Marine Corp General says PowerPoint Makes Us Stupid

The slide above has since bounced around the Internet as an example of a military tool that has spun out of control.

So much of e-learning today has gone the way of PowerPoint...literally and figuratively. "As easy as PowerPoint" is the specific, or implied, promise of many e-learning products. And since this page-turning mentality is just a presentation tool to begin with, not a learning tool, not much learning takes place.

By contrast, the x-learning approach from w/ is a learning by exploring and practicing approach. Learning the way we have naturally learned since the time we began to crawl. You can read a lot about that in our other blog posts, so for now, just enjoy the exerpt of the Times article, below...

According to the New Your Times, "Like an insurgency, PowerPoint has crept into the daily lives of military commanders and reached the level of near obsession. The amount of time expended on PowerPoint, the Microsoft presentation program of computer-generated charts, graphs and bullet points, has made it a running joke in the Pentagon and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'PowerPoint makes us stupid,' Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said this month at a military conference in North Carolina. (He spoke without PowerPoint.) Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who banned PowerPoint presentations when he led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, followed up at the same conference by likening PowerPoint to an internal threat.

'It’s dangerous because it can create the illusion of understanding and the illusion of control,” General McMaster said in a telephone interview afterward. “Some problems in the world are not bullet-izable.' "

 You can read the full article here.

If you're reading this, you probably got here from our immersive elearning demo at www.wslash.net (and if not, go to our home page and click on the Demo link in the right column).

The purpose of this blog post is to generate ongoing feedback from people like you, and get your take on immersive elearning. We used the w/ virtual office to demonstrate immersive possibliities, rather than just talk about them. But talk is good, too. So, let us know...

• What did you think of the Hall Of Immersions?
• What questions do you have about implementing immersive elearning?
• How can we share what we know, in order to help you?

Treat this as an open forum. We're looking forward to what you have to say...and you can be sure, one of us here at w/ will always answer your comments and questions.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Jack Pierce
w/ CEO

Everyone pretty much agrees that immersive elearning is better than simpler, linear, click-ahead elearning. Or maybe not.

We've sometimes experienced unexpected client angst when developing more immersive courses. Discomfort that immersive production takes longer. Concern that an immersive approach makes for longer learner seat time. Confusion that not every option in a simulation is black and white.

So maybe we should address the shifting paradigms that must accompany successful immersive elearning. Five immediately come to mind:

1. The point of immersive elearning is to slow the learner down, so that the learning sticks. Evaluating, studying, practicing...all take more time than skimming content just to get to the assessment. But while immersed, longer times actually seem like shorter times.
2. Immersive development time is greater than the time it takes to create click-ahead content. More time for the client, the SME, the instructional designer, and the developer. Create structure and processes that keep you focused and working more efficiently.
3. Instructional design for immersive elearning is more than linear content dressed up with avatars and games. You will have to fight to reorganize the way you think, to do this right. It requires more insight, and more levels subtlety to create a successful learner experience.
4. We learn best by doing. When you get right down to it, we learn by failing. If you are not providing the learner with practice at making decisions, and failing, you are missing out on a powerful tool.
5. When using avatars (and you should use avatars) don't use them simply as eye candy. Use them to create a social interaction, which will be engaging as it builds trust in your training brand. Use them, as with a valuable mentor or coach, to build better relationships with your learners.