Can You Make Learners Feel More Invested in Their Training?
One of the best ways to engage your learners is to give them control of the action. It’s only natural that learners will feel more invested in their training to direct their own learning experiences.
Using branching scenarios, course designers can design learning interactions that encourage learners to make choices in situations that mimic the real world.
In most cases, the course duration is the same whether learners make good or bad choices. The critical path always moves the learner forward without penalizing them for making poor decisions.
Real-World Jobs Reward Quick Thinking and Acting
I like the idea of rewarding learners for making good choices. By “reward,” I’m not talking about a “thumbs up” or “good job” pop-up alert. A more meaningful reward for learners would be to finish the course early so they can get back to doing their jobs.
Here are just a few professions that demand speed and accuracy:
- Air Traffic Controllers: At any given time, about 5,000 commercial airplanes fly over the United States. It’s no wonder air traffic controllers have one of the most stressful jobs.
- Automotive Technicians: In most cases, a service technician’s rate is billed hourly. The quicker they can diagnose and resolve an issue the sooner they can move on to the next client. Servicing more clients means billing more hours.
- EMTs and Paramedics: Emergency medical technicians are another excellent example of professionals who must quickly identify issues with injured people.
The Cave of Time: Branching Maps
I think it’s remarkable how CYOA readers have mapped the stories to show all the possible paths and outcomes.
Noteworthy: More story paths lead to death or unfavorable endings. Be safe out there, readers!
One Book, Many Readings
Here’s a geeky (and fascinating) analysis of the paths and outcomes of the CYOA books. One of the most exciting patterns revealed in the study is how the books became more linear and had fewer endings as the books evolved.
Challenge of the Week
This week, your challenge is to share a branching example designed around the popular Choose Your Own Adventure stories. Please include a story map of your project so we can see your branching paths.
You don’t need to build a massive, story-based scenario. Just build out enough content to show how such a model could be used in e-learning.
Prototypes and placeholder content are your friends this week. Use them to build out scenario templates.
Last Week’s Challenge:
Before you branch into this week’s challenge, check out the community's top e-learning and instructional design tips:
New to the E-Learning Challenges?
The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.