Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis.The responsibility of eLearning developers does not stop at implementing lessons. Post-learning assessment and data analysis are major factors to determine the efficiency of the learning modality. eLearning facilitators should ask themselves: Are we interpreting data correctly? Image source.
Recently, the British Broadcasting Company website published an article written by Malcom Gladwell entitled “Viewpoint: Could one man have shortened the Vietnam War?” It is both intriguing and enlightening. It showed the vital role of data analysis and consequences for the erroneous process. Gladwell cites historical references pointing to the failure of American intelligence executives to correctly interpret the data of the Vietnam War. It proposes that the Vietnam War could have ended much earlier and saved thousands of lives had there been accurate interpretation of information collected.
Konrad Kellen was part of Rand Corporation, a high-level think tank commissioned to interpret Vietnam War data. He was part of the Vietnam Motivation and Morale Project headed by Leon Goure.
Gladwell summarizes the objective of the project:
“The idea was to break the will of the North Vietnamese. But the Pentagon didn't know anything about the North Vietnamese. They knew nothing about Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese language. It was just this little speck in the world, in their view. How do you know that you're breaking the will of a country if you know nothing about the country? So Goure's job was to figure out what the North Vietnamese were thinking.The idea was to break the will of the North Vietnamese. But the Pentagon didn't know anything about the North Vietnamese. They knew nothing about Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese language. It was just this little speck in the world, in their view.”
As the Vietnam War ensued, Rand Corporation managed to interview captured Viet Cong guerillas and produced 61,000 pages of transcribed manuscript. Goure interpreted these data and concluded that the Viet Cong were utterly demoralized and they were about to give up. Goure recommended more bombings to break North Vietnam. Everyone but Kellen believed Goure.
According to Kellen, his interview with a Viet Cong Captain changed his perspective. The captured officer revealed that North Vietnamese believed that they could not win the war. Kellen interpreted this data differently and concluded that “an enemy who is indifferent to the outcome of a battle is the most dangerous enemy of all.”
The US government ignored the opposing recommendation submitted by Kellen. The Vietnam War continued and the rest is history.
Data analysis and interpretation are vital in any industry including the eLearning sector. As eLearning facilitators and developers, we should interpret the data without biases or prejudice. It is in the best interest of our elearners to give up control over our desired results or projected outcomes.
Vignettes Learning is running a program called STEX, an online application that gathers learner’s feedback and reaction over simulated training scenarios. We do our best to interpret data in the most objective way in order to get accurate evaluation. Aware of the consequences of manipulating data to achieve preconceived outcomes, I would point out that our guidelines in data interpretation are meticulously followed.
In the medical field, wrong diagnosis could lead to dangerous results. This can very well compound the problem and endanger the well-being of the patient. This logic is also applicable in eLearning.
Here are some points to ponder in analyzing elearning data:
Give attention to details. All data are important, even the seemingly insignificant ones.
Approach your data with an open mind and objective disposition. Do not prejudge an assessment based on initial results.
Analyze the data with someone who has an opposing perspective. You need to test conclusions and recommendations by putting it in a crucible, so to speak.
Detach yourself from the analysis and do not get emotionally attached to the outcomes.
State your margin of error in your assessments. No one is infallible.
Malcom Gladwell compares data analysis to listening. The ability ”to listen” correctly to data is a skill all elearning facilitators and designers should possess. Of this, the author of the article writes:
“Listening well is a gift. The ability to hear what someone says and not filter it through your own biases is an instinctive ability similar to having a photographic memory. And I think we have a great ]deal of trouble with people who have this gift. There is something about all of us that likes the fact that what we hear is filtered through someone's biases.”
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. An iconic TV series is used as a model for creating an open-ended ending for story-based elearning design. Such an approach creates cycles of continuous learning because the lesson becomes collaborative. As the learners attempt to put an ending to an unconcluded story, different insights contribute to the development of the lesson.
American actor James Gandolfini passed away last June 19, 2013. He played the iconic role of Tony Soprano in the HBO TV hit series The Sopranos. As the mob boss of a ruthless and dysfunctional crime family syndicate in New Jersey, Gandolfini was critically acclaimed for his intensity and realistic portrayal of the role.
The Sopranos are considered as the greatest television series of all time. It has won a multitude of awards, including back-to-back Peabody Awards for its first two seasons, twenty-one Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named it the best-written series in television history. (Wikipedia).
What impressed me most about the Sopranos was the manner the scriptwriters ended the series. The interpretation and meaning of the Sopranos’“final scene” is still being debated today, six years after the last episode was aired.
The final scene showed the Soprano family about to have a family dinner in a diner. The camera pans through different frames suggesting that an assassin could show up and ‘whack’ the crime boss in front of his family. As tension builds up, the camera gives a close-up of Tony Soprano’s face, looking at someone who just entered the diner. Then, blackout. The credits followed without any annotation or epilogue. Watch the Sopranos’ final scene here.The ending has spurred hundreds – if not thousands – of blogs, articles and feature writing, explaining their point of view or interpretation of the ending.
The Sopranos’ finale is a clear example of what we story-based elearning designers aim to achieve in their elearning modules. After hooking the learners with a well-written and engaging story, the open-ended ending allow the viewers decide how to end their story.
In the same manner, a story-based elearning lesson solicits innumerable lessons, insights, interaction and reaction among the learners. Unlike conventional learning where there have been always a ‘right or wrong’, the story-based elearning lesson probes deeper into the emotional and intellectual faculties of the learners. The learning becomes collaborative because of the interaction and feedback.
Here are some guidelines on how to create a story-based elearning lesson with an impactful open ending:
The beginning and body of the story should be engaging. It should move the learners to commit to the story. It should be compelling enough to make them deeply concerned about how the story would end.
If the developer could not feel the tension and conflict of his or her SBL design, I am 100% certain that the learners would not experience it also. Without character identification, the story-based elearning lesson fails to connect with the learner. Without such connection, the whole learning framework falls apart.
Everybody is basically going through the same thing every day: joy, happiness, enthusiasm, sadness, tension, anxiety, disappointment and fatigue, among others. Human emotions are the easiest to recreate and project. Reflect and ask: is this story-based elearning lesson projecting an authentic experience?
I close by quoting an excerpt from my book Scenario-Based Learning Using Stories To Engage e-Learners:
“Many of us in the business of teaching, learning and training believe it is our role to engage learners. We become frustrated during these occasions when we can’t achieve this. We can only set the stage for learners to become engaged themselves. There’s a difference. Learners are perpetually engaged by their own stories. They complete their own stories, their bucket lists. Trainers and designers merely help by facilitating the process. The power of SBLs is to allow learners to complete their stories and discover the embedded learning ideas, not to force them to participate in stories that don’t resonate. They may go through the motions, but they won’t be engaged.”
Story-based elearning design creates a never-ending story that draws reactions, perspective and insight long after the last scene ended.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. eLearning content should be a collaboration between the client and the instructional designer and developer. Without the collaborative process, it is more difficult to produce effective and impactful elearning design. This is the reason why training needs analysis is important in elearning development. The first question a developer should ask the client is: what do you want to learn?
Recently, Ikea launched an ingenuously designed shelter for refugees. In his article, A New Ingeniously Designed Shelter For Refugees—Made By Ikea, Shane Snow writes:
"The Ikea Foundation (which has invested approximately 3.4 million euros in the project so far) and UNHCR will beta test the shelters in Ethiopia next month, then iterate to a final design for mass production. They currently cost $10,000 to make, but they’re hoping to get that price down to less than $1,000 when they’re in mass production. The tents cost half that, but they hope to have the cost even out, given the long life of the shelters."
The same article cites that these innovative shelters are twice as large as the old-school refugee tent. They measure 17.5 square meters, take four hours to assemble and designed to last 10 times longer than the conventional ones. Take a look at the Ikea tent here.
Putting on my designer’s hat, I became fully aware of the amount of research, situational-needs analysis, behavioral study and technical preparations Ikea designers went through to produce the innovative refugee shelters. The design is objective and end-user specific: for refugees.
The process of developing the elearning design is similar to the design approach of the said tent. Just as the blueprint of the tent was based on the needs of the refugees, the development of elearning modalities should consider the assessed requisites of the learners.
In this sense, a needs analysis is a vital step. A shotgun approach will not achieve learning goals especially in the development of the elearning design.
The next key step would be the presentation and discussion of results with client. Here lies the opportunity for a collaborative approach between designer /developer and the organization’s elearning stakeholders.
In my years as an eLearning developer, I am convinced with certainty that the most effective and impactful lessons are those co-designed by the client. Co-design in this respect means that the client spent collaborative sessions with the developer to analyze the needs of the organization.
Entities subscribed to elearning, participate in the development of lessons. After all, the principals have better knowledge of its members than the developers. Collaborative elearning development produces contextual lessons that hit the bull’s eye.
In my book 3-Minute Learning, I pointed out one of the common pitfalls in eLearning course development: designing and developing e-Learning programs without understanding the principles of elearning behaviors and the nature of internet technologies.
Based on the above fact, I cite these guide points for both the developers and elearning principals:
Learning needs analysis should be implemented with a critical mind. The principal should disclose relevant data and information that could help designers come up with an objective-specific lesson.
Designers should be given the general background of the elearners. Prior knowledge of the contextual situation of the organization would definitely help designers customize an appropriate eLearning design.
Principals should inform the designers about the strengths and weaknesses of the organization in relation to the lesson being designed. This way, the designers and developers are able to build the learning parameters.
Learning results should be quantifiable and measurable.
Keep in mind that the behavior of learners in an elearing environment is different. Virtual classroom solicits a different attitude and disposition from the learners. What works in a conventional learning environment would not necessarily apply in a virtual class.
Conduct a Beta test of the virtual lessons and invest time in implementing trial runs to recognize the flaws and defects of the conceptual and technical elements of the design.
Allow the principals and the learners to evaluate the elearning design.
Record and keep the evaluation results. Knowledge benchmarks are necessary for the next phase of the elearning development.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis: Accessibility to massive content in this Digital Information Age can be overwhelming and sidetrack even those with the best intentions. It is therefore important that designers focus on the intended context of their lessons rather than allow themselves to be distracted by too much information during elearning development. Minimizing content to its essentials can be an effective way to accelerate eLearning. It allows context to float to the surface like oil over water.
Well developed elearning programs put premium on embedding context rather than just provding content. A critical step to achieving this is distinguishing content that learners need to know or must know. It is lean yet significant. Otherwise, it does not create the intended learning impact. As we apply the approach to creating micro-lessons with the embedded context, learners are drawn to discover it and enables them to glean the critical knowledge and retain it more easily.
The quality of content and the process by which we synthesize content are factors that affect learning. Content that simply overloads our minds and makes learning incomprehensible can even lead to confusion. In this light, context takes precedence over content.
In my blog Context is King, I wrote:
“With the massive information and content growth and the speed of information change, the next generation challenge is not content but rather how to make sense, how to discover and how to apply the ideas from the content. In essence, how to find the context becomes more important. This is known as Contextual Learning – a learning that connects content with what the learners already know and benefit from its immediate usefulness. It is not the amount of information that we provide learners that is important. It is what is meaningful and immediately useful to impact their performance.”
Here are points to ponder for elearning designers:
• Content development doesn’t work like a piggy bank. Storing too much information in one single lesson weakens the learning framework. If you keep on dumping content without providing the process on how to weave everything into one symbiotic modality, your lesson becomes good for nothing.
• Context focuses on micro-lessons that lead to rapid learning. Uncovering a single lesson from one page is more practical than unearthing multiple lessons from a whole book.
• Contextual learning limits the scope of the lesson but it does not mean that the learner has lesser learning.
• Context enables designers to focus only on what is relevant and disregards novelty and unnecessary information embellishments that do not contribute to the eLearning structure.
In his article 4 Weapons of Exceptional Creative Leaders, Charles Day wrote:
“The context gives us the ability to say no with confidence.Great leaders are not necessarily braver leaders. They’re just better informed about the consequences of their choices, which makes it easier for them to make the hard ones. The result is they are able to keep their companies focused.When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as its CEO, he began saying no to virtually every request by Apple’s developers. He understood that saying yes was a distraction from where he knew he needed to take the company and having context gave him the confidence to stand by his convictions.
Many leaders fear saying no and see it as limiting. But more often than not, it’s the right answer when you’re clear about where you’re headed and are in a hurry to get there. Context requires that you build from the future back. Once you know where you’re headed, the decision whether to turn left or right at any given fork becomes increasingly clear. Context is only relevant if it’s based on current information. Because the world is changing in real time, exceptional leaders actively welcome disruptive thinking.”
What is said about contextual leadership can also be applied in contextual elearning development. Designers who are keen on contextual learning safeguards their lessons by saying “no” to:
• Information overload that defocuses the learner from the heart of the lessons
• Bland, boring and conventional designs that fail to challenge the creativity and rationality of the learners
• Knowledge spoon-feeding that induces procrastination rather than participation
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story.
Synthesis.Avatars are not only novelties or catchy web accessories. They provide web users with a third-person perspective of themselves. Avatars help us project ourselves during web interactivity. Recent studies show that the third-person perspective has more advance uses in eLearning and interaction.
Image Source I chanced upon an EA Sports website, a gaming portal that enables players to ‘paste’ their head shots onto the body of the player of their choice. The feature is called Game Face. It gives this alluring welcome to the players: Create your EA sports avatar on the web and get to play as yourself in the games!
I am not into gaming but I like the concept of personification: the users “see themselves” in the interactive zone they are engaged in. Perhaps, people tend to become more efficient in interactive games when they see themselves in it. The survival instinct kicks in: they don’t want to see their avatar lose or die right before their very eyes.
As eLearning facilitators, we make it a point to require elearners to post their photos or avatars during interactive sessions. The chat room and online forum become more ‘personified’ during virtual lessons through the photos or avatars of fellow learners.
An article published in the Harvard Business Review describes a breakthrough research that takes the avatar concept technology a hundred notches higher. In You Make Better Decisions If You “See” Your Senior Self, Hal Hershfield writes:
“There’s a large body of literature showing that emotional responses are heightened when you give people vivid examples: Donors give more to charity when they hear from a victim; pulmonologists smoke less than other doctors because they see dirty lungs all day. So I partnered with Daniel Goldstein of Microsoft Research, Jeremy Bailenson of Stanford, and several other Stanford researchers see if giving people vivid images of their older selves would change their spending and saving preferences. We took photos of our subjects and used software to create digital avatars—half of which were aged with jowls, bags under the eyes, and gray hair. Wearing goggles and sensors, participants explored a virtual environment and came with a mirror that reflected either their current-self or future-self avatar. Afterward, we asked them to allocate $1,000 among four options—buying something nice for someone special, investing in a retirement fund, planning a fun event, or putting money into a checking account. Subjects exposed to aged avatars put nearly twice as much money into the retirement fund as the other people. Later we had some people see the older avatars of other subjects to test if that affected their choices, but it didn’t. Only those who saw their own future selves were more likely to favor long-term rewards.”
So, how do we apply the basic concepts of the third-person perspective in elearning design? How can we induce our elearners to “age or become more mature” in their responses?
The correct and efficient use of avatars in story-based eLearning design is only part of the whole approach. To create the appropriate learning environment, designers should set a good storyline, an apt setting and a realistic script. Create the right tension and draw them into the scenario.
Trust the learners and implement your lessons with the disposition that they can rise to the level of the challenge. In short, treat them as adults who are capable of being creative and responsive no matter how difficult your lessons may seem.
Pace your lessons well so that learners have enough time to think, react and assess their response. We are recreating real-life scenarios. As such, there are emotions and reactions involved. While we try to draw out the spontaneous reaction from learners, it is also as important to give them space to process their own learning .
The results of the above-mentioned research could be further applied to elearning development. I foresee that this third-person concept is applicable to value-based and ethics-centered lessons for NGOs, socio-civic organizations and churches. Indeed, the elearning universe is expanding because of the changing needs of global communities.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. eLearning designs should not spoon-feed learners. Developers and designers are encouraged to create modules that challenge the intelligence and creativity of the learners. Knowledge spoon-feeding would create infants out of learners. Image Source
The job of eLearning designers should enable learners to reflect, discover and decide rather than just giving information out. Creating the proverbial comfort zone in eLearning designs is the formula for boredom. The so-called ‘comfort zone’ induces students to become passive. It dulls their minds and suppresses creativity.
Facilitators and trainers shift the control of the learning from the learners to them by giving too much information and data. Overly eager designers tend to manipulate the modules to attain their desired results. They want the learners to win the ballgame according to their terms and biased outcomes.
Intellectual constraints build mental muscles. Muscles are formed by consistently engaging them with artificial stress and constraints. You don’t need Arnold Schwarzenegger to tell you that. Likewise, designers must push elearners’ to critically think and carry some mental burden to arrive at or discover learning nuggets. Let them travel through a labyrinth and discover their way out in the quest to acquire knowledge.
As an eLearning designer, I understand the dilemma that my fellow colleagues face in the industry. By designing lessons that give more control to learners, we make ourselves ‘obsolete’. It’s a scary thought, right? I aired this matter in my blog : Are Trainers Still Needed? In that blog, I wrote:
Informal learning, social learning, or learning based on the learners’ choices or options are certainly redefining the roles of trainers, learning specialists and even learners themselves. As they take more control of their own learning on their own terms, this becomes a frightening scenario to many learning specialists.
"Letting go of control" pushes trainers to rethink their roles in the learning process. However, rather than balk at the prospect, it is about time that this becomes an open issue. Years ago, letting go of control was like committing suicide where trainers are concerned.
Truth to say, we trainers, never had total control. We’ve always felt, thought and convinced ourselves that we control learning because we instruct and teach knowledge. However in reality, learners choose to learn based on their own personal goals. So, this openness about losing control is not entirely novel news. It should no longer be a surprise.
Interestingly, this is the same concept that Adam Richardson wrote in his Harvard Business Review article entitled ‘Boosting Creativity Through Constraints’. In that article, Richardson writes:
Conventional wisdom holds that the best way to boost a team's creativity is to unshackle them from constraints. The less they have to worry about, the more open they'll be with their ideas, the theory goes. Budget? Unlimited! Ideas from outside? Bring 'em on! Different business model? Consider it entertained! Unfortunately this approach can actually be counter-productive.
Some constraints are realities that must to be dealt with — laws of physics, or perhaps a budget. Other constraints may seem immovable but upon inspection are actually assumptions based on the past — your business model, or which customers and needs you serve, for example.
Constraints have a Goldilocks quality: too many and you will indeed suffocate in stale thinking, too few and you risk a rambling vision quest. The key to spurring creativity isn't the removal of all constraints. Ideally you should impose only those constraints (beyond the truly non-negotiable ones) that move you toward clarity of purpose.
If a constraint enhances your understanding of the problem scope and why you're doing what you're doing, leave it in. Insights into user needs, for example, are great because they provide focus and rationale. If the constraint confuses or overly narrows scope without good reason, remove or replace it. Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of constraints; it's not always easy to tell ahead of time what the right mix will be for a particular project or circumstance.
Here are some tips on how to build constraints that compel learner’s creativity:
Ask or post the right questions in your modules. Target the learner’s blindside. Post unexpected questions that are not answered by yes or no.
Use hyperlinks and links in your lessons. Let you eLearners navigate through other knowledge references.
Present contradictory ideas and compel your students to take a stand. Opposing views fuel discussion. Collaborative learning is attained when there are clashes of ideas and concepts.
Do not feed your students with your conclusions or recommendations. Guide them through but do not dictate as to how the learning should be concluded.
Provide a feedback mechanism so that you can challenge the answers or conclusions of the elearners.
Whenever possible, use learning games. This can make learning entertaining.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. Heidi Grant writes that language can either take the promotion or prevention format. Since these language formats have specific effects on the listeners, each should be used appropriately. eLearning instructional designers should be aware of the implications of the promotion and prevention formats. Image Source
In my blog, “How to Avoid Impersonal Programs and Encourage Conversations”, I wrote:
When was the last time you had a face-to-face conversation with someone and that person was not really present with you? He or she was “not really there”? How did you feel? You were probably annoyed or insulted. If this person was a friend or family member, you may have pointed it out: “Hey, what’s wrong with you today?” If this frequently happens during face-to-face meetings, it is bound to be a bigger problem with eLearning design. Most design has this common navigation, such as “click here,” “forward,” “back” and “continue.” Although they help learners know what to do, these navigations are impersonal.
Indeed, the language used in content affects the performance of eLearners. In an eLearning environment, the learners are engaged and have more control over the method of learning. They are given several options to choose from as to which lessons and knowledge resource they want to access.
However, facilitators and developers still carry the responsibility of directing the learners so that their purpose, objectives, process and assessment are accurate. Facilitators are still expected to intervene during the sessions either through real-time engagement, automated instruction or virtual interaction.
Heidi Grant writes that language could either take the promotion or prevention tone in dealing with listeners or audience. While the promotional language focus at encouraging the learner to acquire ‘plus points’ , the preventive language cautions the learner from getting ‘negative points’. Each approach has a particular effect on the learner.
Using the experience with Boeing, Grant distinguishes the language of promotion and prevention:
One of my students was a vice president of Boeing. And he told me the story about the fact that their safety record just wasn't good enough. Their products were not safe and not reliable. And they felt what they needed to do was motivate managers to make that better to have a different record of safety. And they naturally decided the way to do that was by offering a bonus and saying that if the safety record improved, by the end of year, everybody would get a bonus.
And to his surprise, it didn't work. And he assumed, well, how could it not work? It's kind of like one size fits all, carrots and sticks. And it turned out that the problem is that when you offer a bonus, that's really a promotion kind of motivation because you're saying if you do this and that, you're going to gain something. You're actually going to advance your salary. So that puts everybody into a promotion mindset.
Whereas what they really wanted to do was improve safety. And to improve safety, you need people to be in a prevention mindset. And so you can't really give a bonus. And you have to do something really quite different.
By being aware of the promotion and preventive language, developers can design their instructional materials by combining both approaches.
Here are some tips on using promotional and preventive language in eLearning design:
When possible, use learning games – even the simplest format – in the design to encourage learners to ‘earn points’ while they are learning. Games carry both promotion and preventive approach in eLearning.
When using the promotional language, make sure that you have explained the context of the lesson so that the learner could build an emotional connection with the ‘reward or the points’. Make sure that the ‘carrot at the end of the stick’ is the right kind of carrot that could compel the learner to chase after it.
When using the preventive language, the learners should understand that past gains could amount to nothing if the current objectives are not met. You can win in rounds 1 to 11 but you lose if get knocked out in the 12th round.
Combine the promotion and preventive approach in your eLearning define. Balance of approach or the middle way is one of the safest approach.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. The classic game Pac-Man revolutionized gamification and introduced advanced principles on how to create engaging, purposeful and relevant electronic content. Apply the concepts of the iconic game to Story-based design, rapid learning and micro-lessons.
Pac-Man celebrated its 30th Anniversary on May 2013. This classic video game is one of the most successful games in history. Pac-Man is praised for many reasons. Tech gurus claim that Pac-Man revolutionized gaming and it introduced effective core principles in game design.
Christine Champagne wrote an endearing article on PAC-MAN and explained the contextual value of the said game:
Pac-Man prompted designers to experiment with a broader range of characters, environments, and stories in their games. I mentioned Pengo from Sega as another game released during the same era. While not directly cribbing Pac-Man’s game play, the design aesthetic always resonated with me as being from the same camp. A cartoon penguin, amorphous blobs as enemies, simple interstitial animations between levels, wicked game play mechanics, all of these things were borne out of the design influence that Pac-Man had on the industry. And look at what followed: Mr. Do, Dig-Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, Tutankham, etc. All games that came after Pac-Man that had an iconic mascot that was central to the game. But Pac-Man was the first.
The influence that Pac-Man had on game design can still be felt to this day. Not in just the many remakes of the original game over the years, but by games that appropriate the core mechanics of Pac-Man in new ways. From games that trade in stealth mechanics, avoiding pursuers in achieving their goals, to games that have a linear collection mechanic, the echo of Pac-Man, or "ghosts" of Pac-Man, if you will, can be observed in games today...
Pac-Man is timeless. Its character design and the mechanics of it are so simple. It’s basically the cardinal movements on a compass, right? North, south, east, west, that’s it. So it’s incredibly approachable, incredibly accessible, and it’s a game that doesn’t have to rely on technology to prove its point. It relies on the mechanics and the art style, not necessarily technology.
I delved on concept of Pac-Man and assessed its relevance to Story-based eLearning design, rapid learning and micro-lessons. Imagine if eLearning designers can make their lessons and methodologies as engaging as Pac-Man.
What are the Pac-Man elements which we can use for eLearning instructional design? Here are a few points on Pac-Man which we designers can apply to our eLearning design:
Pac-Man is scenario-based. There is a confined space where the character is expected to achieve specific objective amidst the obstacles.
Pac-Man is a story. Like all stories, Pac-Man has a beginning, middle and end. It has a setting, characters and plot.
Pac-Man is conflict-ridden. The game is engaging because there is a constant conflict that the user must overcome.
Pac-Man is emotionally engaging. Lessons that affect the heart build an instant connection with the learners.
Pac-Man gives user control. The present and future of Pac-Man is in the hands of the user.
I have always been a proponent for simplicity. Pac-Man achieves the goal of a good game even if it is visually crude because of its simplicity. As a personal rule, I see to it that I have a straightforward approach in designing our eLearning modules. Like the Pac-Man, I go straight to the point, hurdle the obstacles and win as many points for the eLearner.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. During WWII, the US Army used the elements of illusion, imagination and impersonation as strategies to mislead the Nazi Germany. The US Army created ‘a believable scenario’ to telegraph a message to the enemy who was closely monitoring Allied movement. In this blog, we will read how WWII scenario-based strategy is being applied in eLearning.
During World War II, the US military created a ‘ghost army’ in order to mislead Nazi Germany. It was composed of inflatable airplanes, tanks, trucks, jeeps, canons and other military paraphernalia. Thousands of these inflatable military hardware were designated in specific regions to give the impression of US military presence and power. Viewed from above or from a distance, the US ghost army looked so real and threatening that it affected the strategy of Nazi Germany.
The Ghost Army was a United States Army tactical deception unit during World War II, imitating earlier British operations, officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. The 1,100-man unit was given a unique mission within the U.S Army: to impersonate other U.S. Army units to deceive the enemy. From a few weeks after D-Day, when they landed in France, until the end of the war, they put on a "traveling road show". utilizing inflatable tanks, sound trucks, fake radio transmissions and pretense. They staged more than 20 battlefield deceptions, often operating very close to the front lines. Their mission was kept secret until 1996, and elements of it remain classified.(Wikipedia).
Interestingly, the US ghost army were not composed of soldiers. It was an army of artists, actors, visual artists, engineers, architects, set designers and advertising professionals. These army of artists helped create a scenario that altered the course of World War II. Military experts opined that the presence of the ghost army was able to save thousands of lives, probably because it restrained Nazi Germany from advancing, altering more radical military offensive.
I was particularly thrilled to recognize the concept of scenario-building and interactive design – elements currently applied in eLearning – used as a World War II strategy. In today’s eLearning culture, we designers rely on scenario building, aimed to draw learners into an interactive zone. By creating virtual reality within a virtual classroom, we engage the learners through collaboration, interactivity, feedback and gamification.
As an elearning instructional designer, I picked up several lessons from this. The ghost army created a scenario of strength and power. US military commanders used illusion, imagination and personification to send a message across enemy lines. To a certain extent, the US ghost army utilized data visualization by using inflatable military hardware to project statistics and information.
The scenario-based eLearning design of Vignettes Learning leverages the basic elements of the US ghost army. Here are several points:
• Create plausible scenarios with believable human elements. • Make sure that your ‘inflatable’ scenes mirror real-life experiences. • Personify your characters. Put yourself in their shoes and make them authentic. • Do not hint about the climax and resolution of your story-based design
Incidentally, the 69th Anniversary of D-Day, the successful landing of Allied forces in Normandy, France is celebrated every June 6, the date of publication of this blog.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis: In eLearning, we give more control to the learners. We conceptualize designs that give learners more independence. Thus, a controlling trainer or a very controlled eLearning design might stifle the learners. New technologies are being introduced to give social media users and elearners more control over their learning environments.
Imagine that you are a teenager. Let’s say that at the height of a very bad mood you take your heart out online. Out of sheer frustration or anger, you posted a status on Facebook against someone: Hey, you #@%RTG@!#!!!, I hope you !!!#!@#!!!
Then, after your emotion has subsided, you regret that undesirable post and scramble to erase it. Too late: it has become viral. How could you hide or erase that comment you just made on social media like - Facebook, Twitter and other sites?
An app called Snapchat solves that predicament. Snapchat gives social media posts an ‘auto-erase’ capability. With Snapchat, your posts are temporary and it erases itself after you post it.
I have been espousing the idea that “eLearners are the controllers” of their own learnings. This is more evident in eLearning behaviors. The eLearning courses have to allow learners to control their pace and learning approach.
We now see in classrooms and conferences that participants are doing back channel conversations with Twitter and other postings. Back channeling is productive since learners follow their own interests and process ideas while the presentation goes on.
Snapchat provides us another clue as to what might be considered as another dimension of the eLearning behavior. The ability to erase ones entry into a post or comments in social learning environment perhaps is a backlash or extension of learners need for privacy and protection of reputation.
This is the insightful take of Jeffrey Rosen and Christine Rosen in their article Temporary Social Media:
But regardless of the fate of Snapchat in particular, the idea of temporary social media is important because the ability to be candid and spontaneous—and to be that way with only some people and not others—is the essence of friendship, individuality, and creativity. Facebook and Twitter do make it possible for their members to wall off posts from the wider world and share them only with trusted people in certain circles. But since those posts still last forever, its capacity for limited sharing is technologically insecure. To the degree that temporary social networks increase our sense of control over the conditions of our personal exposure, they represent a first step toward a more nuanced kind of digital connection—one acknowledging that our desire to share can coexist with a desire for reticence, privacy, and the possibility of a fresh start.
Argument and guess on impacts
How could this impact our current thought in eLearning design where we encourage openness and sharing of experiences, ideas and commentaries?
I would venture to guess that, this behavior will create a conflict if the learning environment is a controlling learning environment. This is where it is mandatory to post and someone is policing and watching the posts. If we call this an eLearning behavior, for argument sake, erasing ones posts is in conflict with most formal learning environments.
On the other hand, erasing ones posts, photos or entries, require total trust in the eLearners judgment of what post to retain or erase. In a way, it is like a constant editing and rewriting ones work. This is natural and normal way to learn.
In my blog on “not Interrupting the learner’s learning” ,I stressed that as trainers and eLearning developers, we must not interrupt the learners ways of learning. We give them the road to thread – then, we get off the way. Let them run the horizon on the highway we created for them.
If erasing post is part of their learning process, then we must allow learners to erase or delete posts in an eLearning environment. Changing minds is part of the learning process.
So, at the end we are left with the dilemma: to erase or not to erase?
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. In concept, using the experiences of learners to personalize eLearning design is ideal. At Vignettes Learning, we believe that ‘stacking experiences’ is one of the best ways to impart knowledge. However, methods and technology still need innovation to make this approach better or feasible. Click here for the larger view.
I presented Learning Oscillation: How to Apply Advance Story-Based eLearning Design Techniques to Immerse Learners, a webinar on ‘stacking experiences’. The Oscillation method is presenting the emotional state of stories and allowing learners to bring in their experiences. Click to view the webinar handout.
The brain only processes 5% data and 95% remains unprocessed. The 5% are extraordinary and new events. The other 95% is just stored in the memory. Stories with emotional impacts are designed for the 5%. Experiences with embedded lessons are stacked in the brain especially those with the most significant emotional impact.
In our eLearning designs, we devise ways to create the same impact with emotion and personification. There is so much to be done in order to improve this process and even create new approaches to oscillate learning.
Sharing experiences is one of the best and reliable ways to learn. However, there is very little progress or a lack of method in the learning industry that enables learners and workers to share experiences effectively. Much of the sharing happens in social networks and collaboration tools. The exchanges of learning are mostly socially-driven or task-driven such as project activities and the like. To some extent they encourage sharing of experiences. The challenge we face, however,is how to weed out the “noise” in social communication and encourage “genuine” experience-sharing that adds value.
Stacking Experiences The chart above indicates that learners respond to content because they find them meaningful. The content strikes a chord. It has a personalized impact. The items in red circles are examples of topics with personalization while those in blue circles have less personalization. Experiences are usually those topics encircled in red, at least for this illustration.
Experience is more important than data Why is experience so much more important than data per se? Experience not only comes with factual data but also context of the value of the data. In Stacking Experiences, a software platform we are now testing, what we want to pursue is the systematic method of collecting experiences from peers and construct reliable learning and work knowledge around them. So I am constantly challenged about how to approach this – making experience a pivot of learning and knowledge.
Growth of data The article of “The Data Made Me Do it” by Antonio Regalado convinced me that we have a long way to go in the commercial world in terms of personalizing data. According to writer Regalado, there is so much data on personal activities and behaviors, but the systems and platforms are not integrated.
Expounding further, Regalado writes:
“The holdup, says Wolfram, is that some of the most useful data isn’t being captured, at least not in a way that’s easily accessible. Part of the problem is technical, a lack of integration. But much data is warehoused by private companies like Facebook, Apple, and Fitbit, maker of a popular pedometer. Now, as the value of personal data becomes more apparent, fights are brewing. California legislators this year introduced a “Right to Know” bill that would require companies to reveal to individuals the “personal information” they store—in other words, a digital copy of every location trace and sighting of their IP address. The bill is a part of a social movement that is demanding privacy and accountability, but also a different economic arrangement between the people who supply the data and those who apply it. “
Furthermore, these movements may just one day help us realize what Stephen Wolfram observes to be the thrust of data personalization. Regalado adds:
“Wolfram is interested in predictive apps, but also in the insights that large data sets can have on personal behavior, something he calls “personal analytics.” Wolfram’s idea is that just as his search engine tries to organize all facts about the world, “what you have to do in personal analytics is try to accumulate the knowledge of a person’s life.”
What fascinates me in this discussion is the observation that data, personal or business, will continue to grow, faster than we are prepared to process. The personalization of this data is what will make it truly useful to people.
Although, we in the elearning and training industry might be too far out from the advances of the commercial and consumer world in data personalization, it is good to ponder and make some attempts to study and understand how we can apply the process to learning content and experiences – to enable us to perform better and accomplish our personal goals. I must mention here that there is a growing interest in the industry about the solution proposed by ExperienceAPI.com. For your consideration 1. Think of ways to encourage learners to share experiences that solve problems, explore opportunities and enable better performance;
2. Reflect on where we can provide opportunities for learners to personalize the learning content, for example, always allowing learners to add their context and meaning to data and experiences of others;
Personalization is a dream of every learning designer. Let’s keep pushing and pursuing that goal.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis. The human brain has a tremendous capacity to store data, information, and experiences. By tapping the regions of the brain where experiences are amassed, we can activate instant learning. At times, all we need to do is allow the learners to be by themselves and avoid interrupting their process of learning. _________________________________________________________________________ In a workshop I was running, I asked participants to come up with the shortest and most instantaneous way to help learners recall memories of some work incidents and events. My idea is that experiences help us learn instant learning.
Due to past occurrences in our lives, we retain certain information and react spontaneously towards conditions or environments which are similar to the past set of experiences.
To highlight this point, watch this storyimpact below. Click here to preview. Note: this is an HTML5 file. Preview it with IE10 or in your iPad and Android tablet.
I continued to challenge the thinking of the participants and asked them these questions:
How do we develop instant learning?
How do we help learners instantly a past experience to remind them of a lesson or policy?
This is the summary of responses from the participants:
1. Lapses of memory. Most participants who have learned about safety are aware of the policies and have been trained in safety procedures. Accidents do happen when there are moments of lapses where the worker is not paying attention. To provide instant learning - like Chainsaw Joe - they must be reminded of the safety policy they already know. It is not learning new ideas, but application and reinforcing the ideas that can be easily forgotten.
2. Learning by drawing from abundance of experience. Participants were almost unanimous in saying that abundance of experience is the source of instant learning. When a child accidentally touches a candle’s flame and gets his or her finger burned by it, that kid would grow up knowing that fire is hot and definitely dangerous. After that experience, the child learned instantly and carries that lesson throughout life.
I attended a TEDX session at Caltech last January 14, 2013. One presenter, Allan Jones shared a research that showed, that a micron of a brain section is lodged with terabytes of data. Scientists are awed by the extent of wiring in our brains due to the expanse of memory stored. Click here to view larger image.
To draw learners’ attention instantly, it is logical that we appeal to the most abundant areas of our brains in terms of experience. Why? The wealth of experiences can quickly help learners connect the context of the idea like Chainsaw Joe to a past experience. Hence, when one views Chainsaw Joe, the person is instantaneously and unconsciously reminded of a past incident and the learning. I certainly believe that this is one way to help learners learn quickly and reinforce what they already know.
For consideration:
1. In designing quick and short learning nuggets, draw from the abundance of the learners’ experiences.
2. It is OK to be brief, snappy and concise, like Chainsaw Joe. Allow the brain to take over the learning.
3. The shorter, the better, since we allow learners to draw from experience faster. Avoid interrupting learners’ learnings. Click here.
For further information, preview the Webinar Recording on Instant Learning. Click here.
Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story. Synthesis: Authenticity is the heart of Story-based eLearning design. eDevelopers do not use stories to create fiction out of human stories. On the other hand, it is their task to develop authentic human situations in their designs. Stories are the scaffoldings in eLearning. It is the framework where we stand on while we build our lessons. If our story designs are not authentic, our lessons become superficial and we would not be able to achieve our lesson objective. Image source:http://babieswallpaper44.blogspot.com/2012/03/smiling-baby-pictures.html
A few weeks ago, I introduced the basic principles of Story-based eLearning design to a batch of teacher-authors . After the given period of time to develop their story-based lesson, I asked each group to present their outputs to the class. Here are summary points of the presentation:
A group composed of varied subject teachers created a story design to teach conjunctions. They drew a mother and a child separated by a huge chasm. The conflict of the story is the divide that separated the mother and child. They explained that the resolution of the story lies on how the learner could bridge the two separated individuals. So, they drew a small section from where the learners can select 1.) a rope 2.) a plank of wood and, 3.) a bridge. Each of these represents the correct conjunction that will correctly complete a sentence. When the correct answer is punched in, the gap is resolved and the mother and child reunite at the middle of the bridge.
A group of science teachers opted to teach a lesson for heat transfer by showing a drawing of two broken eggs casually conversing on the sidewalk while being cooked sunny side style up by the heat of the pavement.
A group of math teachers decided to teach budgeting by devising a story about a boy who received an allowance from his father. The boy goes around town to buy stuff but he has to make sure he does not go over the budget.
I was thrilled as I watched these teachers present their story-design lessons. They have humanized their stories and quite effectively entwined their lessons in them. I gave a couple of suggestions on how to further improve their concepts and the class offered their ideas as well. It was a lively session.
I have several blogs and even a webinar on the importance of authenticity in story-based design. Authenticity is the soul of story-based design. Stories by themselves can be fictional but they should represent authentic and believable human situations. Without authenticity, connection with the learners is quite impossible.
Coincidentally, I chanced upon the blog of Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins entitled To Be Authentic, Look Beyond Yourself in the Harvard Business Review. The authors have very strong valid points about authenticity:
“Authenticity — what is it, who has it, and how do you get it? Most people associate authenticity with being true to oneself — or "walking the talk." But there's a problem with that association; it focuses on how you feel about yourself. Authenticity is actually a relational behavior, not a self-centered one. Meaning that to be truly authentic, you must not only be comfortable with yourself, but must also comfortably connect with others."
As story-based lesson designers, we should assess our outputs with two questions:
Does our lesson evoke authentic human feelings and reactions from us?
Can our lesson evoke authentic human feelings and reaction from our learners?
What is authentic for us may not be necessarily authentic for our learners. A story about “X+X giving birth to aY” may thrill a physicist but it may fail to garner interest from the learners. We must be able to water two sides of the field in story-based design: ours and our learner’s.
Based on the blog of Su and Wilkins, I suggest that the authenticity quotient of story-based lesson design be assessed by these factors:
Point of View Factor. How are you expressing your point of view? Are you expressing it too forcefully that it can be mistaken for the truth or fact in your design? Is your design based also from the points and perspective of your elearners? Do you base your design from surveys and studies based on interaction with different people?
Positioning Factor. Do you stand at a neutral position whenever you design your story-based lesson or are you biased so that you can get the results you want?
Personal History Factor. Authenticity comes from real human experience. Be aware and conscious of your random spontaneous and authentic reactions and disposition whenever you are confronted with real-life conflict. Use this experience to make your story design authentic.
