e-Learning and Games in Healthcare
After six years in banking, I have recently returned to the healthcare industry. Thankfully, e-learning is prevalent in healthcare and very receptive to the use of games. Games are a fantastic way to challenge learners and keep them engaged and interacting with the content at hand.
Like many in e-learning, I am responsible for both design and development along with playing the role of graphic artist too. This is what I refer to as my “one-man workshop.” I think some in our field who are also a one-man, or woman, workshop may shy away from the use of games in e-learning because of the level of resources and time required to produce a game. Yes, we do see some great games out there that required large teams of designers, developers, graphic artists, etc., but that does not mean we can not create e-learning games too. For me it is more of a matter of scale and taking advantage of the resources that are available.
I have been able to produce what I call mini-games, which I incorporate into courses and occasionally use as small stand alone games. In order to be able to produce games, I keep them small and not too complex. This reduces both design and development time. I also rely on some great resources that help make the seemingly impossible Flash development possible. Here they are:
- ActionScript for Fun and Games by Gary Rosenzweig - The last edition is from the days of Flash MX, but it is still a great resource when it comes to developing games that can be tweaked into e-learning games. Gary also has more updated resources online at www.garyrosenzweig.com.
- Flashkit game tutorials - They not only have a good collection of game tutorials, but also provide the source files which help immensely in dissecting and learning the ActionScript.
Back to healthcare, here are a few articles on use of games and e-learning in healthcare I would like to share:
- The Rise of Gaming in Healthcare
- Serious Games Futuring Medical Training in France
- Healthcare Industry Embraces Online Training
Here are also few examples of courses in healthcare/health sciences, including a few games (in bold), that I dug out of the Free e-Learning page:
- Blood Typing- NobelPrize.org
- Cardio-Pulmonary Resucitation (CPR) - e-Mersion
- Deep Brain Stimulation - Edheads.org
- Escape From Diab - NIH
- Interactive Health Tutorials - MedicinePlus
- How Your Brain Understands What Your Ear Hears - NIH
- Learn.Genetics ™ - Genetic Science Learning Center
- The Human Genome
- Nanoswarm: Invasion From Inner Space - NIH
- Playnormous Health Games (K-12)
- SnacktownSmackdown - Kaiser Permanente (K-12)
It is very exciting to be part of an industry that sees such value of games in education and training. FYI: There is also a conference next month (May 25-27) on the role of games in healthcare - Games for Health Conference. I won’t be able to attend, but it looks great.
Flash Tutorials on Screenr
As a Adobe Flash addict, I am always on the lookout for tutorials and new tips and tricks that can make Flash development easier. Every now and then I peruse Screenr.com for Flash tutorials. Because screencasts on Screenr have a five minute limit, they are usually very succinct, which is what I like. They are also easy to search if you do a site search (flash site:screenr.com). Below are a few I found. I threw in one of my own too.
FYI: If you are interested in creating screeencasts, Screenr is easy to use and free. Thank you Articulate for offering this free tool. Also, if you are looking for Articulate tuts, they have plenty of those too.
To see the remaining tutorials for the paddle game, visit @paulkeenan59’s Screenr page.
Had to throw the last one in with the release of the iPad looming (feh).
If you are creating Flash tutorials on Screenr, please feel free to add a link to it in the comments section. Thanks!
March Big Question - Open Content in Workplace Learning
This month’s Big Question is “how do we leverage open content in workplace learning?” To learn more about about some of opportunities available in open content, I visited the sites listed on the Big Question post. These were OER Commons and Open Courseware Consortium. For the first time, I perused these sites. A bit embarrassed that I have not visited these sites before, but it is never too late to find new learning opportunities. My first impression was that these are very heavy on the academic end. They certainly have many opportunities for learning and development. In fact, I found a course on e-learning accessibility, an interest of mine.
So, back to the Big Question. I am confident there are corporate trainers creating the same training content as their brethren. Wouldn’t it be great to upload those software sims, leadership or sales courses, etc. somewhere that other companies’ staff can access them. And in return, I don’t need to create those ______ software sims because XYZ, Inc. made their sims available to my staff. Oh, how great would that be?
Sorry to piss on the parade, but here are the challenges that pop into my mind that make sharing corporate training difficult:
- Most corporate training is designed specifically to the company’s audience. For example, the training probably includes policies and procedures as they pertain to internal staff.
- Much of the content is proprietary information not to be shared externally.
- Often quality training is seen as one of the things that “gives us the edge” over the competitor, why just hand it over?
- “Do we have to talk to legal about whether we can do this?” Will they find a potential liability?
Would I like to leverage open content in the workplace? Yes. Something I will do is to keep an eye out not only for open content that will benefit my company, but also what am I producing that can be used as open content. Of course, anything shared as open content has to overcome the fore-mentioned hurdles.
Earthquakes Online
With the tragic news of the recent earthquakes, first Haiti and now Chile, I thought I would share some of the e-learning resources regarding earthquakes and tsunamis. Prior to that, it is important to note the valiant relief efforts so many are doing and the support they need. There are many relief groups in need of donations and it can be done easily online or via text. Mashable has posted a list of ways you can make online and text donations.
Here are some e-learning resources regarding earthquakes along with emergency preparedness:
- “Written in Stone” Earthquake Animations - SDSU
- Earthquakes - SDSU
- Earthquakes for Kids - USGS
- Forces of Nature - National Geographic
- Seismology Animations - IRIS
- The Tsunami Disaster Explained - BBC (2004)
- The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire - Bancroft Library
- Be Red Cross Ready - American Red Cross
- Are You Prepared? - 72hours.org
These are also now listed on the Free e-Learning page.
A Great Example of Using Multiple Forms of Media
Last year “We Choose the Moon” was launched in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. This is a fantastic example of using video, audio, photos, and animation all in one course. Here is the link, www.wechoosethemoon.org. It is absolutely worth the visit.
Also, here is a video from AdobeTV that provides some background on the development of “We Choose the Moon.”
If you liked this course, you will also like these courses on space and NASA.
Explore the Apollo 11 Landing Site - NASA
International Space Station - NASA
One Small Step - NASA
NASA 50 Years - NASA
Rocket Science 101 - NASA
A Sense of Scale - The Elegant Universe
Trace Space Back to You - NASA
And there are plenty more on the Free e-Learning page.
Free e-Learning Additions
It has been a while since I have added anything to the Free e-Learning page. With a little extra time this weekend, I have added a history section, which includes the courses below.
History
An Overview of American History (video) - Digital History
Ancient History - BBC
British History - BBC
Native Words, Native Warriors (Codetalkers) - NMAI
The First Thanksgiving - Plimoth.org
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization - PBS
The Roman Empire in the First Century - PBS
U.S. History Timeline - Digital History
If you have any free e-learning that you would recommend, please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
The Free e-Learning Page Hits 100
The Free e-Learning Page just reached 100 e-learning courses/tutorials. Here are the categories that have been established thus far:
- Archaeology, Anthropology and Paleontology
- Art
- Compliance
- Computer
- Finance
- Flash (Adobe Flash tutorials)
- Instructional Design
- K-12 (fun for adults too)
- Public Health and Safety
- Science
- Sports
- Wacom (graphics tablet)
- Misc.
I continually added course as I find them. New categories are also added, as needed. The page contains plenty of great examples of e-learning and all are absolutely free, take a look. And if you have an e-learning course that allows open access, please let me me know and I will be happy to add it to the list.
Hurricance e-Learning Resources
It’s hurricane season, so I thought I would add a few hurricane resources to the Free e-Learning page.
Here they are:
Forces of Nature - National Geographic
Hurricanes - KidsKnowIt Network
Hurricane Motion Gizmo - ExploreLearning
Be Red Cross Ready - American Red Cross
Hurricane Preparedness - Propane Exceptional Energy
NOVA’s Interactives Archive
I absolutely love seeing great examples of e-learning. While watching NOVA, I took a trip over to their website and found their Interactives Archive. It has hundreds of educational interactives. They are organized by interest and range from anthropology to technology. Here is the link, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/hotscience, take a look. It will be added to the Free e-Learning page too.
you have to fight for the right TO BE ENGAGING
I just read a comment on a blog where a someone was very frustrated by bland, unengaging page turners. It got me thinking. How do you get a an organization out of the rut of making page turners and to start creating more engaging and effective courses? Here are my first thoughts:
- Put on your instructional designer hat and do everything you can to educate all involved (SMEs, clients, managers, and audience too) on what effective e-learning is and how all involved can benefit from it.
- Show all involved what effective e-learning looks like, actual examples. Here is just one place where you can find examples -http://minutebio.com/blog/free-e-learning/ (this my Free e-Learning collection ).
- Find case studies, articles, evaluations, etc. that support your case.
- Create a prototype to demonstrate the level of interactivity and engagement your organization can produce in a course. Get your co-workers involved so they will be vested in the “new approach.” This will earn you supporters and people who can rally against the archaic page turners the organization still wants to produce.
- When you launch your prototype/course and your audience provides positive feedback. Be quick to send that feedback to the powers to be along with any evaluation you have done. They will have a hard time arguing against more interactive courses then.
- Continue to evaluate your courses even after you have been given the go ahead and resources to create more interactive courses. If you can demonstrate positive results for all 4 levels of evaluation, especially “results,” they will have little argument for ever implementing a page turner again.
What else can be done to address the organization stuck in page turner mode? Please feel free to make suggestions. Thanks.
