Interplay Learning vs Openlab

Interplay Learning provides online and virtual-reality training for skilled trades. Expert-led courses use 3D simulations and VR practice, with catalogs covering HVAC, plumbing, solar, electrical, multi-family maintenance and more. The mobile app page states that users can access more than 500 hours of training, in English and Spanish. Training supports preparation for EPA 608 and NATE certification exams and approved continuing-education hours. Learners can use the web, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and Android tablets. Administrators can automatically assign courses, learning paths and due dates, including dynamic due dates. Integrations include single sign-on, reporting API connections and content integration with Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle, D2L and Schoology. Interplay markets solutions for individuals, businesses, educators and workforce-development organizations. Interplay Solo costs $54 a month for individual access and the full course catalog. A free trial is available, but there is no free plan.

Openlab provides immersive virtual biology and chemistry labs for students to practice laboratory protocols before entering a physical lab. Learners can interact with virtual equipment such as pipettes and test tubes, and explore molecular structures and DNA. Interactive quizzes test learners at each protocol step, while teachers can track progress through a web dashboard. Professors can request virtual labs based on an experiment described in a document or video. Openlab currently supports Oculus Quest 2 with hand tracking, so students interact using their hands. The maker suggests using the labs before real lab work, as a class supplement, or as a group activity. Openlab says it will ship a headset to an institute for a limited-time free trial and help with setup. Its terms state that services are free of charge, while noting that fees or subscriptions may be introduced in the future with notice. The platform is web-based, and the company is based in Varese, Italy.