Stuart Volkow | UCLA Extension (original) (raw)

Papers by Stuart Volkow

Research paper thumbnail of ASHI: An All Sky Heliospheric Imager using Thomson-scattered Sunlight to Enable Near-Earth 3-D Plasma Reconstruction and Forecasts

43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Mixed Reality to Improve Performance

Performance Improvement, 2018

The world of work is rapidly changing. Now, more than ever, the need for continuous workforce tra... more The world of work is rapidly changing. Now, more than ever, the need for continuous workforce training is needed. While there are many benefits to social and experiential offerings of face-to-face training, distance learning is typically more practical in today's society. Unfortunately, current distance-learning technologies lack the immersion necessary for learning 21st-century skills. Virtual reality and augmented reality (i.e., mixed realities) can be more effective for training and learning than traditional flat-screen media. THE FUTURE OF WORK AND THE OPPORTUNITY OF MIXED REALITIES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE Robots, automation, and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the face of the American workforce. As more and more jobs are filled by machines, experts agree that the education marketplace will need to change to keep up with the growing and widespread need for worker retraining (Pew Research Center Internet & Technology, 2017). While there are benefits to the social and experiential learning experiences that can be offered in a face-to-face setting, distance learning is often an affordable and flexible way to provide that training. Unfortunately, most eLearning and webinar platforms only offer participants a passive experience (e.g., watching videos, listening to a lecture). With corporate education, including employee orientation, onboarding, and skill building, passive learning is the norm, consisting largely of sitting down and consuming prepackaged content in bulk that's presented formally by an educator (Hinchcliffe, 2017). Such offerings do not help develop the vital skills needed in today's increasingly global and distributed economy, such as teaming, communication, leadership, and cultural intelligence. They also do not immerse learners into the context of the learning and provide the ability for learners to practice in a safe environment. As a result, many learners develop feelings of isolation, dis-connectedness, and frustration, often associated with poor retention rates and low return on investment (Willging & Johnson, 2009). Mixed-reality technologies (i.e., virtual reality and augmented reality) provide solutions to these problems by allowing people to come together in an active simulated environment that allows them to see and interact with fellow participants and the simulated environment, regardless of geographic location. Such technologies have the potential to dramatically transform education, training, and human performance. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of mixed realities (MR), to discuss theories associated with how the technologies can provide value for performance, and to provide specific examples of effective early-use cases. Introduction to Mixed Realities Well told, any story can be immersive. From spoken word to literature, film, and television, imagination works to transport us. The new immersive platforms and media transcend these by adding an element commonly referred to as presence. Mixed realities offer increased immersion though features including head tracking, hand tracking, eye tracking, haptics, and 360 imagery. When combined, these add visual and kinesthetic cues that complete the illusion of being somewhere else, completely immersed in real or imagined environments. Virtual reality (VR) refers

Research paper thumbnail of ASHI: An All Sky Heliospheric Imager using Thomson-scattered Sunlight to Enable Near-Earth 3-D Plasma Reconstruction and Forecasts

43rd COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 28 January - 4 February, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of The Case for Mixed Reality to Improve Performance

Performance Improvement, 2018

The world of work is rapidly changing. Now, more than ever, the need for continuous workforce tra... more The world of work is rapidly changing. Now, more than ever, the need for continuous workforce training is needed. While there are many benefits to social and experiential offerings of face-to-face training, distance learning is typically more practical in today's society. Unfortunately, current distance-learning technologies lack the immersion necessary for learning 21st-century skills. Virtual reality and augmented reality (i.e., mixed realities) can be more effective for training and learning than traditional flat-screen media. THE FUTURE OF WORK AND THE OPPORTUNITY OF MIXED REALITIES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE Robots, automation, and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing the face of the American workforce. As more and more jobs are filled by machines, experts agree that the education marketplace will need to change to keep up with the growing and widespread need for worker retraining (Pew Research Center Internet & Technology, 2017). While there are benefits to the social and experiential learning experiences that can be offered in a face-to-face setting, distance learning is often an affordable and flexible way to provide that training. Unfortunately, most eLearning and webinar platforms only offer participants a passive experience (e.g., watching videos, listening to a lecture). With corporate education, including employee orientation, onboarding, and skill building, passive learning is the norm, consisting largely of sitting down and consuming prepackaged content in bulk that's presented formally by an educator (Hinchcliffe, 2017). Such offerings do not help develop the vital skills needed in today's increasingly global and distributed economy, such as teaming, communication, leadership, and cultural intelligence. They also do not immerse learners into the context of the learning and provide the ability for learners to practice in a safe environment. As a result, many learners develop feelings of isolation, dis-connectedness, and frustration, often associated with poor retention rates and low return on investment (Willging & Johnson, 2009). Mixed-reality technologies (i.e., virtual reality and augmented reality) provide solutions to these problems by allowing people to come together in an active simulated environment that allows them to see and interact with fellow participants and the simulated environment, regardless of geographic location. Such technologies have the potential to dramatically transform education, training, and human performance. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of mixed realities (MR), to discuss theories associated with how the technologies can provide value for performance, and to provide specific examples of effective early-use cases. Introduction to Mixed Realities Well told, any story can be immersive. From spoken word to literature, film, and television, imagination works to transport us. The new immersive platforms and media transcend these by adding an element commonly referred to as presence. Mixed realities offer increased immersion though features including head tracking, hand tracking, eye tracking, haptics, and 360 imagery. When combined, these add visual and kinesthetic cues that complete the illusion of being somewhere else, completely immersed in real or imagined environments. Virtual reality (VR) refers