6 Steps to Awesome eLearning Scenarios #LSCon 2018

I could not attend the main Learning Solutions 2018 conference this year. However, there were some sessions in the Expo hall. I'm about to share a few of the notes I took plus at least one of my own takeaways from each session. I hope you find them interesting and useful! Here we go ...

The first session I attended was presented by Nicole Legault of Articulate. She gave us all one secret: Stories (scenarios) are really just multiple-choice questions! (I never thought of them that way before.)

Nicole showed us how to build stories to make it interesting enough so the learner actually wants to stick through the entire course. Stories can tie a course together. You can use stories in all types of training including teaching soft skills, compliance and products. (Make sure to read to the end of the post to find out about branched stories.)

• Stories are more meaningful.
• Stories are more engaging.
• Stories have more impact. 

Do you want to make your lesson memorable? Read what happens to the brain on stories at Hubspot.

The key is to create a realistic sequence of events that the learner can apply.

Always tell the learner the initial setup. That’s a brief paragraph explaining the scene.

Here are Nicole’s set of tips:

• Use feedback in text, facial expressions, colors, a meter (like a progress bar) to let them know how important what you are telling really is.
• Give them an avatar. Let them choose one.
• Give the learners as much access to any available documents or media as possible. Just like they would have in real life.
• Build different activities into the stories.

Build emotion in the story. Provide the learner with a reason to feel like the character. That’s what stories do in both fiction and non-fiction.

“People look at the faces right away.”

However, remember that not everything can be made into a story.

ONE.

What is the situation? How can they resolve it?

Determine the trigger and move forward from there.

Use content you already have and give the learner real options and opportunities.

TWO.

Decisions.

Here’s a secret for you. Stories are really just multiple-choice questions!

The challenge is to create plausible yet incorrect answers and feedback.

THREE.

Use relatable characters.

Let the learner tell you what the character looks like. The learner can be a character, too.

FOUR.

Graphics

Use a background image that fits the scene. If you can, use an actual picture from a real situation. That’s better than a stock photo from a generic one.

Warning: Pay attention to SCALE and SHADOWS (direction of light source).

FIVE.

Realistic Details

Mimic real life. The introduction helps to set up the context of the situation (trigger). Use actual terminology, vendors, etc. (if any). Give the character/s a name and title. Include it in the graphic so they don’t have to guess who is in the picture/s. (See right for an example. Thanks to E-Learning Heroes for stock images!)

Get some tips from video game character design. (See how many similarities there are to what Nicole advises.)

SIX.

Feedback and Consequences

Tell them how the correct and incorrect actions will impact them. Tell them the positives and negatives.

Now we’ll talk a bit about using branched stories (scenarios). Branching can make your stories more complex so be careful when using them.

Use the “3-C model”

• Challenge
• Choice
• Consequence

Never create more than one or two branches. This will help keep confusion and complexity down.

Determine how valuable it is to let the learner go down the wrong path. Don’t let them stray too far or they’ll get lost and only remember what NOT to do. Keep it down to one or two steps then get them back on the main path (story).

For more information about Nicole Legault you can read her blog called Flirting w/eLearning.

She is also a Community Manager on the Articulate site E-Learning Heroes.

Nicole's Twitter handle is @nicole_legault.