Tag Archives: engagement

Saving the World through Online Games

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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Last month I posted Jesse Schell’s vision of an augmented-reality future, and it generated more buzz than anything I’ve posted previously — mainly because of the Orwellian implications.

A few weeks ago I came across a very different vision of saving the world through games, one that appealed to me more because positive behavior change is viewed as — and shown to be — a long-term effect rather than something you do at the moment for a gold star or a number of points. It was also mind-opening to me as a gamer who is very aware of the time and effort spent… some say wasted… in online games. And this week’s #lrnchat reminded me that I hadn’t posted it! Doh!

If you haven’t seen it, you definitely want to. Here is Jane McGonigal’s incredible TED Talk, Gaming Can Make a Better World.

How Would David Mamet Design Elearning?

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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It’s not news that drama, risk, and excitement create more memorable learning experiences than just presenting information. But sometimes, I admit, it’s just hard to figure out how to create drama/risk/excitement. Sometimes things just don’t work and I can’t blame it on a stakeholder, because it didn’t work in my head any more than it worked on the screen.

That’s when I turn to games, movies, and TV for inspiration. Personally, I don’t think what makes for good drama in these disciplines is all that different from what creates truly memorable learning experiences. I’ve seen no evidence that people turn off their BS detectors when they sign into the LMS.

Along that train of thought, here’s a letter from David Mamet to the writers of The Unit, about creating good television. Warning: Strong language abounds.

Enjoy.

Is Your Life Just One Big RPG?

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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My husband sent this video to me this week: a recording of Carnegie Mellon professor, author, and former Imagineer Jesse Schell talking about the future, game design, Facebook, and lots more at DICE 2010. There are several ID implications here, but one that speaks to me most initially is about motivation.

As a trainer, I often fell for the idea that if I was giving out prizes, trainees would only value them if they were “valuable”. But in fact, mere measurement does change behavior, and the oddest things can motivate us: achievements in WoW (most of which give nothing), virtual prizes (like clipart of a car that I saw one webinar presenter give out this past week), or simply seeing a full row of green checkmarks because we got 100% on a quiz.

There’s lots of stuff to discuss here. Watch. Tell me what you think.

(Alternately, view in parts on YouTube…)

Learning Objectives and Salsa Dancing

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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salsa

Photo: iStockPhoto

On Tuesday night, my husband and I started Salsa dance lessons.

Starting class, the instructors didn’t state learner-focused performance objectives or list the conditions under which we were expected to perform. Instead, they demonstrated what we would (hypothetically) be able to do once we learned the steps. It was enough beyond what we would cover that day to be motivating, but not so advanced as to be demoralizing.

The guidelines IDs use to create objectives help us communicate clearly, but don’t help us motivate our learners. I’m with Michael Allen that we could do better… why not communicate objectives and simultaneously help our learners visualize what they will be able to accomplish, even what they will become, once they finish our training?

IMO, subject matter and delivery method are largely irrelevant; I’ve seen this same technique used in data entry training.

Your thoughts?

Choose Your Own Adventure

Posted on by Judy Unrein
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My mind has been on authoring technology lately. Specifically, how do I work around this tool’s shortcomings, or bend this one to my will?

These problems need attention, but it seemed like a good time to balance things out with a little Choose Your Own Adventure.

Choose Your Own Adventure #22, Tattoo of Death!

Choose Your Own Adventure #22, Tattoo of Death!

CYOA, if you’re not familiar, is a series of young-adult adventure books that allow the user learner reader to make decisions for the main character by turning to different pages in the book. Each decision may lead to success… a new decision… or certain death. They’re incredibly engrossing, and they made many a long, childhood car ride bearable for my sister and me.

I use them to illustrate the concept of branching in an ID class I teach; they’re also a great reminder that creating interactivity requires creativity… not necessarily fancy technology.