Boring Technical eLearning Can be Engaging

Synthesis
The challenge in designing technical learning content is how to make it more engaging.
Technical information can come alive with the right approach that grabs learners' attention and keep them focused while learning its value and impacts on their jobs. __________________________________________________________________________

How do you make technical eLearning content engaging and interesting? So many of us give up the struggle. But there is a way to engage learners in technical learning.
 
For example, in a workshop, a participant from an insurance company asked me how to help learners understand the definition of “spouse.” She wanted to train learners about the definition of the word. I argued with her and asked, “Do you really want learners to remember the definition or do you want them to learn the application in real life of the definition like “spouse?” The end result is I helped her to develop this vignette “Would Maria Qualify as Spouse?”.
 
When deciding what how to create engaging elearning, interactivity and if scenario works for the content, ask yourselves this question:
 
Does the content require an engaging method or exploration method to help learners learn? Is the investment in scenarios the right investment to deliver learning?
 
When considering micro-scenario approaches to technical content it may be helpful to dwell on these points:
 
1. Think of it in its real-life consequences, positive or negative, or real-life meaning.  For example, why is it important to understand the definition of a spouse? What happens when they fail to understand the definition, the meaning and the impacts?
 
2. Learners must see the reason why it is important to know terms well – the possible error or misunderstanding of factual data and terms in the context of real-life scenarios they face.
 
3. What do learners need to pay attention to so they are able to delineate the terms, the potential problems and the impacts to job performance.
 
4. Learners do not care much for the factual definition. They care why it matters in their jobs.
 
Micro-scenarios are powerful metaphors of looking at things - like real-life mirrors.
It can be a potent tool in technical training or eLearning. It brings to life usual factual information and relates it to real events.  (Related blog: Engaging Technical eLearning – Tips on Design and Delivery)
 
Like Sherlock Holmes, understanding technical content (definitions, how-to’s, implementation, probing, problem solving, etc.) is like detecting criminals or finding proof.  It is conducting an investigation into real impacts of actual cases.
 
Look for facts – how facts happen in real-life. How do people respond to it?  Consider the events that unfold. Discern the truth. Detect suspicious characters.  Crime busting is not just text book - based.  It is also observing how people behave.
 
In the same sense, in technical training or eLearning, it is best to focus beyond the facts.  Rather than starting with the facts, begin with the impacts on real-life – work backwards.  It is like watching a movie in reverse.  It is looking into behavior then connecting to facts.

The Micro-scenario Formula:
1) Create a story or event
2) Put learner on the spot 
3) Ask learner to respond and react
4) Connect the definition by relating it to the story

In our story for the week," Would Maria Qualify as Spouse?", a common-law wife inquires into the insurance benefits of her common-law husband who just died in an accident. The vignette demonstrates how challenging technical topics can be learned through the presentation of a real-life scenario that teaches the value of investigating factual information and invites learners to understand, apply, appreciate and retain the importance of technical knowledge.  Click here to view "Would Maria Qualify as Spouse?"
 
How to Use the Vignette
 
Although the situation presented is specific, this vignette covers a wide range of topics, including conflict-resolution, work ethics and other management-related issues. This vignette is very useful for eLearning sessions that require your learners’ undivided attention, especially those that deal with specific situations that need to be resolved in a timely manner. Use it as part of your lessons or as a post-training test. Face-to-face, eLearning or webinar, this vignette is a sure way to push your learners to the EDGE.
Vignettes are captivating and highly effective learning tools that can power up your classroom training, eLearning activities and social learning communities. Click here to view “Would Maria Qualify as Spouse?". 
 
Join us  and tell us what you think about the vignettes and share with us if you have had similar experiences. Your feedback and insights are highly valued. Also feel free to send in your suggestions, comments, improvements or topics that are of interest to you. This can help us greatly in coming up with better vignettes, especially on topics that are of great relevance to you. 


Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Learners are in a State of Readiness - Avoid Rigid Learning Objectives

Synthesis:
Keeping to a rigid sequence in the implementation of the learning process is not a guarantee of a learner’s full attention or comprehension. Learners’ minds constantly wander to seek out discovery points that hold meaning for them in the real world. Find out how you can leverage this to maximize learning that greatly benefit learners.
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In designing learning objectives, it is helpful to understand that learners are in a constant STATE OF READINESS. They constantly seek out Discovery Points.

Discovery points are similar to the ideas postulated in Contextual Learning.
According to Hull’s (1993) definition of contextual learning, learning occurs only when learners connect information to their own frame of reference:

“According to contextual learning theory, learning occurs only when learners process new information or knowledge in such a way that it makes sense to them in their frame of reference (their own inner world of memory, experience, and response). This approach to learning and teaching assumes that the mind naturally seeks meaning in context--that is, in the environment where the person is located--and that it does so through searching for relationships that make sense and appear useful.” (p. 41)

Furthermore, Karweit (1993) defines contextual learning as learning that is designed so that learners can carry out activities and solve problems in a way that reflects the nature of such tasks in the real world. Research supports the effectiveness of learning in meaningful contexts (Carraher,Carraher & Schleimer, 1985; Lave, Smith & Butler, 1988).

In the illustration below, learners constantly seek out discovery points. The discovery points are topic areas that are of interest to the learner at that one point in time:
• Learner surrounded by many topics – he/she focus on his/her own interests
• Learner surrounded by one topic – he/she searches on his/her own interests
• Learner surrounded by no topic – he/she fills his/her own interests

The specificity of objective or following a rigid sequence of learning does not guarantee that the learner’s attention is focused on the content. The learner will always pay attention to his own interests regardless of the different topic conditions.

Elliot Massie shared in one of his presentations in Learning 2010 how he discovered that learners, specially, the nomadic or new generation learners, prefer to have more control over the way they study content. The following was his experience with a new team member:

“I was conducting an orientation program for a new team member and it was a face to face orientation. The new team member asked me if I can provide her instead a CD with the information I was covering during the orientation.”

Curious of this request, Massie asked, to paraphrase:

“Why do you need a CD?”

“The CD would be valuable so I can flip through the different sections and check out areas I want to review, just in case I need it while on the job”, the new team member responded.

In many of my workshops, when discussing learning objectives, I ask participants,

“How many percent are you mentally present and follow the discussions during the workshop?”

Majority tell me, that they are mentally present in the session for only around 5% to 15% of the time. Their minds wander around and often do not follow the goings-on in the workshop. Incidentally, the wandering minds is one measure that the learner is learning.

The learners’ wandering around is a natural inclination to pursue his/her own discovery points. So instead of sabotaging the state of readiness and pursuits of personal discovery points, we need to present or state learning objectives in a manner akin to the nature of learners.

Ray Jimenez, PhD
Vignettes Learning
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"

Sometimes I wish Tony Soprano is working for me - The Politics: Culture change and implementation in e-Learning

Have you noticed that e-Learning is not free from the politics of project implementation in organizations, whether we observe and admit it or not? Sometimes, I get so frustrated with internal politics that I wish Tony Soprano were working for me.

Don't get lulled into feeling that e-Learning will be accepted just because it is "cool" or a novel way of learning. Someone can torpedo your e-Learning projects and bring them to a halt.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. What do you do? Consider these ideas.

1. When implementing an e-Learning program, commonly known as LMS (Learning Management System), identify your sponsors, champions, and leaders who are recipients of the programs.
2. Educate them about the business impacts, benefits, and potential challenges of the e-Learning program.
3. Using an OD (Organizational Development) term, you need to provide the
   appropriate "unfreezing process". Most of your sponsors are frozen in time with old practices and hang-ups. Invest in time and effort to make them current. For example: One time I needed to convert a video about a CEO to enable it to be shown in an iPod and show how the iPod works!
4. In most cases, organizations learn and apply changes incrementally. If it is appropriate for you, introduce small e-Learning programs. Pick those topics that the business is really "hurting" about.
5. Metaphorically, there is no harm at all that you identify a Tony Soprano (the command and control leaders or "I'll break your leg or I will fire you" leaders) in your organization. In fact, more than we want to accept, having a muscle supporting your e-Learning works!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Index of e-Learning Survey - Learn more about the Index. Compare your e-Learning programs with the 10 e-Learning standards. Complete the survey and download an article on "Index of e-Learning".
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Happy e-Learning!


Ray Jimenez, PhD www.vignettestraining.com
"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"