Learning Designs I Have a Crush On

You know the feeling: you see a certain module or piece of interactivity and your heart begins to beat just that little bit faster. Suddenly, the synapses in your brain are firing. You want to show this divine creation to your friends! You want to introduce it to your family! Okay, this is probably just me. There are, however, some learning designs that I have developed a serious infatuation with over the years. So here’s my secret crush list:

Culture Shock *

*Before you view the module, know that this piece does have imagery that some might find offensive. Safety first, kids.

I first met this piece of eLearning over fifteen years ago. Surprisingly, it is still available and the design has stood up remarkably well against the test of time; a strong testament to the ingenious thinking behind it.

The design is simple: samples of provocative, and sometimes deeply unpleasant, pieces of art are displayed. The learner is asked to decide if they think the piece should be shown to the general public. After answering yes or no, more contextual information is given about the art. For example, it might have been satire or a political statement. The learner then chooses to change their mind or not.

My love for this design is that it turns Bloom’s taxonomy on its head. In a traditional world, this module would have started with the basic information and biographies of the artists, progressing with the history of the artwork, and then an analysis of the pieces. This eLearning jumps right into analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The vast majority of the learning is done internally by the user and the impact is huge. It raises difficult and challenging questions about censorship. From a purely practical standpoint, it does not use extensive branching, which is costly and timely to code. It also gives me a headache to design.

This structure could be applied effectively to other topics. For example,http://www.playspent.org a module that I have mentioned before (and that I seriously love) uses a very similar premise, with strong results. I could imagine it also being impactful for topics just as healthcare, risk and compliance, as well as sales.

These next two modules are like celebrity crushes: expensive budgets, lots of Photoshop and editing, and currently out of my league.  They are still valuable as there are some elements of the design that could be translated to lower investment pieces. Swoon!

Life-saver UK

This is an interactive film about four scenarios that require immediate first aid. Here’s what I adore about it:

• All of the actors look right at the camera so that the learner feels they are the centre of the scenario and sole decision maker;
• The usage of time is amazing: For critical life saving decisions, there is a countdown that adds to the stress of the situation. There is also a brilliant section where the learner must “perform” chest compressions for two minutes to get a sense of what it would be like in a real emergency. At first, I was sceptical about “wasting two minutes” of valuable seat time. I was oh so wrong. It gave me one of those incredible a-ha moments that make learning pop; and
• The innovative use of keyboard and mouse: I admit to being bored of the old drag and drops. They feel gratuitous and stagnant. In this module, interactivity is embedded in the simulation. The learner uses their mouse to feel the degree to which to tilt a person’s head to perform CPR. Likewise, chest compressions are taught by pressing two letters on the keyboard while a real-time monitor instructs whether you are too fast or slow. Beautiful!

Even if you don’t have the Hollywood effects, there are elements to take inspiration from. There’s nothing new about making the learner the centre of a module, but the intensity here is something that would be very applicable to say military or safety training. Likewise, I have been thinking differently about time and timers in learning since I viewed this piece.

6x9

This piece of eLearning just blows my wee instructional designer mind wide open! I have been fascinated with Google Cardboard for quite some time, simply because it places virtual reality into the hands of the masses, without outlandish investment. Here, the Guardian UK uses the technology to place the learner directly into the experience of a person experiencing solitary confinement. It then contextualises the experience with interviews and stories from people who have endured this type of torture, combined with a call to action.

Do I know how I would apply this practically to a module at the moment? Not completely. I still think it’s a good wink towards the future and possibilities. I am also enamoured with the fact that the learning is within an app, since I do not believe that L&D has truly cracked open the mobile nut. That’s another post for another day.

What are some of your learning design crushes? What module makes you want to swipe right on your LMS Tinder app?

Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am currently consulting and always happy to have a conversation about L&D.

My Learning Design Pet Peeves

For those of you who know me, or have worked me with me, it’s probably fair to say that I can have a reputation to "tell it like it is". Personally I prefer the term “Positive Disruptor”. Either way, my need to question traditional learning design comes from a very honest place: I simply believe that L&D has to let go of some out-dated thinking and really consider learner-centric design.

In no particular order, this is my personal list of learning design pet peeves.

Learning Objective Overkill

Yes, writing LOs is a solid part of good design. I am sorry to break it to you, but your learner does not care about them. They are not concerned about the subtleties between analyse, detail, and describe. And your learner cares even less about LOs in microlearning or digital content. A 4 minute video on YouTube only retains 60% of the audience. 25% are gone in the first 30 seconds.  We cannot waste valuable time on listing LOs. Want your learners to know what the content is going to be? Title it properly.

“Getting to Know You” Icebreakers

 “Tell 2 truths and a lie about yourself”, “20 questions”, “Find someone who…”. These are some examples that are all variations on the same theme: make people share something personal about themselves. I know there are L&D people who love these exercises. If you fall into that camp, you are likely an extrovert. I also get that the outcome is team building. Why do I dislike these icebreakers? When a learner walks into a classroom, they enter into a contract with you: teach me something I did not know. They did not agree to have their personal details on display.

I do believe in the power of icebreakers, but they cannot be gratuitous. Time in the classroom is expensive real estate. Maximise it. Design icebreakers that highlight and reinforce learning objectives.

Avatars and Stock Photos

Trust me, I get it. Learning budgets are tight and it is just so tempting to reach for that pre-packaged rapid authoring tool bundle of characters in delightful poses. When used poorly, it can make your learning look contrived and childish. Learning content about teamwork accompanied by stock photo of people jumping happily in the air; A module about problem solving with a photograph of a woman in a thoughtful pose and a light bulb above her head? Your learners are adults – treat them as such.

Can’t hire a graphic designer? Text can be powerful, too. This is by far one of my favourite examples of a text-driven design: www.playspent.org. Okay, it has had some graphic design treatment, but it could have also been just as impactful without.

Lack of Diversity

This is somewhat related to above. Nothing makes me cringe more when I see “John Smith” used in a module, or a video featuring ten middle-aged, white, men. Now, there is nothing wrong with each independently. But adult learners need to contextualise to internalise content. At a basic level, they should see themselves reflected in the learning environment. Your case studies, imagery, and names, should be as diverse as the audience they are intended for. Otherwise, you have a lot of John and Jane Does who have tossed your learning aside.

Turnkey Learning

We’ve all seen eLearning content structured like this:

Welcome to Project Management…In this course you will learn X,Y, and Z…There are 5 phases to project management…Let’s look at Phase 1…Phase 1 has 3 sub-steps (1,2, and 3)…Drag and drop the sub-steps with their definitions…Knowledge check question! How many phases are there in project management?

Yes, this covers learning objectives and gives an overview, but it’s formulaic and predictable. It’s also boring. It probably uses clipart.

With a little bit of rework, this could become highly dynamic content. For example, begin the module with an overview of a project that struggled during each of the phases. Then do a dissection of the issues. Follow up with a walk-through of the same project and phases, but how to remedy the pitfalls. The content still matches the learning objectives, but has more impact and includes context.

These are my personal pet peeves and I sure many of these will be up for debate. I would also enjoy hearing your thoughts. Have I surpassed positive disruptor and become troublemaker?

Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am currently consulting and always happy to have a conversation about L&D.

Is Learning the Biggest Loser?

It’s no secret that weight loss and dieting are a multi-billion dollar industry. Magazine racks are a jumble of headlines screaming, “fit, tone, calories, detox”. Yet, most studies concede that around 85% of diets fail.

So what does this have to do with learning?

Quite a bit. In both weight loss and L&D, there is an end goal to change behaviour. There’s not much difference between motivating someone to hit the gym three times a week, and implementing a new workflow. The obstacles of willingness and motivation are the same. Most people resist change, particularly if they are already comfortable doing things a certain way.

Therefore, a successful learning programme has to take steps to address these stumbling blocks. Too often I see L&D solutions that are applied formulas: a robust needs assessment to generate performance outcomes, which then become learning objectives that some Instructional Designer can write tidy copy against. Tick box learning. Great in theory, but learners are not software that can be programmed.

If you have a spare hour, watch an episode of any of the hundreds of weight loss TV shows. There are carefully constructed methods used to encourage and incentivise candidates to adopt new healthy habits. These could be the promise of a reward or the wake-up call of a medical exam. Whatever the methodology, only a fraction of time is spent on the how-tos of calorie counting and balanced diet. The focus is on developing the why.

Yes, I can already hear learning professionals saying that we already build WIIFMinto our content, or that you use a 70-20-10 approach. Those are all beneficial, but are hardly transformational. These are platitudes that make us L&D folks feel like we have cuddled a bundle of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Consider the following personal example (details changed to protect the innocent): A company wants to adopt a culture of collaboration. They approach L&D. After a lot of performance consulting conversations and a detailed needs assessment, the solution implemented is a mandatory one-day learning event on how to collaborate and why it is important. There was a catered lunch.

Fast forward a few years and collaboration is stagnant. Sure, people loved the course. There were loads of job aids and coaching tools. People tweeted about it for days and the Level 1 evaluations were the highest ever. There was no ROI because a) there was nothing to address the ongoing motivation; and b) they had a body of staff who were hired based on their ability to be individual contributors and high achievers.

For large-scale learning programmes to truly deliver, I believe we need to think in terms of broader change management. In the case of the Collaboration Collapse above, these are a few things I would’ve done differently:

• Hire some collaborators into leadership positions. You don’t see successful overweight fitness instructors for a reason.
• Partner with (gasp) other departments such as HR, Marketing, and Communications, to keep the motivation factor. For example, agree with HR that evidence of collaboration is tied directly to performance bonus.
• Eliminate temptation. Those employees who are not onboard with the program need to go.

As a learning professional, I could build all sorts of courses, microlearning, and job aids, on how to lose weight. Yet all of those solutions are no better than the noise screaming from the headlines on the magazine stand. I can design a multitude of evaluations that prove a learner can distinguish the nutritional differences between an orange and a chocolate biscuit. It still does not influence the daily decision to go for a jog versus binge on carbs.

I’m not suggesting that good instructional design practice be thrown away. Simply that learning needs to tackle the motivation factors and collaborate with other departments to achieve change. Otherwise, your courses could become the proverbial Thighmaster collecting dust at the back of your LMS closet.

 Like what you have read? I’d be grateful for a share, like, or comment. Really like what you have read? I am an L&D consultant and always happy to have a conversation, debate, or problem solve.