General details
EDIHs involved
Customer
Customer size: Small (10-49)
Customer turnover: 1.7 M€ in 2022
Challenges
ThingLink is renowned for its intuitive, easy-to-use interface that enables the creation of interactive learning assets without requiring design or coding experience. Despite its effectiveness, even the most user-friendly platforms can present challenges for inexperienced learning content creators or those unfamiliar with the subject matter. This often leads to a "blank page syndrome," where the difficulty of starting from scratch can block the creation of impactful training materials.
The challenge was to enhance the platform's capabilities to better support professional learning content creators, helping them to seamlessly transform traditional text-based materials into interactive learning experiences that are automatically accessible in multiple languages. The goal was to radically streamline the process of planning and creating digital training for healthcare professionals, making it more accessible and efficient, especially for new users or those dealing with unfamiliar content. This enhancement would need to maintain the platform's high usability while introducing advanced AI-driven features to further simplify and enrich the content creation process.
Solutions
As part of HealthHub Finland EDIH's "Test before invest" services, ThingLink, the University of Eastern Finland, and Kuopio Health collaboratively developed an AI-assisted functionality for ThingLink's Scenario Builder product. This innovative feature was designed to help learning developers transform existing text-based learning materials into interactive, immersive experiences with greater ease and efficiency.
Key features of the AI assisted functionality:
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Document upload and analysis: Users can upload existing documents, such as PDFs, slideshows, or web pages, as the basis for creating a new training. This allows for a smooth transition from traditional materials to interactive learning content.
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AI-generated course descriptions: The AI analyses the uploaded content and suggests a description for the course. Users can then review and edit this description to better suit their needs.
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Template selection: Users can choose from a variety of templates for the learning experience, including linear, branched, simulation, gamified, or an AI-recommended format. This step ensures that the course structure aligns with the desired learning outcomes.
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Full course design by AI: The AI generates a complete design of the learning experience, including detailed statistics such as the average time to complete the course. This comprehensive design helps users visualise the entire course structure from the outset.
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User customisation and control: Despite the AI's extensive role in planning and creating the course, users retain full control over the content. They can edit any aspect of the course, such as the process flow, texts, videos, audio, 360° media, 3D models, and images. This flexibility allows for tailored courses that fit specific contexts and local environments.
This AI-driven approach not only simplifies the content creation process but also enhances the overall quality and engagement of the learning experiences.
Results and Benefits
The development of the AI-assisted functionality for the ThingLink platform has yielded promising potential benefits. This innovative feature is designed to significantly enhance the user experience by simplifying the process of creating interactive, immersive learning scenarios.
Enhanced user experience and engagement
The AI-driven functionality is expected to transform traditional text-based materials into dynamic, interactive learning scenarios, providing a more engaging learning experience. By combining various media types such as videos, audio, 360° media, 3D models, and images, users can create comprehensive and immersive online simulations in any language that are anticipated to accelerate knowledge acquisition, improve critical thinking, professional skills development, technical skills, and mandatory compliance training.
Streamlined course creation process
The "Create with AI" functionality aims to streamline the creation of visually engaging learning experiences that generate data for optimising organisational learning. Users can upload existing documents, and the AI will automatically generate interactive learning experiences, reducing the time and effort required to develop high-quality learning experiences. The AI-generated course descriptions and templates provide a solid foundation, making the workflow more intuitive and addressing the "blank page syndrome."
Potential for broad adoption and accessibility
The functionality has been launched for beta testing, and it is designed to be scalable to a diverse audience, from inexperienced learning designers to seasoned professionals across health care and other industry verticals. The anticipated collaboration with educational institutions and corporate partners will facilitate the integration of AI-driven interactive media into everyday learning and training routines.
Collaborative effort
The successful development of this innovative functionality was made possible through a collaborative effort between ThingLink, the University of Eastern Finland, and Kuopio Health, under the framework and funding provided by HealthHub Finland EDIH’s "Test before invest" services. This collaboration not only facilitated the technological advancements but also ensured that the solution was user-friendly and met the needs of diverse user groups.
Perceived social/economic impact
The AI-assisted feature on ThingLink is set to launch in October 2024, offering significant social and economic benefits. By transforming traditional text-based learning materials into engaging, interactive experiences, it aims to significantly accelerate the digital transformation in organisations still using traditional, static training materials such as paper manuals or costly, one-time in-person training to onboard new employees.
Social impact
The AI-driven functionality will promote more effective learning by making educational content accessible and interactive. This can lead to improved knowledge retention, inclusion and a deeper understanding of complex subjects. The enhanced learning experiences are particularly beneficial for critical thinking and professional skills training, real environment/equipment training and mandatory compliance training, ultimately contributing to better-prepared and more motivated and competent individuals in various fields.
Economic impact
The AI-assisted learning content creation enables ThingLink to target private and public organisations and help them improve their resilience and adaptability in the market with fast creation of training materials. By promoting more efficient and effective training methods, the platform is expected to contribute to reduced training costs and increased productivity in various industries.
Impact on the healthcare sector
The healthcare sector stands to benefit significantly from this innovation. The ability to create immersive and interactive training materials can enhance the education and training of healthcare professionals, leading to reduced cost, improved employee retention and improved patient care and safety. For instance, medical device user training can be made more effective through simulations that mimic real-life scenarios, helping healthcare workers to better understand and operate complex medical equipment, leading to enhancing patient treatment and reduced errors in medical procedures.
Measurable data
As the AI-assisted functionality for ThingLink's platform is being tested with real customer environments during September and October, measurable data regarding its impact and effectiveness is still forthcoming. However, the project has reached several critical milestones that indicate significant potential for future success.
Development milestones achieved
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The prototype for the AI assisted functionality has been successfully developed, demonstrating the ability to transform traditional text-based materials into interactive, immersive learning experiences.
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The integration of AI technologies to analyse content, suggest course descriptions, and generate interactive elements has been completed. This showcases the technical feasibility and initial functionality of the feature.
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Improvements to the user interface have been made to ensure that the AI-driven features are accessible and user-friendly. This includes the ability to upload documents, select templates, and edit AI-generated content.
Ongoing efforts
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The integration of the AI-assisted functionality into the existing ThingLink platform is in progress. This involves ensuring compatibility with current features and seamless operation within the platform’s ecosystem.
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Comprehensive testing and validation procedures are being conducted to ensure the functionality works as intended and meets quality standards. This includes both technical testing and user testing to gather feedback and make necessary adjustments.
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Preparations are underway for the eventual launch of the AI assisted functionality. This includes finalising documentation, creating marketing materials, and planning for user support and training. Expected launch date is mid October.
Expected outcomes
While measurable data will only be available after the functionality is fully integrated and tested in real-world settings, the anticipated outcomes include:
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Increased efficiency (saving weeks of time) in creating immersive learning experiences.
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Significant budget savings in content creation of training materials in multiple languages.
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Significant savings in logistics and the need for replacement personnel for compliance training.
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Higher learner engagement due to the interactive nature of the content.
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Improved learning outcomes as a result of more engaging and effective training materials.
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Broader adoption of ThingLink’s platform in various sectors, particularly in education and corporate training.
These expected outcomes will be evaluated through user feedback, engagement metrics, and learning performance data once the functionality is launched and operational.
Lessons learned
Do’s:
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Identify a clear and engaging development challenge that inspires all.
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Reserve sufficiently time for the initial planning and setting up the administrative aspects for a multi-organisational project (contracts, funding decisions and other legalities and modalities).
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Define roles and responsibilities clearly.
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Create a positive and encouraging atmosphere for the collaboration.
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Set up interactive and efficient communications practices (such as WhatsApp groups) in view of a complex project with several organisations involved.
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Push for early adoption in real world settings (such as direct integration to product environment).
Don’ts:
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Don’t forget the original challenge when doing development work, for example losing sight of the customer perspective can lead to technical or functional decisions that do not align with the project's goals.
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Don't underestimate the efforts needed to integrate the early technical development to product environments.
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Don’t neglect testing and validation – skipping or rushing these steps can result in unforeseen issues and affect the quality of the final product.
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