Sealund’s Serious Games Blog

We all learn from our experiences, everywhere we go, whatever we may do. But I think we learning professionals take little instructional design lessons from our experiences, too. Don’t you often ask yourself, what was it about that experience that made me learn something so quickly, so surely?

A Learner’s Tale

I just had an experience like that, and I’d like to share it with you. It began with a perfectly ordinary business lunch at a restaurant I’ve visited dozens of times. The weather was windy and rainy, so I valet parked my car – something I don’t usually do, thanks to the usually fine weather here in Tampa, Florida. The lunch went well, I was relaxed and happy. And then I went to the valet station to retrieve my car.

That’s when things changed. After taking my receipt, and looking on the key board for my keys, the valets at the desk huddled together talking (as far from me as they could get) and waiting for the other valets to return from the lot with the cars they were retrieving. I began feeling less relaxed and happy, so I asked them if there was some problem. There was. No keys. Not on the key board, not on the desktop, not in anybody’s pocket. Maybe still in the car or dropped on the ground near the car.

Alarms went off in my head. If the answer was either of those last two options, my car was probably long-gone, driven by some opportunistic thief who now had access to all my personal identification information on papers in my car. (I’m sure that’s where the learning experience began, although in the moment I wasn’t thinking, “Wow! This is a great learning opportunity!”)

I was thinking, as were the valets, about where my keys could be that wasn’t the worst case scenario. I noticed the disorganization of the pegboard where keys were hung, with multiple key chains to one hook. I noticed the way keys were left lying on the desk where anyone walking by could grab them if the one valet on desk duty happened to be helping new arrivals out of their car. I wasn’t aware of learning anything – except maybe a list of rules for how not to run a valet parking station.

Then one valet looked more closely at the peg board and found my keys under another set for a similar vehicle. Whew!

Back at the office, among my organized and responsible colleagues, I took a moment to reflect on the valet parking experience and what I had learned. Immediately, I could verbalize my lessons. Don’t valet park ever again! Don’t trust people in fast-paced jobs with your valuables because they’re rushed and prone to make mistakes! Don’t leave any personal information in your car because a thief can steal your identity along with your vehicle!

Then I took a breath. Those lessons were so absolutist. I felt them emotionally so strongly. And they were so impractical. They were adrenalin lessons. And I knew how they formed. Trauma teaches us that kind of lesson. Fear is the most motivating emotion. Not the best or most effective long-term, just the most motivating for fight or flight. Nor was that experience a purposefully designed learning experience. It was just life-as-it-comes.

So, how could I design my thoughts about that experience in order to learn useful lessons? What were the details of the experience that I’d missed because of the fear? I saw teamwork among the valets. I could learn that teamwork under pressure can come up with a solution, as it did here. I saw a system not working well, with the sloppy peg board and desktop. I could learn that after a serious problem (like lost keys) arises, it’s good to revisit the system and find ways to improve it.

And I saw fear have its immediate physiological and psychological effects. I could learn to counter those the next time flight is not an option, take a few deep breaths to calm my heart and my mind, do some detailed observation of the situation (that messy peg board), and help guide everyone to a solution perhaps more quickly than what occurred with everybody’s adrenalin pumping.

A Learning Professional’s Conclusions

Now … what does that story mean for instructional design? Let’s see. For one thing, in simulations and serious games, a dangerous situation with a sense of urgency makes for quick and deep learning. We just have to make sure we focus the learners on the right lessons, the right behaviors. Also, in first-responder training simulations, we may want to make sure that the “breathe and assess the situation” step is included in the behaviors reinforced.

And those are my professional lessons from that particular life-lesson.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

E-learning has been part of workforce development for so long, we often take it for granted. In the past decade, its principles have been applied to the design of the latest workforce development tactics — from economical information delivery tools like knowledge bases to high-cost/high-value reality simulating serious games. E-learning design best practices have ensured that the right people learn the right information or skills at the right time, for a long time. And in these economic times, it pays to look again at the core values and implementation tactics that keep your employees at the top of their game … when the game is high-stakes.

Intrinsic Values

The business needs that drove the development of e-learning, from the beginning of “CBT” through “WBT” and into all the blended media of today’s e-learning, continue to benefit from the values that e-learning provides. Let’s look at a few of the ways e-learning supports your employees’ high performance levels in the context of the business operating models you may be using.

Your employees may be located in the most economical locations for their type of activities. That may be at their homes in the same city as your headquarters, or half the world away. Thanks to e-learning tools, geographically dispersed employees can perform consistently with your latest information or behavior guidelines immediately. They can access the same information, see the same demonstration, or take the same course. If they’re traveling, they can access it via their Blackberry. They may log into a webinar or a series of discussions. Then they can share questions and tips, using a list-serv or a wiki or “team room” on a shared resource.

From a “latest information” RSS to a full course with simulations, practices and tests, e-learning can support your employees’ highest productivity in the most economical ways. Using all the tools that are readily and economically available today, your employees can benefit from both high tech and high touch to ensure your business profitability.

Tactical Economics

From the simplest information push to very complex courses that teach skills, e-learning tactics and tools can meet your workforce development needs within your budget. Applying the right design principles can make all the difference for the effectiveness of each option. Here are some points to think about:

• RSS feed and email – These are perfect for time-sensitive, critical information. Using them occasionally ensures that they’ll get employees’ attention right away. Overuse runs the risk of employees missing the most important pieces among the clutter.
• Podcasts and other M-learning modules – Use podcasts for messages that require a personal touch or short demonstrations of skills where it’s important to see the product or the behavior. M-learning can add a response or test element to podcast type material if you need to ensure that the employees have absorbed the information and can apply it.
• Webinars – When interaction is important for introducing a new product or service, or a new technique, e-meetings can get everyone “to the table” at the same time. Recording the webinar or meeting can provide a resource for employees who had to miss the live meeting, particularly if you provide a related list-serv or wiki on the subject matter, or if the presenter is available at times for follow-up meetings, emails and calls.
• E-learning courses – For subject matter where you want to ensure that employees have mastered the concepts and skills, e-learning can engage learners in explorations, simulations and games that are … engaging!

Those are only four of many possibilities. They can be combined to achieve the results you need … from the motivational new program kick-off, through introduction of concepts and skills, to demonstrating mastery of them, and then sharing tips and questions with teammates.

Did I say “teammates”? How about your customer base, as well? You can include your customers in some aspects of your learning community as one element of your marketing strategy. Your marketing team can come up with creative ideas for repurposing some learning objects, I’m sure.

Whoever needs to learn something about your products and services, e-learning design principles and tools can help sustain and grow your business in all kinds of economic times.

What do you think? Please share your comments.