INSIDER

Designing Learning in the Conceptual Age

Second of Two Parts

By Suzanne Robert

July 5, 2006—As you may remember, I left you balanced on top of my roof, to illustrate a new paradigm in learning and its impact on learning design (See Part 1).

The experience of re-shingling my roof began as any good course would, with motivation. Today’s learners require relevant development and this was certainly relevant to me. My motivation was to save money (the professionals provided estimates that were through the roof!) and to maintain the good repair of my home. It was in my best interest to learn to do it myself. My learning experience involved Internet research, collaboration, consulting an expert, and plenty of adrenaline invoking “firsts.”

I was excited and nervous about using a nail gun, frustrated when Mother Nature dumped snow on us, surprised to find a squirrel’s nest under the roof boards, and ultimately delighted and satisfied with a job well done. I’d taken an emotional ride through a learning journey and it was a rich and rewarding experience. Was it a successful learning experience? Yes. Months have passed and not a shingle has budged nor a drop of water penetrated.

Not every learner is going to be self-driven and motivated by the content of a course. As designers, we have to compensate for that possibility by doing what we can to evoke emotion. We have to recognize our learners’ need to be inspired.

Emotion is getting attention at every turn in today’s world. The adventure travel industry is thriving as thrill seekers sign up to spend their vacations climbing mountains, kayaking, camping, scuba diving, and rafting. Cruise lines are selling adventure vacations packed full of activity and adrenaline. Video games like Nintendo’s hugely popular Nintendogs are immersing players in a virtual space where players, usually children, bond with their virtual puppies and celebrate their achievements as the puppy grows and learn. Theme parks continue to thrive and adapt to their audience by offering rich experiences that have surpassed the wooden roller coasters of the early days; Walt Disney was ahead of his time building a park that’s primary mission was to create an experience from the moment you stepped through the gate.

Remember, everyone is selling the “experience” these days, even Home Depot. “You can do it. We can help.” The fun is in learning while doing it yourself; challenging yourself, enjoying the experience, and feeling satisfied and proud when you’re done. If we can design learning to evoke emotions, if we can maintain our learners’ interest, inspire them, and reach their senses, they will learn.

There is so much to think about! There’s evidence everywhere that we must embrace the idea that our learners need to be inspired and engaged on an emotional level. Just how you do it is going to be a departure from the comfortable place we’ve reached; that place where technology is the backbone to learning, where best practices are in place, where the tools exist to bring our designs to life. Tell compelling stories, create some drama and intensity, challenge your learners. Use humor, let your learners explore and discover, let them make mistakes and recover from them. Surprise them!

Technology is a level playing field for the most part. Most of the players in the learning industry are using proven processes, have the same delivery modalities at their disposal, and operate with similar best practices. What can set us apart in Pink’s Conceptual Age is the ability to use our creativity to effectively engage learners in rich experiences. By partnering utility with significance, we reach learners on a level that they demand.

One final thought. While technology continues to be a hot topic at learning conferences, the liveliest session I’ve attended was one where Russel Crumley, a spirited learning designer, engaged all his participants in a lively discussion about how to inject creativity into learning. His session was called Imagineering Design: Creative Design Skills for the Advanced Instructional Designer. People were abuzz as he got us thinking and talking about how to inspire learners. Many participants skipped attending the closing session in the main venue and instead lingered in the room to talk with Crumley and those peers who were hungry to know just how they could effectively inspire emotion with well-designed learning.

Together we discussed the challenges of budget and time restrictions, or reservations held by management who think learning must be formulaic and serious. What was clear to me is that there’s no secret formula; every designer, in every situation, will come up with different solutions and approaches to meet the challenges they face. The trick is to start thinking about designing learning that inspires, to start reading about it, and to start talking about it.

Are you talking about it?

Suzanne Robert is senior e-learning specialist at IBM's e-Business Innovation, Learning Content group in Canada. She has nine years of experience applying her creative design and writing skills to continuously emerging learning technologies. Suzanne is a certified Instructional Designer with a degree in writing and a diploma in advertising.

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