You can argue all you want about the value and/or definition of serious games vs. immersive learning simulations, but let's stick with just immersive learning simulations. No, in fact, let's just stick with immersive learning.
It's not that I'm not interested in simulations. I am. But does elearning have to be a game or a simulation to be immersive? You want the learning to stick, and you want learners to be eager to return. Getting a learner immersed in the content and its presentation can do this, even without games or simulations.
A lot has happened in the 10 or so years since CBTs became elearning. Bandwidth for one...a huge change. Mobile computing, multi-player online games, avatars, YouTube, Facebook, del.icio.us, Google...all are huge changes that have an impact on elearning and how immersive it can be.
Boomers will be around for some time yet, but we are also seeing Gamers in increasing numbers. Talk about change! Having grown up with computers and computer games, these tech-savvy, information-hungry 18 to 34 year olds are described as digital natives. And their experiences change how they pursue, interpret and use information.
The way Gamers use the Internet makes them elearners, by definition. Gaming, Googling, Facebooking or blogging, they continually search out new information in a way that defines their lives. That may make back/next elearning boring for them, but it also opens up lots of options to engage, entertain and immerse them in learning.
Here are three ways that you can engage and immerse Gamers in elearning:
- Does content have to be linear? We know that interests and levels of competency vary from learner to learner, so why not make information available in randomly accessed chunks and let them proceed as they wish?
- Does learning have to be directive? Gamers (and even Boomers, by the way) love to discover information by searching and interacting with their digital environment. And learning sticks better that way, too.
- Are SMEs in short supply? Sometimes a big boost to elearning can be as simple as focusing on a topic by bringing different pieces of expert information (that are already on the web) directly to the learner. We don't have to create all the content ourselves, you know.
We're going to have to explore these (and other) options for engaging and immersing elearners in future posts.