Global Flipchart #12

By Trevor Durnford

Augmented reality is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. How can it be useful for group facilitation?

One of my latest assignments was with a pharmaceuticals company that wanted to prepare for a huge transformation: increasingly medicines are developed by using artificial intelligence, robotics and ‘big data’. This company uses facilitators across the organisation to help leaders and their teams have dialogues about the culture shifts that will be needed to make this transformation happen.

Our work is to train volunteer facilitators in core facilitation skills and provide them with a collection of different dialogue guides they can use with teams. We decided at the outset that it would be cool if our work also embraced the world of digitalisation, so we decided to use an ‘Augmented Reality’ tool to enhance the facilitators’ experience. We have used it on workshop designs and driving plans, giving the reader much more than just text.

Download the Zappar App, and  scan the image code on the right. Something magic will happen with this text, try it out!

For those who just want to read, here’s what happens: scanning the code will augment the page with a video, links, images, contact details, PowerPoint slides and much more.

You can download the app for free - and the best way to learn about technology is to try it. Go ahead...

With this app, a simple facilitator tool or workshop guide can come to life with a short video from a virtual facilitator, or videos of teams in action using the tool before you use it yourself, or contact details and photographs for help - should you need it at the press of a button on your smartphone.

Don’t hesitate to drop me a line if you want some help, you can find me by giving me a Zapp!