elb LEARNING CenarioVR Getting Started User Guide

elb LEARNING CenarioVR Getting Started

Product Information

• Specifications
  • Product Name: CenarioVR
  • Interface: Virtual Reality
  • Website: www.elblearning.com.

Product Usage Instructions

• Design and Storyboard
  • When creating scenarios in CenarioVR, focus on creating an experiential and interactive environment.
  • Design the basic structure and flow of your scenario considering the learner’s situational or spatial awareness.
  • Minimize the use of text and text-based questions for a more immersive experience.
• Gather Media Assets
  • Before starting, gather all the necessary media assets such as images, videos, audio files, and other interactive elements you plan to include in your scenarios.
  • The CenarioVR Interface
  • The Dashboard
  • Upon logging in, you will see the Dashboard which includes the following features:
  • Account Information: Update your avatar, name, email address, and password.
  • Help: Access the Help Center for guidance and resources.
  • Create Scenarios: Start creating new scenarios or import existing ones.
  • Scenario List: Open and edit scenarios in the Scenario Editor.
• Scenario Editor
  • The Scenario Editor is where you build the learners’ experience. Follow these steps:
  • Add Scene: Upload images or videos to create new scenes.
  • Scenario Settings and Publish: Configure scenario settings and publish your scenario.
  • Timeline: Create timed actions within the scene.
  • Add Object: Insert interactive elements like hotspots, questions, audio, videos, etc.
  • Mode: Switch between Edit mode and Preview mode to view the scenario from the user’s perspective. Additional functionalities include object selection, editing visibility, size/position lock, right-click commands, text formatting options, smart guides for object alignment, and a media library for additional resources.

FAQs

• Q: Can I import 3D models into my scenarios?
  • A: Yes, you can import 3D models from the Media Library to enhance your scenarios with interactive 3D elements.
• Q: How can I share my scenarios with other authors?
  • A: You can share your scenarios by using the Scenario Settings and Publish feature to assign permissions and share access with other CenarioVR authors.

PRODUCT INTRODUCTION

Before Jumping into CenarioVR®

1. Design and storyboard the basic structure and flow of your scenario
   • Remember, this is an experiential, interactive environment, not traditional eLearning.
   • Focus on the learner’s situational or spatial awareness, and minimize the use of text and text-based questions.
2. Gather your media assets
   • All 360° videos and images for your scenes (unless you plan to use the AI Wizard to generate an image).
   • Additional 2D videos, images, and audio files.

The CenarioVR Interface

• THERE ARE TWO MAIN PARTS TO THE CENARIOVR INTERFACE:

CenarioVR® Dashboard

The dashboard is what you will see when you first log in to CenarioVR.

1. Side Menu: Use this menu to navigate to different tabs within CenarioVR.
   • A. The “My Scenarios” tab has the scenarios that you create and share.
   • B. The “Unregistered Scenarios” tab (visible to Org Admins only) contains previously owned scenarios of users that have been removed/deleted from your organization’s account.
   • C. The “Assigned Scenarios” tab has the scenarios that have been assigned to you.
   • D. The “Public Scenarios” tab lists free scenarios available to you that are shared by others.
   • E. The “Shared Scenarios” tab allows you to collaborate with other authors to edit scenarios.
   • F. Use the “Users” tab to view and manage the list of users within your organization. You can also check user activity status, view roles, create groups, and more.
   • G. Use the “Groups” tab to view and manage the list of user groups that you have configured.
   • H. Use the “Analytics” tab to get insights into how your users find and use your scenarios (e.g., participant numbers, time spent and interaction averages, scores, and more).
   • I. Organization admins have the “Settings” tab to modify the properties of the organization.
2. Account Information: View and update your avatar, name, email address, and password.
3. Help: Click the Help button to launch the Help Center. More than just answers to your CenarioVR questions, the Help Center contains links to videos, articles, and the latest news to help you get started right away.
4. Create Scenarios: Click the Create Scenarios button to create new scenarios or import existing scenarios to your scenario list.
5. Scenario List: Click a thumbnail to open a scenario in the scenario editor.

Scenario Editor

The scenario editor is where you build your learners’ experience.

1. Scenes / Scenes List: A scene is a virtual, 360° environment that contains the interactive elements in which the learner experiences immersive learning. Create a scene by either uploading a 360° video/image or generating one using the AI Wizard. The scenes you add to your scenario are listed in the “Scenes List” column.
2. Add Scene: Click the “Add Scene” button to add a new scene to your scenario. When prompted, upload the image or video for the scene.
3. Scenario Settings and Publish: Click the “Scenario Settings and Publish” button to publish and/or assign the scenario, add variables, view and change the scenario settings, and share your scenario with other authors.
4. Timeline: Use the “Timeline” to create timed actions in the scene. The timeline will equal the length of a video-based scene or the duration you specify for an image-based scene.
5. Add Object: Click the “Add Object” button to add interactive actions to the scene, such as hotspots, questions, info cards, audio, images, icons, videos, timers, 3D models, scenes, events, and timed events.
6. Mode: Click the “Mode” switch to toggle between Edit mode and Preview mode. The preview plays the scenario from the user’s perspective.
7. Object Selection: Click an object in the Scenes List to bring it into view, edit, or delete it.
8. Edit Mode Visibility: Click the eye icon to turn the visibility of the object on or off in Edit mode only. The object will still publish and be visible in the scenario.
9. Edit Mode Size/Position Lock: Click on the lock icon to lock the size and position of the object in Edit mode only.
10. Right Click: Right-click on an object in the editor to see a menu with additional commands. Keyboard shortcuts are available for some of these commands.
11. Text Toolbar: The text toolbar appears when an Info Card or Question is selected. This toolbar gives you formatting options to edit the style of the card and text.
12. Smart Guides: When moving an object, Smart Guides will appear allowing you to align or “snap” it within the 3D environment. You can disable the smart guides by holding down the Alt key while moving the object.
13. Media Library: Click on the arrow at the right-hand side of the editor window. The Media Library contains 3D Objects, 3D Shapes, Action images, and Icons that you can use in your scenarios.

Building a Scenario

CREATE THE SCENARIO

• On the CenarioVR dashboard, click the blue (+) “Create Scenario” button, then upload a 360° video or equirectangular image (JPG/PNG/MP4/M4V). This will be the first scene in your scenario.
  • OPTIONAL: Enter a name, description, and category for the scenario (if left blank, it will automatically take on the name of the image or video).
  • PRO TIP: If you do not have a 360° video or an equirectangular image to upload, click “My Scenes” to use the built-in 360° images to create your scenario; or click “AI Wizard” to generate a 360° image for you.
• Click “Create Scenario.” The scenario will open to the created scene.

AI WIZARD

• When you create a new scene, click on “AI Wizard.”
• Describe what you’d like the scene to include, select an option from the category dropdown, and click “Generate.”
• If you are happy with the result, click the “Use” button. If not, click the “Cancel” button then click on “AI Wizard” again to provide a new description.
• Here are a few examples of what AI Wizard has generated:

ADD/MODIFY SCENES

• In Edit mode, select the blue (+) “Add Scene” button within the scene list and select/upload the 360° video or equirectangular image. This will be the next scene in your scenario. You may name the scene if desired.
• NOTE: Optionally, you can drag and drop the 360° video or image into the “Scene List.”
  • Repeat this to add any additional scenes to your scenario.
  • Hover over a scene in the “Scene List” and click “Edit Scene Properties” (blue pencil icon) to modify the scene’s properties. Click “Remove Scene” (red trash can icon) to delete the scene from the scenario. Click
  • “Set Initial View” (green icon) to set your starting view.

ADD OBJECTS

• In “Edit” mode, select the scene you wish to add an object to. Click the blue (+) “Insert Object” button on the top-right to add an object within the scene.
• Hotspots can be used to link one scene to another or trigger other actions like playing video or audio, viewing an image or info card, prompting a question, etc.
• NOTE: For Hotspots, Images, and 3D Models you can select an image, icon, or 3D model from the Media Library or you have the option of uploading your media (JPG/PNG/SVG/GLB).
• Determine if the Hotspot should be hidden initially in the scene. Toggle the Visibility property accordingly. Optionally, you can drag and drop an image into the Scene to create a Hotspot.
• Questions can be used to add a multiple choice or true/false question with feedback to your scenario.
• NOTE: For each question, determine if it should automatically hide once it has been attempted, and toggle Hide On Answer on the properties accordingly. Determine if the Question should be hidden initially in the scene. Toggle the Question properties accordingly.
• Info Cards can be used for everything from welcome text to giving instructions or used in conjunction with a hotspot to give the learner more information about a certain object or area of the environment.
• NOTE: For Info Cards and Questions, use the styling options to select the desired font, text size, text colour, question choice colour and background, and the style, colour, and opacity of the card.
• Audio can be used to add environmental noise to a scene (e.g., adding traffic noise to a city environment or adding bird sounds to an outdoor/forest environment) or add character narration to your scenario. Simply upload your own media (MP3).
• NOTE: Determine if the audio should loop, play automatically, and/or be spatial. Toggle the Audio properties accordingly (don’t forget to set the volume as well).
• PRO TIP: Include a hotspot icon somewhere in the environment to enable the learner to mute/unmute any audio.
• Images can be used to add 2D objects to your environment (e.g., cutout characters, banners, company logos, etc.).
• NOTE: Determine if the image should be hidden initially in the scene. Toggle the Visibility property accordingly. Optionally, you can drag and drop an image into the Scene.
• Video can be used to add any 2D video to your environment by uploading your media (MP4/M4V). For example, it can be used as an introduction, turned into a loop, or can be used in conjunction with a hotspot to give the learner more information about a certain object or area in the environment. Videos can also be Chroma Keyed (green screen) to allow for transparent background videos in your scenario.
• NOTE: Determine if the 2D video should be hidden initially in the scene, loop, and/or play automatically. Toggle the Video properties accordingly (don’t forget to set the volume as well).
• PRO TIP: Include a hotspot icon somewhere near the video to enable the learner to pause/play the video if needed.
• Timers can be used to add a time limit or countdown to your scenario. For example, if you want a learner to locate or collect hidden items in the environment in a certain amount of time. The timer has different options for styling and you can even add audio to it by uploading an MP3 file.
• NOTE: Determine if the timer should be hidden initially in the scene and/or if it should automatically start. Toggle the Timer properties accordingly.
• 3D Models can be used to add a 3D object or shape to the environment. You can select a 3D model from the Media Library or upload your own (GLB) file. Once placed in the environment, you can rotate the 3D object so it is at a precise angle for the learner or set it to spin/rotate in place.
• NOTE: Determine if the 3D model should be hidden initially in the scene. Toggle the Visibility property accordingly.
• PRO TIP: If you add a 3D object as a Hotspot and define it as spinnable, it will allow the user to rotate the object freely in any direction giving them a chance to observe the object from any angle. For more info on Interactive Hotspots, check out this video.
• The Media Library can be accessed directly by clicking on this blue arrow icon on the right side of the screen (while in “Edit” mode). You can then browse through the different types of assets. If you hover over the object, insert icons will appear, allowing you to either add the object as a 3D Model or a Hotspot (if the object is a 3D Model or 3D Shape) or add the object as an Image or a Hotspot (if the object is an Action or Icon).
• IMPORTANT: For the 3D Shapes, Actions, and Icons, you have the option to change the colour of the object before adding it to your scene. You can either choose from the preset colours palette or add your custom colours.

ADD ACTIONS AND CONDITIONS

• Use the Action icons on the Edit Scene, Hotspot, Audio, Video, and Question property dialogues to add interactivity to each scene (such as show/hide objects, play/pause media, jump to different scenes, animate objects, trigger variables and other timed events, link to URLs or attachments, and more).
• With the Hide/Show action, you can set a Duration of how many seconds the object should remain hidden before it automatically appears again, or remains visible before it automatically hides again.
• Use the Link to Scene action to branch from one scene to another to create the scenario as designed.
• If an action is conditional, use the Condition icon next to the action to select the condition. If multiple conditions are required, click the Condition icon again to add additional conditions as needed. All of the conditions must be met for the action to be executed.
• NOTE: All additional conditions are set to “and” by default. If an “or” situation is needed as the condition, simply click the AND button next to that condition and it will switch to OR.

ADD EVENTS AND/OR TIMED EVENTS

• “Events” and “Timed Events” are listed under the blue (+) “Insert Object” button on the top-right (same as objects), but do not have a physical representation in the scenario.
• “Events” provide the ability to run a set of actions that are executed as a group. They are useful when the same set of actions will be executed multiple times, saving you from having to put that same set of actions on multiple objects. To cause an event to be run, use the “Run Event” action anywhere a trigger can be used within CenarioVR.
• NOTE: Any number of actions can be triggered on an event by adding additional actions to the event. These actions can be dragged to change their order as well.
• PRO TIP: You can add a delay to the action to have it run after a specified period.
• “Timed Events” allow you to have automatic interactivity as the scene is playing. For video scenes, the timeline will be set to the length of the video. For image scenes, the timeline will be initially set to 60 seconds but can be adjusted to any length in the properties for the scene. In addition to having timed events on the timeline, when the scene is done playing, you can have an event trigger from the scene’s properties.
• NOTE: Any number of actions can be triggered on a timed event by adding additional actions to the event. These actions can be dragged to change their order as well.
• PRO TIP: Clicking on the flag icon at the left of the timeline will insert a timed event at the current time, and bring up the properties dialog for that event.
• PRO TIP: If you have many events close together on the timeline, it may be easier to click through them by using the arrows at the top left and right of the event properties dialogue, which will switch between actions in the order of the timeline.
• The default naming for “Events” is Event. The default naming for “Timed Events” is based on the time they are set to (e.g. Event 3.6). Either can be changed to a custom name.

SCENE DIRECTION

• While branching between scenes, it’s a better experience to provide users with the sensation of traversing through the environment. This ensures that if they have recently exited through a door on the right, the scene they encounter appears as if approached from that specific direction.
• To set the scene direction (the direction in which you are positioned when entering another scene), add or edit an existing Hotspot, and add the Link to Scene action to that Hotspot. Choose the scene from the dropdown list, then click on the Scene Direction circle to the right of the scene name. The editor will adjust to the default front view. You can then click and drag to rotate to set the Initial View. Once you are happy with the adjusted angle, click “Done.”

PREVIEW THE SCENARIO

• At any time, you can preview your scenario.
• Simply toggle the Preview Mode Switch in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
• Navigate through the scenes, select hotspots, play media, and more.

Importing a Scenario

• On the CenarioVR dashboard, hover over the blue (+) “Create Scenario” button. Click the green “Import Scenario” button that appears below it.
• Upload a .zip file that was previously exported from CenarioVR.
• PRO TIP: Accessing sample project files in CenarioVR is straightforward. Simply go to the “Public Scenarios” tab, click on “Filter,” and select “Downloadable.” This will display a collection of free scenarios shared by the community. Once you find a scenario of interest, hover over it, and a blue circle with three vertical dots will appear. Click on it to reveal the option to download the corresponding .zip file.

Publishing a Scenario

Scenarios can be published to several formats:

• CenarioVR Live: You have the option of hosting the published content on CenarioVR Live, where it can be delivered in a browser or the CenarioVR mobile app. You can choose to make the content private or public. Tracking and reporting can be viewed within your CenarioVR account and can also be shared with an external LRS.
• HTML5: Download the HTML5 zip file and import it into any web server.
• xAPI or cmi5: Download the published package and import it into your LMS/LRS. Tracks all navigation, scores, and completion status within the scenario.
• SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004: Download the published package and import it into your LMS. It only tracks score and completion status.
• Windows Offline: This creates a zip file that has full Windows runtime for your scenario that you can run without any internet connection on a Windows 10 or higher computer. To run the published content, simply download and unzip the file, and then run the CenarioVR executable at the root of the folder.
• Hybrid SCORM: Download the SCORM wrapper and import it to your LMS to capture completion data. Your content will remain hosted on CenarioVR to capture full analytics reporting via xAPI using CenarioVR’s built-in LRS—including the ability to create and track custom analytics.

Additional Resources

GENERAL INFORMATION

Camera:

• CenarioVR supports any camera that takes 360° photospheres/equirectangular images or 360° video. We do not endorse specific cameras.

Video Resolution:

• Always capture your source material in 4K resolution or higher.
• If the resulting video is too large or requires too much bandwidth, you can always lower the resolution to HD, but you can’t go the other way.
• Be sure to check the requirements of the devices you will be delivering the scenario to. Some devices may not support 4K resolution.

Video Size:

• As a best practice, anything above 300MB generally needs to be compressed.
• 360° cameras often produce output that requires bandwidth greater than can be streamed over the internet.
• It is highly recommended that video compression tools be used before uploading any 360° video on the internet.
• There are many professional video tools available such as Adobe® Premiere Pro or Apple® Final Cut Pro. For a free option that works well, consider using Handbrake.
• Check out our Knowledge Base for more information about compression and to download presets.

Supported Media:

• Scenes: equirectangular image (JPG or PNG), 360° video (MP4 or M4V)
• Images/Hotspots: JPG, PNG, SVG, or GLB
• Audio: MP3
• Video: MP4 or M4V
• Tech Specs are available here.

OTHER TIPS

• All media must be created and edited outside of CenarioVR® using the appropriate software. This includes adding any border, shadow, or cropping to images, and adjusting the volume and fade in/out of audio and video files.
• Your 360° rendered content:
  • Shoot the scenes for your scenario with a 360° camera or render the 360° content using a VR development platform.
  • Compress the content as small as possible. Remember, space is at a premium when content is downloaded to phones for viewing on the CenarioVR app.
  • CenarioVR supports only equirectangular images and video in JPEG, PNG, MP4, or M4V format.
• Within each scene, include an “escape” for the viewer, for example, a Link action to go back to the previous scene (if appropriate), Pause the scene, restart the scene (Link to the current scene), restart the scenario (Link to scene 1), and/or exit the scenario.
• When adding audio or 2D video to a scene, remember to provide a way to start the media (or use Autoplay) and a way to Stop the media. Don’t forget, that you can add timed actions to the audio or video.
• Save time and improve consistency by using copy/paste. In Edit mode, you can use the right-click menu on an object or use standard PC keyboard commands (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V) to copy/paste objects within a scene, or an entire scene.
• Remember to include the “Complete Scenario” action. This action tells the Learning Management System that the viewer has completed the scenario, and will pass “completed” to the LMS along with the viewer’s score (if any).

Exporting Source:

• To export your CenarioVR source files, go to the My Scenarios page, hover over the desired scenario, and then click on the 3 dots to open the menu. Select Export.

Expired Accounts:

• When an account expires, content is held for 90 days, then deleted.
• If a renewal occurs within 90 days of expiration, access to all content will be restored.

Content Viewing Options:

© ELB Learning. All rights reserved. CenarioVR® – GETTING STARTED GUIDE V5 www.elblearning.com. This document assists you in getting started with CenarioVR®. For more information, launch the Help within CenarioVR, check out the resources such as our articles, case studies, and webinars, or visit our community forum.

References

• eLearning Solutions Company for Business | Gamification Consulting, Corporate Employee Training Platform & Course Development Companies

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