A few key points:
- The folks who learn "the old way" (mostly baby boomers) are all going to be retiring within the next ten years. They will be replaced with a generation of workers who use Xbox, Wii and other gaming technologies.
- The way to engage this new generation of worker, from a training perspective, is to present them with a learning experience that engages their mind actively.
- A recent survey showed that an engaging e-learning experience resulted in over 40% retention after six weeks, compared with 4% retention with traditional forms (lecture, simple reading).
On the gaming front, they offer QGames which test comprehension using a gaming paradigm. The demonstrated game today was Hangman minus the doomed stick figure. It was essentially a timed fill in the blanks exercise. To enable the idea of an "open book test", with one click you could go from the question to the page in the corresponding QBook where the answer could be found. To add to the gaming aspect, there was a ranking of "gamers" so you could compete against peers to get high scores.
It was a real eye-opener to see the lengths to which some companies are going to make learning more enjoyable. Of course, the distributed distance learning platform also adds to the appeal as it cuts down on cost intensive travel.
Whether you investigate Qube, or give some other product a try, keep finding ways to make your e-learning experience engaging for your students or customers!
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