Release Notes

Notes describing the features in each Next World version at the time of release.

v1.19: The New Look Portal

The Next World Platform Portal got a major overhaul in May 2023, here's what's new.


An Overview 

In this article, we will be discussing the latest portal release from Next World - Version 1.19. This update includes several new features and a massive visual overhaul that gives a new look and feel to the platform. Navigating the pages is easier than ever, and there are many areas users can quickly access the necessary features. The Trainees Page is a valuable addition that provides an overview of the overall training progress of users. The Training Programmes feature allows users to edit and add new programmes easily.


Massive Visual Overhaul

image.pngOne of the most significant changes in this release is the massive visual overhaul of the portal, which now looks completely different and a lot nicer. Although the key functionalities remain the same, all the navigation features have moved to the left-hand side for easier and more intuitive access.


New Navigation Features

image.pngStarting from the top to bottom, the new navigation feature includes the user's name and access code, which can be used to change the password, manage training programs, and access other features. The company information is next, which allows users to switch views between divisions within their organization.

Dashboard

image.pngThe dashboard is the first thing that users see when they log in, and shows the most recent session experiences that have gone through the organisation in the past seven days. Users can view the number of sessions completed and trainees that have gone through.

Training Insights

image.pngThe training insights feature allows users to view an analysis of data from the sessions that users are doing. Users can filter the data via searchability and filter options, such as searching from a date range or by experience. They can see users from different divisions, the incomplete sessions, or sessions in progress.

For more information, head to this article.


Trainees

image.pngThe Trainees page is a new feature that provides an overview of the overall training progress of users, as well as the status of each individual trainee. Users can view all the trainees in their organisation, the courses completed, the number of sessions done, and the training status. This is a useful place for individual training management and seeing overall health scores.

For more information, head to this article.


Training Programs 

image.pngThe Training Programmes page shows a list of all current training programmes. Users can edit the name, description, frequency, experience, and members that are part of the programme. They can also add new programmes from this feature.

For more information, head to this article.

v1.16: Training States

In this latest update, we bring higher visibility into what trainees require training, and the current state of their training within their Training Cohorts.


NEW FEATURE!

Training States (managed by Training Cohorts)

After assigning trainees to one or many Training Cohorts, their overall training status will now be displayed as an icon on their avatar. There are many states, each denoting a stage on a trainees journey from being added to the platform, to achieving their completion certificate.

You can find out more about this feature here

Looking Forward

We hope these new features improve how training is allocated, and increase visibility into who requires the most help to succeed!

v1.14: Training Cohorts Overhaul

REIMAGINED FEATURE!

Training Cohorts

This update brings great functionality and applicability improvements to the Training Cohorts feature, formerly known as Training Groups. You will notice that we have reimagined the look, feel and overall process of creating and managing Training Cohorts. We wanted the process and manageability of the feature to be more streamlined and we greatly increased the functionality in anticipation of features to be released in the coming months.

Trainees Categorised by Training Required

Training Cohorts are your ticket to classifying your trainees by the training they require. Do your office administration staff need Fire Training and Occupational Health and Safety training? Create a cohort called "Office Admin" and add the relevant experiences they require.

Cohorts can additionally contain members from all divisions under the company which it was created. This allows cohorts to span multiple divisions of your company so that those members are included and their training be managed by the parent company. If you add a Manager from a division as an Owner, they will be able to manage their own trainees within the Training Group.
Start by naming the Training Cohort, optionally giving it a description, and choose a frequency which members of this Training Cohort will be required to complete this training.

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Next, select the Experiences you want any trainee assigned to this Training Cohort to be required to complete.

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Lastly, select at least one Manager to be Owner of the Training Cohort and assign all the trainees who require this training.

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You are done! Confirm the choices you made in the summary, press Create Cohort and the new Training Cohort will appear in the list of Training Cohorts. 

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Modifying a Cohort is Easy!

When new members join your team, or if team members move on, it is quite a simple process to update relevant cohorts. Simply click on the Training Cohort in the list you want to modify and the below modal will show up. Click on a circle next to the member's name to add or remove that member from the role type you selected. If a member has one of the role options active, they are a member of that Training Cohort as that role type. A member with neither of the two role types selected is not a member of the Training Cohort.

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You are additionally able to edit the Training Cohort's title, description, frequency of training and experiences trainees are required to do from this modal.

Pressing the Update button will solidify the changes you made to the Training Cohort.

v1.13: Certificates, Slips, Trips and Hand Safety

In this update, we have refreshed the look, feel and functionality of the session insights view. We’ve made large strides toward providing a more defined and clearer view of metrics provided by experiences, how the trainee stepped through the experience and how well they did at each point throughout.

REFRESHED VIEW!

Performance Measured

Trainees receive a score (an overall indication of how well they performed throughout the experience) derived from key performance metrics throughout the experience.

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Progress Measured

Progress is measured in segments for each trainee, depending on the experience. Trainees generally experience a Discovery (prior knowledge) phase, along with Practice and Exam phases. A trainees playthrough is then mapped to each segment, highlighting decisions they did (or didn't) make, and where they went right and wrong.

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NEW EXPERIENCE!

Slips, Trips and Falls

Slips, trips and falls make up some of the most common injuries that occur in the workplace. In this experience, you'll learn about common causes of slips, trips and falls, how to avoid them, and learn to identify slip, trip and fall incidents before they happen. You'll investigate multiple workplaces for potential slip, trip and fall hazards, and be assessed on your ability to identify hazards before they happen.

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NEW EXPERIENCE!

Hand Safety

Our hands are involved in almost every task we complete while at work, placing them at constant risk of serious injury. For employees, a hand injury can have devastating consequences, often resulting in painful amputations, breaks and lacerations. Next World’s Hand Safety VR training course is designed to give employees the knowledge and critical understanding they need to manage and eliminate the risk of these hazardous situations. This course drops participants in a dynamic warehouse environment and challenges them to think about their hand safety.

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NEW FEATURE!

Training Certificates

Training certificates have been a highly requested addition to the Next World Platform, providing a target for accomplishment for the trainee and managers alike. In our latest update, along with a refreshed Session Insights view, training certificates are finally here!

Trainees will receive a certificate in their email inbox upon successful completion of a training experience. Certificates can be shared via link or QR code (located on the certificate) with anyone! Managers can also access these via a link on the Session Insights view.

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These features and updates come from our ongoing commitment toward providing greater value to our customers, and are part of many more exciting updates yet to come!

NEW FEATURE!

Trainer Headset Login

Trainers have been given increased visibility for the trainees on their system when they log in - this should help trainers find the codes for their trainees and start training on a trainee's behalf. To access the new feature, log in with a valid four digit trainer code.

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v1.12: Training Scheduler Update


In the 1.12 update, we have released our newest feature - the Training Schedule!

NEW FEATURE!

Training Schedule

The Training Schedule allows managers to see and schedule training events for trainees on a calendar based on the company's time zone. Trainees are then notified of their training time via email.

This is a fantastic feature that empowers companies and organisations even further. Check it out today!

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NEW FEATURE!

Lock-Out Tag-out

Lock-out tag-out is a set of procedures designed to control hazardous energy during processes such as maintenance, inspection and servicing. In this experience, you'll learn how to complete a lock-out tag-out procedure safely, and in the correct order. You'll also learn how to use lock-out tag-out equipment to lock a machine before performing maintenance activities, how to identify and release stored energy and the importance of communication with affected personnel to ensure your safety and theirs.

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v1.9: Headset and Insights Update

As part of our 1.9 update, we have released a new experience, Office Hazards, as well as improvements to our headset software and to the Training and Insights Platform.

NEW EXPERIENCE!

Office Hazards

Our latest experience, Office Hazards, has trainees learning about how to be safe in an office environment. It's available right now. Contact your administrator or Next World if you don't yet have access.

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First Support for Arabic and Hindi

Thanks to improved localisation support and access to localisation teams, Next World has released Office Hazards and Working At Heights in Arabic and Hindi.

Headset Improvements

Offline Mode

Next World headsets have always been able to recover from internet connection issues and run without internet connection for a prolonged amount of time, but what if you have unreliable internet connection or can't afford to run updates right now? Offline mode has come to the rescue.

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Localisation and Support for new Regions and Languages

Next World aims to make the world a safer place and, in order to do that, we're going to need to learn how to speak a few more languages. Now we do: namely Arabic and Hindi for select experiences.

Insights and Training Platform Features

The Insights and Training Platform has had some mammoth new features added.

Organisational Divisions

You can now add subsidiaries to your company or organisation and appoint managers and administrators for them. Setting up multi-tiered companies, educational institutions and franchises became a lot easier to manage.

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Design Refinement and Mobile Compatibility

Numerous tweaks and changes have been made to the Insights Platform's User Interface to make navigation on desktop, tablet and mobile easier. Go check it out for yourself.

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Training Cohorts

Not all your trainees, staff or students need the same training so we created Training Cohorts to help you organise them. Whether it's for your warehouse staff, your first year students or just the people you need to make sure get fire training - making sure users are up to speed is much easier with training cohorts. Training cohorts are a great way to assign required training to individuals.

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Experience Selection

Now that you have Organisational Divisions and Training Groups, you'll need a way to decide what training they should be allowed access to and what training they are required to do.


Scheduling Training

We have massive plans when it comes to scheduling trainees and we're really excited to share some of the upcoming features - so we've made portions of them available today. Even though the massive scheduling view isn't quite ready, we've created a way for you to begin to schedule training.

v1.5: Insights Overviews

A new update for the Next World Platform and Insights Dashboard has been released today, with a suite of new tools to help manage and administer trainees.

Dashboard Updates

Insights Dashboard Reframe

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The dashboard has been overhauled to better bit wide screens and provide access to more information at once. There’s been overhauls of menus, title bars, fonts and colours to make it more usable on desktop devices. There’s plenty more to come in this space so keep an eye out.


30 Day Overview

The 30 Day Overview is now the first thing you'll see after you log in. It'll give you a quick summary of your recent experience usage.

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New Trainees Page

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The Trainees page has undergone significant improvements including a new look and feel, better filters and a brand new grading system. We’re looking forward to showing more on the new grading system in the near future.


New Session Filters

There’s new filters on your sessions list which allow you to find sessions by experience and show or hide incomplete sessions. The sessions table will also show sessions that are live and currently in progress.

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Long, Searchable Admin Tables

Tables are now full length and searchable in admin areas, allowing you to find your users, devices and training information more quickly.

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Agent Admin Assume

Thanks to powerful new authentication tools, agents can now log in as an admin for any company, allowing easier viewing of insights.

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v2.4.0: Archiving and Notifications

In this release, we've improved the functionality of the Archive feature across the board and refreshed the look and feel of our email notifications, as well as implementing reminder emails for trainees and trainers alike!

Archiving

The archiving feature should now function as expected across the board:

* When archiving or restoring a division, all related entities (devices, members, training programs and subdivisions) are also archived or restored.

This has been a long requested user experience change and we're hoping it helps to further improve the functionality of the Platform.

Email Notifications and Reminders

Email reminders will now be sent out for various tasks that will help to improve users safety training targets, and have also received a much needed visual overhaul in line with the current platform visual design.

This is a new feature we will be monitoring closely and collecting feedback on, with planned additional functionality in scope for the future.

That's all for now!

New Release! v2.5.8

In this release, we've released Soft Skills experiences for our clients to use, the Arabic language for our experiences and applications has been drastically improved, and many bug fixes and improvements have been completed for our LMS.

Platform / LMS

Many bug fixes and improvements, including with batch user adding and some CSV generation.

You can now view experience overviews and course guides without needing to log into the LMS, as long as you have the URL for the experience you wish to view

New Soft Skills partner - Bodyswaps!

We have partnered with Bodyswaps, a VR Soft Skills provider, to bring you many soft skills training experiences including but not limited to:

You can enquire about access to these soft skills training courses and more at enquiry@nextworldxr.com or contact your Next World representative. 

Arabic 2.0

We have done a major overhaul of the Arabic language for our Home application and all of our experiences. This applies to both written Arabic and spoken Arabic.

If you have any questions related to the update or things mentioned in this news article, please feel free to reach out. If you are experiencing any issues or have additional suggestions for these features and improvements, we gladly accept your feedback. 

That's all for now, look forward to the next release!