1

Who Says Good LearningCan’t Be Fun?Ed Duffy

Purpose

Challenge youAsk whyAsk why notSee why it worksDecide how to apply it inyour organization

Fun Defined

1. Something that providesmirth or amusement

2. Enjoyment or playfulness

Synonym: Entertainment,merriment, pleasure

*Random House Dictionary

2

Fun Defined

Fun Defined

Fun Applied

HumorLaughterSmilesEnergyPleasureExcitementEntertainmentEnjoymentEngagementFlow

3

Argument for F.U.N.

FeelingUnexpectedNeurologicalbenefits

Argument for F.U.N.

Stress causes yourbody to releasecortisol into thebloodstream, whichdestroys glucose,the brain's onlysource of food.

*Tina Konstant, Teach Yourself Speed Reading

Argument for F.U.N.

Laughter reducesstress and stresshormones:EpinephrineCortisolDopacGrowth hormone

*Paul E. McGhee, PhD, Healing and the Amuse System

4

Argument Against F.U.N.

FrivolousUnconventionalNo

Fun to Whom?

End userStakeholderSMEInstructional designer

The Survey Says …

53% humor is key, butshould match content andlearning outcomes24% audience, culture,and topic are key17% Engagement is key3% No entertainmentneeded

*Poll of 150 training professionals

5

The Experts Say …

Roger Shank: "When learning isn't fun,it's not learning.”Thiagi: “I believe all learning must beenjoyable. It is not true that truelearning requires suffering and pain.”

The Experts Say …

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: “It does not seemto be true that work necessarily needs to beunpleasant. It may always have to be hard, orat least harder than doing nothing at all. Butthere is ample evidence that work can beenjoyable, and that indeed, is often the mostenjoyable part of life.” Flow: The Psychologyof Optimal Experience, 1990

Fun in the Classroom

IcebreakersGamesEnergizersVideosTeamsMusicMovement

6

Commercial: Automotive Client

Tactic: Learnerscreated and actedout their owncommercialImpact: Challengedlearners tosummarize thecontent and usetheir creativity

7

Lost in Translation

Body languageFacial expressionMoodLive adjustmentof deliveryPeer supportJIT coaching

Fun in eLearning

ConversationalwritingNarrators withcharacterPractice andfeedbackMusicEngaging visualsThemeCreate community

8

Fun in eLearning

NeedsassessmentUsability testingPilot testing

Fun in eLearning

PersonalityHumorGamesStories

Personality: Mfg Client

Tactic: Usednarrators with asports personalityImpact: Increasedaudienceengagement andprogram buzz

9

Personality: Mfg Client

The four step process we’ll go through is:1. Plan Use best practices to devise your installation plan2. Prepare Get ready for the installation3. Perform Execute the installation successfully4. Prove out Double-check the work and make any necessary

adjustments prior to the release of the vehicle

The first two steps may only take you 30 seconds each but theymay save you three hours during step three. As Abe Lincolnonce said, “If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I wouldspend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.”

Personality: Mfg Client

C.J. - “To be a top performer at any game you’ve gotto know the rules of the game. To be an all starWEATHER GUARD installer you need to: (1) do yourPre-Game Prep, (2) Suit Up, (3) Put it in Play, and (4)take a second look at your work during the Post-Game Huddle.”

“Once we actually start the installation, we want toorganize our list of equipment in the order that we’reactually going to install it. For instance, we want tostart with the Floor mat, then go to the Bulkheads,Shelving Units, Storage, Bed and Pack Rats, then theRoof Racks.”

Personality: Mfg ClientSean - “Nice work C.J. Here’s some feedback on your answers. Youcan see the benefit that checking the Van Solutions Catalog can havein planning for this installation. The 215 ladder rack in this configurationshould be replaced with the 216 ladder rack and the 8463 Van ShelvingUnit won’t fit this van since the height of the cab is only 44”.”

C.J. - “That’s a bid 10-4 Sean. I can see why there’s no game withoutthe Pre-Game. But tell me this, what should I do if I’ve got a van or aconfiguration that’s different than the half-dozen spec’d in the back ofthe Van Solutions Catalog?”

Sean - “That’s where you’re going to have to put your brains and youmeasuring tape to work C.J. For instance, you can look up the rightconfiguration for roof racks in the Van Solutions Catalog, but forbulkheads you need to check the catalog, the WEATHER GUARD (R)web site, or your instruction sheets to check if the model number youhave is designed to fit the vehicle.”

10

Humor: Pharma Client

Tactic: Used humorto poke fun atundesirable salesbehaviorsImpact: Allowedsales people tolaugh at themselvesas they learned andrefined newbehaviors

11

12

Games: Pharma client

Tactic: Overlaid agame onto theday the life of asales repImpact: Increasedengagement, fun,and competition

13

14

Stories: Non-Profit Client

Tactic: Used story-telling to makecontent moreengaging andrelevantImpact: Put realmeat on the bonesof the content tomake it come to life

15

Recap

The Challenge

16

Closing Song

All I wanna to do is have some funWhen it comes to eLearning, I’m not the

only oneAll I wanna do is have some fun,No more page turners and in-for-mation

dumps