Mike Van Houten

Risk Management Support - Learning Experience Architect / Web Administrator at POOL/PACT
POOL/PACT

- Using a Medieval dragon slayer and pushy princess to address Bullying in the Workplace? Heck yeah! - Addressing youth suicide by pulling learners into their young fragile minds better than Jennifer Lopez did in the movie The Cell? You betcha. - Developing and coding a virtual interaction that trains lifeguards how to properly store pool chemicals without causing a boom boom or death-gas worthy of a SyFy Original Movie? Can't put a price on safety.

He's developed over 100 courses for the POOL/PACT and formerly State of Texas public agencies. Acting as both 'Subject Matter Expert' and 'Content Matter Expert', he writes the scripts, designs the interactivity, directs the creative process, develops immersive experiences, and uses a combination of Articulate Presenter, Articulate Storyline, Articulate Engage, Adobe Captivate and Premier Pro, Lectora, CenarioVR, and Microsoft Powerpoint to create highly interactive, effective learning modules. His gig is using immersive storytelling to engage learners in what would otherwise be drab, mundane compliance training. His 20+ years as a graphic artist meshes perfectly with developing eLearning. He also manages, runs and administers Absorb, our enterprise-class learning management system that 100+ public agencies use, which includes over 13,000 individuals. Lately he uses AI to assist with course development, including generative features in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, Vyond, Colossyan AI Video Avatars, ChatGPT 4+, Perplexity, Dall-e, Adobe Firefly, SMARTCAT for language translation, Murf.ai and Wellsaid Labs for multi-language voiceover creation and more. In addition, he provides risk management support to our team of specialists, including but not limited to, logistics, training, digital content creation such as flyers, presentation development, on-site tech issues, specific incidents, technical support, and more.

Presentations During This Conference:

Breakout Session (repeat): Managing Absorb On-demand Learning: A Hands-free Approach - Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 2:15 PM

Make the most of your learning management system with strategies that simplify your work in Absorb. This session will show you how to streamline your processes so you can spend less time clicking and more time focusing on strategy. Explore tips, tricks, and proven best practices for automating workflows, reducing manual tasks, and getting the most out of your Absorb system. Whether you’re new to the platform or looking to level up your current processes, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to save time and simplify training management.

Breakout Session: Managing Absorb On-demand Learning: A Hands-free Approach - Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 1:15 PM

Make the most of your learning management system with strategies that simplify your work in Absorb. This session will show you how to streamline your processes so you can spend less time clicking and more time focusing on strategy. Explore tips, tricks, and proven best practices for automating workflows, reducing manual tasks, and getting the most out of your Absorb system. Whether you’re new to the platform or looking to level up your current processes, you’ll walk away with practical strategies to save time and simplify training management.