We've Got Tech and Design Ingredients, You Get New Learning Design "Recipes"!

Innovations in Training Test Kitchen
IITTK image

Ready to add AI, AR, VR, XR, and other emerging and immersive technology to your learning content, but want to experience it for yourself first? Need new ideas for designing more-engaging learning experiences? Want to play with cool tech gadgets?

Then, the Innovations in Training Test Kitchen with the Emerging Tech Pantry is the place to be in the Expo! (Pro tip: Look for people wearing chef hats and aprons.)

Executive Chefs Phylise Banner and Hector Valle (pictured far right) will be joined by several Master Chefs to help you discover innovative tools, new media, and fresh approaches to integrating technology into your learning. Come and:

Mash up the different demos, technologies, and designs from the Test Kitchen to create your own new “recipes.”
Get learning design advice from our Master Chefs.
Pick up other “recipes” (quick how-to guides).
Try out some tech.

Test Kitchen mini-sessions will help you cook up innovative, immersive, and engaging learning “bites"!

Monday, February 17

TEST KITCHEN: Half-Baked! Cooking Up Better Tech-Enabled Learning			11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
TK01 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Are you a champion solutioner? Wanna show off your tech-enabled learning design skills? Come and be a part of Half-Baked!, a fast-paced, hands-on competition all about solutioning innovative blended learning! Everyone will have their half-baked recipes displayed publicly in the Test Kitchen AND win a fabulous prize! Grab a friend and get half-baked!
Betty Dannewitz, Truth Teller \| Learning Solutions Architect, ifyouaskbetty Destery Hildenbrand, XR Learning Consultant, D1K Consulting Phylise Banner, Director of Elearning, Champlain College

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Augmented Food Prototypes			11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
PAN01 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Three prototypes of augmented food will showcase how data and design can transform our plates, allowing you to engage in innovative storytelling and interaction. BONUS: Meet Erika on Sunday at 5:00 pm at the Training 2025 Kickoff! You'll get an up-close view of these prototypes that embed digital information into physical objects in a playful and innovative way, while also gaining insights into her studio’s work where playfulness isn’t just for fun — it’s a driver of innovation. Leave with fresh perspectives on how a creative mindset can address real-world challenges — perhaps even transforming how you approach your own work in L&D!
Speaker: Erika Marthins, Designer, Augmented Food Studio

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Integrating New Technology Into Blended Learning Solutions			11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
PAN02 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Experience immersive technology firsthand and discover how AI can enhance course design. Explore blended learning examples with XR and AI-generated videos.
Andrew Black, Senior Director of Product Solutions, Intellezy Cassie Brown, Sr. L&D Project Lead, Intellezy

Ask Me Anything About AI for L&D			11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
AMA02 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
You've been tasked with finding out more about AI (Artificial Intelligence). For what? Perhaps no clarity or was provided. Visit this AMA station to get answers to your real questions and challenges about getting started with AI for L&D at work — and "for what?", too!
Speaker: Hector Valle, Associate Director of Design, Team Lead, Emeritus

TEST KITCHEN: Interactive Music-Making With Food			12:15 PM - 12:45 PM
TK02 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
You will team up in small groups at playful stations to transform everyday food items into musical instruments, using electronic kits and tangible sound design. Experience this unique way to interact with food, technology, and creativity — and, while you are at it, develop a more creative mindset for training design!
Speaker: Erika Marthins, Designer, Augmented Food Studio

TEST KITCHEN: ABCs: AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity for Training			1:00 PM - 1:30 PM
TK03 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Discover the cutting-edge advancements in training systems that guarantee utmost confidentiality and protection, all while harnessing the latest capabilities of Generative AI. Join us as we delve into the realm of next-level digital engineering for learning and development!
David Metcalf, Director of Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Mike Eakins, Creative Lead, Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab, Institute for Simulation & Training, University Central Florida

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Augmented Food Prototypes			1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
PAN03 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Three prototypes of augmented food will showcase how data and design can transform our plates, allowing you to engage in innovative storytelling and interaction. BONUS: Meet Erika on Sunday at 5:00 pm at the Training 2025 Kickoff! You'll get an up-close view of these prototypes that embed digital information into physical objects in a playful and innovative way, while also gaining insights into her studio’s work where playfulness isn’t just for fun — it’s a driver of innovation. Leave with fresh perspectives on how a creative mindset can address real-world challenges — perhaps even transforming how you approach your own work in L&D!
Speaker: Erika Marthins, Designer, Augmented Food Studio

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: AI-Integrated AR/VR Showcase From UCF’s Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab (METIL)			1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
PAN04 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Come check out METIL's newest research in training technologies using AI-integrated AR, VR, and 3D platforms.
David Metcalf, Director of Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Mike Eakins, Creative Lead, Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab, Institute for Simulation & Training, University Central Florida

Ask Me Anything About AI for L&D			1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
AMA02 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
You've been tasked with finding out more about AI (Artificial Intelligence). For what? Perhaps no clarity or was provided. Visit this AMA station to get answers to your real questions and challenges about getting started with AI for L&D at work — and "for what?", too!
Speaker: Hector Valle, Associate Director of Design, Team Lead, Emeritus

TEST KITCHEN:			1:45 PM - 2:15 PM
TK04 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort

TEST KITCHEN: Video Training on Autopilot: Scale Content Creation and Delivery With AI			2:30 PM - 3:00 PM
TK05 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Discover how AI is revolutionizing employee training in two key areas: Creating at Scale: See how Guidde Create lets anyone produce professional training videos in minutes — no design skills needed. Maintain brand consistency while creating both conceptual and how-to content. Smarter Delivery: See Guidde Broadcast automatically delivers relevant training content based on user behavior and context, right within their applications — bridging the gap between learning and doing.
Speaker: Emily Ciavolino, Account Executive, Guidde

TEST KITCHEN: Automating Live Group Learning to Scale High-Impact Skill Building			3:15 PM - 3:45 PM
TK06 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
In the past, you had to compromise between learning impact and scale. Speed and quality. Experience and cost. Compromise no more. Discover how Sparkwise can help you automate live group learning and scale the active practice and discussion people need to master skills in business, AI, leadership, and more. BONUS: You’ll get free credits to experience the platform on a topic of your choice with your team.
Speaker: Vince Jeong, CEO, Sparkwise

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Augmented Food Prototypes			3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
PAN05 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Three prototypes of augmented food will showcase how data and design can transform our plates, allowing you to engage in innovative storytelling and interaction. BONUS: Meet Erika on Sunday at 5:00 pm at the Training 2025 Kickoff! You'll get an up-close view of these prototypes that embed digital information into physical objects in a playful and innovative way, while also gaining insights into her studio’s work where playfulness isn’t just for fun — it’s a driver of innovation. Leave with fresh perspectives on how a creative mindset can address real-world challenges — perhaps even transforming how you approach your own work in L&D!
Speaker: Erika Marthins, Designer, Augmented Food Studio

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Revolutionize Your Training: A No-Code Approach to VR Learning			3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
PAN06 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
See how anyone can create immersive learning content — from 360° experiences to hands-on micro-simulations — without coding or expensive custom development. Try out fully immersive site induction, hands-on skill simulation, and the latest VR headsets and see how leading organizations are delivering scalable XR training at a fraction of traditional costs.
Philipp Seiler, CXO, Facilitate Debbie Richards, President, Creative Interactive Ideas

Ask Me Anything About AI for L&D			3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
AMA02 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
You've been tasked with finding out more about AI (Artificial Intelligence). For what? Perhaps no clarity or was provided. Visit this AMA station to get answers to your real questions and challenges about getting started with AI for L&D at work — and "for what?", too!
Speaker: Hector Valle, Associate Director of Design, Team Lead, Emeritus

TEST KITCHEN: App Smashing: Recipes for Combining Learning Tech			4:00 PM - 4:45 PM
TK07 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Sure, there’s an app for that, but sometimes limitations and in-app purchases leave you hungry for more. Join us for an interactive session that embraces the philosophy of “never settle” — when an app is missing what you need, it’s time to smash it (translation: combine it) with another app to create the ultimate learning object. We will demonstrate strategies for app smashing, and provide recipes for combining some of our favorite apps into exciting and engaging learning objects.
Shereene Harford, Educational Technologist, St. George's University Ann Musgrove, Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology, Florida Atlantic University Daniel Grey, Learning Systems and Innovation Manager, Amazon Robotics Rodney Urand, Instructional Technologist, UMB Phylise Banner, Director of Elearning, Champlain College

Tuesday, February 18

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Immersive Training Scenarios in VR: Learning "As If" On the Job			9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
PAN07 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Experience realistic immersion in 360° VR, where you’ll engage in learning scenarios for retail, job procedures, safety, or HR. Discover how Uptale and its 300+ international customers are deploying VR training solutions at scale, empowering learners to train as if they were on the job.
Speaker: Martin Sebban, Country Manager, Uptale

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: AI-Driven Training Reinforcement Chatbot in Microsoft Teams			9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
PAN08 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Experience how a chatbot in Microsoft Teams can be configured to deliver a personalized learning reinforcement experience for your learners.
Speaker: Vincent Han, CEO, Mobile Coach

TEST KITCHEN: Fine Dining for Pennies: Free and Low-Cost Learning Tech			9:45 AM - 10:15 AM
TK08 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Curious about how to source the learning technology solutions you need without breaking the bank? Join the Test Kitchen chefs as they explore the high-end tools that they can’t live without alongside the free and low-cost alternatives. We will share recipes for getting the most out of your learning tech solutions without breaking the bank — while making your budget team extremely happy! We’ll also share our tips for making that business case for those “fine dining” solutions that you just can’t do without.
Speaker: Phylise Banner, Director of Elearning, Champlain College

TEST KITCHEN: Creating Elearning Faster With AI			10:30 AM - 11:00 AM
TK09 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Mindsmith uses AI at every step of the elearning creation workflow, which helps organizations increase efficiency by around 12x. See a live demonstration of how to generate a custom lesson/course in Mindsmith.
Speaker: Ethan Webb, CEO, Mindsmith

TEST KITCHEN: Learning Interactions With Multimodal Generative AI			11:15 AM - 11:45 AM
TK10 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Discover how cutting-edge tools, like NotebookLM, enable the creation of personalized podcasts, delivering on-demand knowledge in an engaging, conversational format. Explore the capabilities of Google Gemini’s Vision AI to interact directly with on-screen content, providing real-time performance support and intuitive software training. You'll see practical applications of generative AI, from automating content creation to developing immersive simulations that enhance user engagement. Be inspired by new ways to integrate AI into learning strategies—making education more interactive, accessible, and effective.
Speaker: Josh Cavalier, Founder, JoshCavalier.ai

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Improve Frontline-Employee Performance and On-The-Job Confidence Using In-the-Flow-of-Work Learning Tools			11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
PAN09 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Your employees in the field and on the floor are often required to answer customer questions and solve challenges without the support of leadership or team members. See how FLX's platform provides in-the-flow-of-work access to knowledge, job aids, and other unique tools that set your frontline employees up for success and build brand confidence.
Speaker: John Thompson, President, FLX Systems

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Bite-Sized Learning: The Recipe for Training Success			11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
PAN10 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Experience the future of rapid training with 7taps Microlearning. In this hands-on demo, discover how to drive behavior change with AI-generated lessons, role-play scenarios, and interactive assessments. See how organizations are using this platform to deliver just-in-time training that achieves 95%+ learner satisfaction while cutting development time by 80%. Evaluate 7taps' new AI features including instant video creation, role-play simulations, and automated learning paths.
Speaker: Ezra Charm, COO, 7taps

TEST KITCHEN: PowerPoint Productivity: Make Better Presentations, Faster			12:00 PM - 12:30 PM
TK11 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Discover how to power up your PowerPoint productivity so that you can create content much more quickly, navigate through the various functions easily, and open your eyes to what's possible. This partly means you can create much more compelling and effective content — incorporating visuals, animations, and interactivity to support your audience — but also means you have more time to focus on the key instructional design elements that are needed to make any piece of learning effective. It's all-live demo with various tips and tricks applied to real-world use cases, designed to inform and inspire people to try out the ideas. You'll also get a handy cheat sheet of the most useful keyboard shortcuts, a quick-access toolbar download, short video tutorials, and suggestions for free add-ins to boost your PowerPoint productivity even more.
Speaker: Richard Goring, Director, BrightCarbon

TEST KITCHEN: Pallet Stax: A Small-Scale Simulation Solution to a Big Training Problem			12:45 PM - 1:15 PM
TK12 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
How do you tackle the BIG challenge of training new warehouse employees in a fast, dangerous, and high-stress environment? You go small. You will: Hear the story of Pallet Stax, a deceptively simple solution to a problem many trainers face. Explore the six-month creative process that this beverage distribution company’s learning team undertook to solve one of their biggest training challenges. Follow the brainstorming, prototyping, and testing that went into this project — and learn about their innovative solution AND the problem-solving process that has changed the way the learning team works. Get to try out the Pallet Stax simulation for yourself! Come see how iterative problem solving and high-tech tools produced a seemingly old-school solution that's yielding serious results.
Speaker: Jeff Weaver, Director of Training & OD, JJ Taylor Companies

TEST KITCHEN: Reality Remix: Hands-on With Immersive Tech			1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
TK13 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
In this fast-paced, interactive session, dive into the exciting world of Augmented and Mixed Reality (AR/MR) through an engaging hands-on experience. After a brief overview of how AR/MR enhances learning and everyday interactions, you’ll participate in a fun MR game designed to showcase the power of immersive technology.
Speaker: Destery Hildenbrand, XR Learning Consultant, D1K Consulting

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: The Chef’s Table: Create Custom, Contextual Content With AI			1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
PAN11 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Take a deep dive into an authoring tool built from the ground up around the AI workflow of learning designers. See how Mindsmith incorporates AI into every step of the custom elearning creation process from vision to sharing.
Speaker: Ethan Webb, CEO, Mindsmith

EMERGING TECH PANTRY: Enhance Customer Engagement With AI-Powered Simulation Training			1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
PAN12 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Discover how Zenarate’s AI Coach develops top-performing agents through immersive simulations, enabling them to deliver superior customer experiences and improve key performance metrics.
Speaker: Mitch Miller, Account Executive, Zenarate

TEST KITCHEN: Family Feud — Learning Edition			2:15 PM - 3:00 PM
TK14 Room: Veracruz Expo Hall – IIT Test Kitchen, Coronado Springs Resort
Prepare for an epic showdown of L&D knowledge as our industry experts and training rock stars face off in a high-stakes game of Family Feud! We surveyed hundreds of learning professionals to uncover the most revealing (and entertaining) answers about our work. Survey says ... this will be the highlight of Training 2025!
Jeff Weaver, Director of Training & OD, JJ Taylor Companies Phylise Banner, Director of Elearning, Champlain College