories and simulate immersive experiences to actively engage learners
• How to leverage tools like Thinglink, Storyline, or Spatial to create a virtual gallery walk experience that fosters active learning and self-exploration
• How to use galleries as living spaces that can be continually added to in order to foster organizational learning growth

Technology discussed: Articulate Storyline, Thinglink, Spatial.io, Quest 2 VR headset