Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012 - (Page 32)

cally linked to a time period such as future or the past. While games can and do jump through time and from location to location, the player always knows where and in what time he or she is functioning. The environment provides the context for the players’ actions, the type of clothes, the type of vehicles available and even the type of weapons that can be found. This allows the player to understand how to react and interact when a new element is introduced into the environment. Often the gameplay is completely intermingled with the environment. If a character is running through a jungle, she encounters obstacles related to the jungle and hears jungle sounds. In many e-learning modules, the context is divorced from the content. A learner sits in front of the screen and reads a policy or procedure and doesn’t understand where or when he or she is supposed to perform the task. Too often e-learning modules provide no narrative or context to explain to the learner when and where this information is to be used. There is usually no or little reference to the actual work environment. The remedy is to design the instruction around a specific time and place. Make the learning concrete in the mind of the learner and not simply an abstract presentation of content. When would the learner need to perform this task, how often, under what circumstances? Provide a story or narrative that provides a clear context for applying the learning to a job situation. people are naTurally driven by curiosiTy and game developers Take advanTage of ThaT For example, drop the learner into the middle of an audit and explain that within 24 hours he or she is required to produce the requested documents. Force the learner to complete the correct document request forms, retrieve filed information and take it to the auditor’s office all within the space of the e-learning module. The goal is to give the learner contextual clues like visual and audio indicators as to when and where the content being learned needs to be applied. Curiosity Inevitably, when playing a video game, players become curious. They explore the gamespace to see what happens. “What if I don’t slay the dragon and just run away?” “What if I tax my populous at 50 percent?” “What if I run in a straight line to that building?” People are naturally driven by curiosity and game developers take advantage of that by creating different levels and places to explore within games. Game developers allow players to do tasks or take actions more than once so they can explore different alternatives. Curiosity is used to motivate players to stay in the game and to engage them with the game environment. Most e-learning does not use curiosity to drive the learner through the instruction, instead e-learning tends to be based on telling the learner what he or she needs to know in bulleted lists or paragraphs on the screen. Telling a learner what he or she needs to do throughout an entire e-learning module doesn’t motivate action or create a desire to continue through the learning. Leverage a learner’s natural sense of curiosity by providing a novel or exciting environment. Highlight areas of inconsistency, incompleteness or even inelegance in the learners’ knowledge base. Give the learner an activity in which they want to find the answer, want to learn the correct process and want to solve the problem. Setting up these types of learning experiences tap into the curiosity of the learner and will propel them through the instruction in the same way video game players are propelled through a game. For example, give the learner various choices and then let them replay those choices to see what would happen if they chose an alternative or give them a space to explore and to discover new information and content. Resources Check out these books about game design and game-based learning to inform your e-learning development and design: • The Gamification of Learning and Instruction by Karl m. Kapp • Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals by Katie salen and eric Zimmerman • Chris Crawford on Game Design by Chris Crawford • Learning by Doing by Clark Aldrich • What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James paul Gee explore these game-based learning experiences to get an idea of how game design and instruction intermingle: • Third World Farmer • The Blood Typing Game • Atlantis Remixed and Quest Atlantis • Crash Scene Investigation 32 Training Industry Quarterly, Fall 2012 / A Training Industry, Inc. magazine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.3rdworldfarmer.com/ http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/bloodtypinggame/ http://www.atlantisremixed.org/ http://www.edheads.org/ http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012
From Where I Sit: Learning Technology Market Segments
Table of Contents
Ad Index
Guest Editor: Supporting the Business of Learning
The Coherent Enterprise
Tracking Informal Learning with Tin Can
Can Your People Trust You?
5 Critical Skills to Survive Tomorrow
Expert Education: Training, Technology & SMEs
Cloud Transition: More to Consider Than Just Security
My Training Dashboard? Which One?
5 Gaming Elements for Effective e-Learning
Let's Get Multi-Platform Training Right
Casebook: Colorado Secretary of State's Office
Tracking Trends: Technology: Supporting Key Initiatives
Tweet Suite
Company News
Closing Arguments: Must-See Technology

Training Industry Quarterly - Fall 2012