Our belief: At Vignettes Learning we use stories in eLearning; however, we make them interactive. The emphasis is getting learners involved in the story and not just telling the learners the story.Synthesis.The responsibility of eLearning developers does not stop at implementing lessons. Post-learning assessment and data analysis are major factors to determine the efficiency of the learning modality. eLearning facilitators should ask themselves: Are we interpreting data correctly?Image source.Recently, the British Broadcasting Company website published an article written by Malcom Gladwell entitled "Viewpoint: Could one man have shortened the Vietnam War?" It is both intriguing and enlightening. It showed the vital role of data analysis and consequences for the erroneous process. Gladwell cites historical references pointing to the failure of American intelligence executives to correctly interpret the data of the Vietnam War. It proposes that the Vietnam War could have ended much earlier and saved thousands of lives had there been accurate interpretation of information collected.Konrad Kellen was part of Rand Corporation, a high-level think tank commissioned to interpret Vietnam War data. He was part of the Vietnam Motivation and Morale Project headed by Leon Goure.  Gladwell summarizes the objective of the project:"The idea was to break the will of the North Vietnamese. But the Pentagon didn't know anything about the North Vietnamese. They knew nothing about Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese language. It was just this little speck in the world, in their view. How do you know that you're breaking the will of a country if you know nothing about the country? So Goure's job was to figure out what the North Vietnamese were thinking.The idea was to break the will of the North Vietnamese. But the Pentagon didn't know anything about the North Vietnamese. They knew nothing about Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history, Vietnamese language. It was just this little speck in the world, in their view."As the Vietnam War ensued, Rand Corporation managed to interview captured Viet Cong guerillas and produced 61,000 pages of transcribed manuscript. Goure interpreted these data and concluded that the Viet Cong were utterly demoralized and they were about to give up. Goure recommended more bombings to break North Vietnam. Everyone but Kellen believed Goure.According to Kellen, his interview with a Viet Cong Captain changed his perspective. The captured officer revealed that North Vietnamese believed that they could not win the war. Kellen interpreted this data differently and concluded that "an enemy who is indifferent to the outcome of a battle is the most dangerous enemy of all."The US government ignored the opposing recommendation submitted by Kellen. The Vietnam War continued and the rest is history. Data analysis and interpretation are vital in any industry including the eLearning sector. As eLearning facilitators and developers, we should interpret the data without biases or prejudice. It is in the best interest of our elearners to give up control over our desired results or projected outcomes.Vignettes Learning is running a program called STEX, an online application that gathers learner’s feedback and reaction over simulated training scenarios. We do our best to interpret data in the most objective way in order to get accurate evaluation. Aware of the consequences of manipulating data to achieve preconceived outcomes, I would point out that our guidelines in data interpretation are meticulously followed.In the medical field, wrong diagnosis could lead to dangerous results. This can very well compound the problem and endanger the well-being of the patient. This logic is also applicable in eLearning. Here are some points to ponder in analyzing elearning data:Give attention to details. All data are important, even the seemingly insignificant ones. Approach your data with an open mind and objective disposition. Do not prejudge an assessment based on initial results. Analyze the data with someone who has an opposing perspective. You need to test conclusions and recommendations by putting it in a crucible, so to speak. Detach yourself from the analysis and do not get emotionally attached to the outcomes. State your margin of error in your assessments. No one is infallible. Malcom Gladwell compares data analysis to listening. The ability "to listen" correctly to data is a skill all elearning facilitators and designers should possess. Of this, the author of the article writes:"Listening well is a gift. The ability to hear what someone says and not filter it through your own biases is an instinctive ability similar to having a photographic memory. And I think we have a great ]deal of trouble with people who have this gift. There is something about all of us that likes the fact that what we hear is filtered through someone's biases."Related Blogshttp://vignettestraining.blogspot.com/search/label/critical%20thinkinghttp://vignettestraining.blogspot.com/search/label/e-Learning%20StrategyReferencesViewpoint: Could one man have shortened the Vietnam War by Malcom Gladwell Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

Rapid learning is achieved by putting lessons in micro-scenarios. Instead of serving the "whole pie of knowledge" all at once, serving slices to elearners is also effective.Micro-scenarios prevent information overload and give learners more capacity to focus and accumulate information.The eLearning culture has a couple of limitations. In virtual learning, both the trainer and the learners are separated by space and barriers. Technology compensates these limitations. Virtual learning centers do their best to make virtual human presence as real as face-to-face presence.In this regard, the mode of learning in a physical classroom differs from an elearning environment. Big data, huge knowledge sources and voluminous information should not be forced upon the elearners. Instead of pontificating on large data, eLearning methodology selects only a micro-lesson which can be plucked from the whole knowledge source.In his article, Little Data Makes Big Data More Powerful, Mark Bonchek shares a parallel view. He placed a distinction on the specific uses of big and little data and their specific uses in transmitting lessons:Selecting a small data or a micro-lesson is indeed an effective way to bring lessons across in an eLearning environment.I compared these micro-lessons to kernels. In my many years as an eLearning professional, I can say that focusing on kernel knowledge is a lot more effective than serving the entire corn. This is so because the constraint in the elearning environment is different from a classroom setting.In my blog, Instant and Rapid One-Minute Learning for mLearning and eLearning, I stated tips on how to pick up the "kernel":Although our brains are powerful, we can only process a quantified amount of data at a given time. Since not all the data we acquire translates into learning, it is only rational to choose kernels of knowledge and focus on particular lessons. In eLearning, the kernel is more significant than the corn.Do you agree that fleshing out small pieces of learning a little at a time, instead of dumping a huge amount of info all at once works better? Share your thoughts in the comments section!Related blogs:Instant and Rapid One-Minute Learning for mLearning and eLearningReferences:Mark Bonchek: Little Data Makes Big Data More PowerfulRay Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

Story-Based eLearning design is effective because it creates an environment where learners are compelled to anticipate. The vagueness of "what's next" keeps the mind engrossed until the story finds a resolution. Very few people can resist the power of a good story. Anticipation is a natural human tendency or practice. Ordinary everyday occurrences are filled with circumstances that compel us to anticipate. Whenever we drive, we anticipate the change of traffic light at the intersection. While watching a baseball or football game, we await the direction of the ball or the pass. We can almost predict what our boss might say if we are late for a meeting. We look forward to how our spouse would react over a new dress or suit. We eagerly anticipate the reaction of our kid over a surprise gift. Anticipation makes life dynamic. It keeps us moving. The Story-based eLearning design stirs the learner's anticipation. It is a catch or secret door through which learners enter. People can barely resist a well-told story and their minds are enticed to follow the plot with embedded lessons.Interestingly,Thomas Levenson wrote an article in the MIT Technology Review about Rebecca Saxe's experiments on Theory of the Mind (ToM). One of the objectives of the experiment was to find out how our brains learn to be social. To do this, Saxe devised a story-based experiment to assess via MRI, how children anticipate scenarios and thoughts.Rebecca Saxe describes how she came up with the idea of making a story-based experiment process: Even other fields of science have acknowledged the potential of the story-based design as a learning modality and a knowledge-gathering tool for neuro-research.In my blog Vague Stories Help Learners to Discover, I quoted an excerpt from John Lehar's In Praise of Vagueness: As eDevelopers and story-based learning designers, we are reminded that the human brain is wired to anticipate. Every human being has the innate capacity to see storylines in everyday occurrences. Our job is to bring out these storylines in real life and put it in the context of eLearning.I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic. Sound off in the comments section! Related blogs:Vague Stories Help Learners to DiscoverReferences:Thomas Levenson: The Story of a Study of the MindRay Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

In most endeavors - war, sports, marketing, or storytelling - the element of surprise works wonders. By using the strategy of surprise, people are caught in their vulnerable state, a condition that leads to openness and non-judgment. Surprise, therefore, is important in the Story-based eLearning design because it creates an environment of awe and marvel during the learning process. The ingredient of surprise adds more impact to any event or endeavor. In the movie Sixth Sense, the audience was blindsided when Bruce Willis - who everyone thought was a regular character - was later revealed to be a dead person. During the Vietnam War, the Tet Offensive launched by the communists caught the US military off-guard that it nearly depleted the American forces.The power of surprise is just as important in the Story-based eLearning design. Since eLearning follows the dynamic or hypertext method instead of the linear approach, the lessons are unexpected, with open-ended outcomes. In effect, learners’ sense of wonder is heightened, causing them to be more receptive. How is surprise attained?Story-based designs are basically provocative and argumentative. It compels learners to take different views and answers that are not labelled as right or wrong. In effect, there is a flow of new ideas, giving learners the opportunity to 'stack experiences'. Surprise is largely based on the unexpected. In real life, we cannot always predict how events will turn out. We attempt to bring the unexpected into our learning scenarios to make lessons more authentic. Our eLearning designs usually mirror real life with its own surprises.On the contrary, when we spoon-feed learners, we eliminate the surprise factor. When this happens, learners tend to be passive and take less active roles. When eLearning lessons are dynamically designed, the learners are taken to various twists and turns. They flow with the story and discover context as it unfolds. Learners in anticipation and see how the scenario turns out.In his article Surprise Is Still the Most Powerful Marketing Tool, Scott Redick writes:What are the other lessons infusing surprise? When learners are surprised, It is actual evidence that they have more to learn. The fact that they were surprised proves that they still lack knowledge or have not learned enough; thus, there is an exciting room for growth. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Sound off in the comments section, and let’s discuss.  References:Scott Redick: Surprise is Still the Most Powerful Marketing ToolRay Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

I am thrilled to present you five of my best videos, each one providing you with a sneak peak, as well as helpful tips, on how the Story-Based eLearning Design can transform your courses into high-impact learning events. Must Learn - Does Your Learner Need 1,500 Pages?How many percent of 1500 would a learner require in order to start working at their new job? It depends on the content, but never all 1500 pages.Why do we expect our learners to go through all 1500 pages as if we expect them to master the massive information?Must-learns -  important information we want learners to learn quickly because they need learning competencies and skill sets they can build on the job quickly so that they can perform.Mastery or full competency - these are learnings they can only learn over time so they can become masters of it.We don't want to train a master in just one hour or even a 5-hour eLearning course.Focus on separating the must-learn from the working competency to the full competency content so we can focus our energies. Extreme StoriesIn selecting stories, we tend to select those that show extreme emotions.There is a science behind it - our minds no longer respond to typical situations.Sometimes, we get so used to typical situations on routine, we go on autopilot but when something particularly eventful happens, we tend to remember that for a long time.When you tell a dull story, nobody will pay attention to it.When you design stories you need to infuse these with new information so you tend to exaggerate the details.Embedding Content in Stories Sometimes you encounter participants who have no experience or idea about embedding technical aspects of a module into a story.Add more elements into the story so learners will see information that he may not have known ahead of time, or skipped through.If it's the first time for a learner to encounter a policy, a good strategy would be to have one of the characters explain the benefits and the impact of the policy to help learners gain a better understanding.Allow learners to discover the facts and learnings embedded in the story. As they go deeper into the story, the more they will discover.The more you embed, the more you will be providing them with a more enriching experience. I would love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments section.Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

This case study presents a series of strategies and tactics which help you answer these questions: How do I respond to rapid business needs for e-Learning?How do I decide which approach can dramatically increase the speed of development and how do I calculate the returns?How do I work effectively with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to obtain content?What strategy ensures that the software meets rapid development and cost objectives?Here are some excerpts from the article:Rapid e-Learning as a term is an oxymoron. e-Learning is inherently rapid.  Its principles are all about speed and quality. It provides immediate learning. Its tools and software are fast, inexpensive and have more capabilities than we can even imagine. It is personalized and just-in-time learning at its best.  Our e-Learning programs are at least 50% heavier than they should really be (too much content).  These are at least 75% cumbersome (too much control) than what is required by e-learners.We need to present an architectural plan or infrastructure for our e-Learning program so all contributors can follow a process.Remember "Garbage in, garbage out"? Well, it may be more like: "The more garbage is generated, the slower the speed or flow, the higher the costs - and the quality stinks."Software developers and suppliers have their own "beliefs" borne out of their backgrounds, origins, interests and skill sets.Add interactivity only whenever and wherever it matters.This architecture provides clear direction for design, processes, and software and resource requirements - that lead to a clarity of standards and streamlined decision making.Reduce the amount of content to focus on "must learns." This increases the speed of development, cuts the costs and meets e-learners' needs.The ability to randomly select application  points allows e-learners to learn or apply ideas rapidly; it cuts down by 75% the burden of forcing learners to go page by page.Assist SMEs to organize, categorize, write and display the content that meets the standard of your architecture (structure their contribution so it is easy and time efficient for them).You can also maximize the full capability of the software when you know the end results you wish to derive.Not all content should be in an interactive form. Don't rush into converting content into interactive format if  plain text, images and references will work. If only 20% of your content needs to be interactive, then you already drastically reduce your development time. You also help the learners focus on what is truly important and what matters - which is one of e-learners' needs. Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

How do we make sense of the huge barrage of information that we encounter on a daily basis? We need to let go of the need to know everything. We need to train both our learners and leaders to resist the tendency to dump content. We need to help learners focus on usefulness and context of the content and to design and deliver training and eLearning programs to reflect this principle. According to Dr. Daniel Levitin, PhD, author of the bestselling book This is Your Brain On Music, we process 34 gigabytes of information during our leisure time alone and we would have created a world with 300 exabytes of human made information. Every hour, YouTube uploads 6,000 hours of video content. It's just impossible to keep up. Information overload is a growing concern and it has been discovered that the human mind can only take so much information at a given time. It needs time to digest.A Huge Problem for Corporations, Classrooms and eLearning LessonsOrganizations are unaware that they are actually paying a high premium for information inundation. Employees are not as productive when they are pressured to learn new things in with so little time. Hence, information and its application seem to be divorced from each other. "Corporations are failing to help staff cope with the technological barrage, daily meetings and constant connection, leading to rising levels of stress and psychological illness and costing billions in lost productivity," says Sarah O'Carroll in her article "How email deluge makes frustrated workers go postal" published by Herald Sun Melbourne Edition.Have you tried being in front of your computer trying to complete an elearning course? Can you still remember how instantly you became confused, frustrated and overwhelmed because of the information dumped on you? The overload problem manifests in elearning, classroom training and other forms of learning. The tendency to dump content is high. The challenge for eLearning designers and leaders is to engage users without overwhelming them.Solutions for Learners and CompaniesPaul Hemp in his article "Death by Information Overload" published by Harvard Business Review, suggested some solutions to the problem: changing corporate cultures, providing better tools, learning to use tools to filter and focus. Although these are great suggestions, the most important and may be the most critical is a change in our belief system or attitude. Jerry Michalski, an independent consultant on the use of social media nailed it, "You have to be Zen-like... You have to let go of the need to know everything completely."Why do we need to let go of the need to know everything? In training we are focused on production and efficiency of delivering content, not on its usefulness. Its consequence is the slowing down of the usage of content particularly apparent in the overload problems.Context is the True King, Not ContentWith the avalanche of information caused by high speed telecommunications and information technology, the current challenge is not the lack of content, it's the lack of context.  The need to refocus learning objectives on the needs of learners becomes apparent. For example, story-based learning objectives focus on acquiring knowledge in small steps. Instead of writing content from the context of the designer, write it as a set-up so learners can instantly see their usefulness in real life context. In designing content, always start by asking learners what is important to them and why. Why use story questions? Because you are are encouraging learners to bring forth their own stories. The key idea is that with the presence of so many content, the learners must be helped with your questions so they can focus on what they consider useful. When we skip this process, we don't help the learners. Here are some story-based questions aimed to help learners find out the usefulness in a content: What problems will you solve if you find the answer?What is important to you?What are you trying to solve?What do you know NOW about this topic?What do you want to know about this topic?How will you go about learning more about this topic?How do others feel and what do they say about this topic?How does the above change your understanding of what it is that you want?Context Setting Learning ObjectivesHow do we operationalize using learning objectives to helpful learners discover the usefulness of content and finding context instantly? Let's call this Story-Based Learning Objectives.Preview the two examples below.Example 1 - Probing Questions Example 2 - Confidential Documents  What is the difference between the static learning objectives and Story-Based Learning Objectives? Static learning objectives are statements of facts or academic learning goals.  This is an example of what we dump on learning lessons. We expect the learners to appreciate and learn academic goals. Naturally, it is difficult to learn by the sheer nature that it is hard to find meaning from a static fact. Story-Based Learning Objectives on the other hand are context driven. They quickly bring the content into a contextual form. They help the learners visualize the value of the context in real-life context. In preparing the Story-Based Learning Objectives above by focusing usefulness and context, do we engage the learner? Do we shorten his/her stress? Do we hasten his/her understanding of the content? And do we make it easier for the learner to apply the ideas presented within the content? The "Set Up Steps" of Story-Based Learning Design helps you to convert your content into highly contextually focused learning objectives. I'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments section. References:Ray Jimenez, PhD. Story Impacts Learning and Performance: Monogatari Press. March 5, 2013John Gantz, Angele Boyd, and Seana Dowling: Cutting the Clutter: Tackling Information Overload at the SourceAnnual Reviews: The Role of the Critical Review Article in Alleviating Information Overload Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

A sage was once asked by his students, "Master, we ask you the truth and you tell us stories," to which the master replied, "the shortest distance between you and the truth is a story." So what are the things we learn from stories? Why do we hang on to every word that the character utters? Has the character changed our behavior? Suppose we replace the character with a lecturer, would you get the same automatic connection? Probably not.Are Our Brains Hardwired for Storytelling?An award winning storyteller who has performed for 6.5 million audiences and a prolific author who has written 34 books, Kendal Haven answers with a resounding yes! As a nationally recognized expert on story structure, Haven believes that our brains are hardwired for storytelling and that we're not just Home sapiens, we are Homo narratives. According to Haven, we prefer to remember stories better than non-story information. Kendal Haven on YOUR BRAIN ON STORIES: WHY YOU ARE HARDWIRED TO THINK AND LEARN THROUGH STORYTELLINGPeople are willing to pay to be engaged. You want to buy their attention. They want to pay with their attention to be engaged. Attention is the currency in the exchange of ideas and stories to ensure that they are engaged.Human beings have been telling stories for 100,000-300,000 years. The human species has relied on stories as a structure and has been used to convey and archive learning, history and wisdom. We are hardwired for stories and that's why it resonates with us.According to EEG recordings, from sensory organs (seeing, hearing, smelling, touch and taste), information goes through the neural story net and are converted to story form before it gets to the conscious mind.The story net automatically distorts and makes up its own version of the story to make sense of it. We need effective story structures to ensure the accuracy of the information being conveyed through the story.Listen to the FULL Audio for 40 minutes here.What Happens in the Brain During Storytelling Session?The brain is not in neutral when we hear stories, its gears are engaged. It's ready to make its own judgments and is synchronized with the storyteller. "When the woman spoke English, the volunteers understood her story, and their brains synchronized. When she had activity in her insula, an emotional brain region, the listeners did too. When her frontal cortex lit up, so did theirs. By simply telling a story, the woman could plant ideas, thoughts and emotions into the listeners' brains.", says Princeton researcher Uri Hasson. We know that the experiences presented in the stories can be experienced by them too. This automatic connection or synchronization between teacher and learner is seldom achieved through traditional teaching methods. What We Learn from Stories: Values, Morals and How to Live Our Lives Stories have characters placed in a specific situation. We easily identify with them and how they cope with the situation that they are in. What is the moral dilemma that they are facing? Did their values in life help in achieving moral clarity? In short, how the characters live their lives become an example for us. So it's not accidental when we use characters in a story, it's intentional. There is a foundational theory that characters represent the teaching moments. And it is in our use of these characters that we can impart knowledge. Since stories are that influential, isn't this the best way for educators to embed technical compliance and other learning content?What is the goal of the main character? Did he manage to accomplish his goals? Every story is resolved when the character fails or accomplishes his goal.Conflicts. What is keeping the character from getting what he wants?Risk and danger keep the excitement in the story. What can possibly go wrong?What is the struggle the main character is facing? What is the main character up against? This keeps us glued to the story.Details make the audience add pictures to the stories. Designers can effectively use details to insert learning content in the stories.Motive explains why the goal is important and makes us identify with the characters. We become the character so to speak and we pay attention.ReferencesEmma Pearse: 17 Life Lessons From 'Stories We Tell': Web: JUNE 24, 2013 Michale Gabriel: Learning and Growing Through Stories: April 1999: New Horizons for Learning   Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

How would you like to learn the way they do in the blockbuster movie "The Matrix"?  Was there ever a time when you just want to download a whole bunch of information-minus the hole at the back of your neck-into your brain and viola!? When you want to be a musician, you just plug that "musician plugin" and all of a sudden you're performing in a concert. When you want to be a programmer, you just download the latest "programmer plugin" and you're set to write the next killer app.According to Teemu Torvelainen in a newsletter entitled "What are nano-learning and m-learning?," "In the Matrix films, new skills were learned fast. Instructions on how to fly a helicopter, the characteristics of a motorcycle, and many other things were downloaded in a couple of seconds. This could be called nano-learning. Such training contents, or modules, are extremely short, take a minute or two, and focus on the point. Learning takes place at exactly the right moment and in the right place."What is Nano-Learning?There are different terms used in reference to it including micro-learning and small bites learning. However, it's all about breaking down huge chunks of information into small, bite-size, digestible morsels.  And this is not even a new idea. In the words of Elliott Masie, President of The Masie Center and the director of the Learning Consortium, "I am a nano-learner. What does that mean? Each day, I learn several things in small chunks. Really small chunks. A 90-second conversation with an expert triggers a huge 'a-ha.' A few moments concentrating on learning how something works leads to a new micro-skill. What's more, I am not that unusual. Most people acquire most of their knowledge in smaller pieces." The video above tells us the basic of micro-learning. Using the cake analogy, it gives us the idea that we should not learn anything that doesn't fit our brains. Hence, "don't eat anything larger than your head."The normal way people acquire knowledge is by learning in small steps. These bite-size morsels of information that we consume forms a broader and deeper connected knowledge.The idea is to take a learning unit that takes seconds to learn or do. Micro content should not take longer than 15 minutes.Make the information learned, a part of the daily routine. Acquiring this habit allows learning to really sink in.Incorporate micro-learning in the virtual learning environment. This way, you can impart knowledge the micro-learning way too.As it turns out, nano-learning is actually how people normally learn. It's not an event, a lesson, or a content, but rather a way of using the smallest ideas to get things done or get results. Knowledge is cumulative. This means that what we know at this point in our lives is just the sum total of all the micro-learnings in our entire lifetime.How to Empower Your Organization Through Nano-LearningAlthough the Matrix analogy is fictional, nano-learning is not. It has been effectively used in various scenarios to empower organizations. Companies have been using this technique to introduce new products or a new way of dealing with customers.Another way nano-learning is used is in the creation of ads. You do not have the luxury of lengthy explanation about how your product can improve people's lives. You only have a few seconds to grab viewer's attention, so making use of that small window is crucial. The video above showed how companies can systematically use nano-learning to empower their employees without sucking the life out of the learning experience. There are four stages in a learning journey namely, Prepare, Equip, Apply, Reactivate and Support. Prepare-four things occur at this stage namely Introduction, Orientation, Alignment and Inspiration.Equip-another set of four occurs at this stage and they are known as Course, Campaign, Coaching and Cohort.Apply-the four most important factors here are Practical Factors, Checklist, Certification and Active Coaching.Reactivate-at the reactivation stage, the fact that the brain forgets a lot easily is taken into consideration and that's why four factors are important at this stage namely, Recap, Reflect, Reinforce and Repeat.Support-taking into account that we can't contain everything in our head, at the support stage four factors are also taken into consideration. These factors are Performance Support, Help Desk, Expert Network and Community.From the rest of the video, you can see that micro learning is used to deliver content in all stages of the learning journey. What Does this Mean for Designers?Most instructional designers are not aware of the power that nano-learning packs in. It gives you the opportunity connect to your audience in an instant! No need to bore them with details, just deliver the meat of your topic in a creative and effective way. "We have a unique opportunity to stretch our thinking about the size of our average learning project. Right now, most learning modules start at 15 minutes and often cover hours or days of involvement. But most learning moments are teachable moments. Malcolm Knowles described the perfect teachable moment as the intersection of a small question with a great small answer. That is at the heart of nano-learning." Elliott Masie added.  For your audience, it gives them the most of what you have to share without being bogged down with the details. It keeps them interested and connected to you. In short, nano-learning is a win-win situation for both you and your audience.References:Elliott Masie: Nano-Learning: Miniaturization of Design: Dec. 28, 2005  Teemu Torvelainen: What are nano-learning and m-learning?: Nov. 17, 2007Cognitive Advisors: Nano-CoachingLiz Stinson Design: An App That Tells the Fascinating Stories Behind 5 Fonts: Web: Sept. 24, 2014Kerri Simmons: 10 Things You Should Know About Nano-Learning: Less Is More Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning

Have you ever wished learning can be fun while at the same time in-depth? The current dilemma is that if you want to go deeper on the subject, you have to weather through the boredom created by traditional information delivery. But if you want to go the way of fun, well, you just have to scratch the surface. This shouldn't be the case! There has to be a way to learn and have fun at the same time! The good news for you-there is! Read on!  Following the Characters and their StoriesWe all love to follow people's lives because we want to know what they will do next. Isn't this the normal way we learn? Isn't this the reason why we love the "Modern Family," "Jon Stewart," "Saturday Night Live," "Dancing with The Stars" or "Downtown Abbey?"Episodic Learning AKA, Thematic learning is the natural way we learn. Since childhood, we immediately learn to follow life's episodes as it unfolds before us. What's daddy and mommy up to this time? Are they having a fight? Whose birthday is it? These are some of the episodes that we naturally follow at home and in the community around us.  In the words of John F. Kihlstrom in his article "How Students Learn -- and How We Can Help Them," "Episodic knowledge is essentially autobiographical memory, for particular events that have a unique location in space and time."Then all of a sudden we join the classroom and we are bombarded with an avalanche of information which we can't easily digest! Wait a minute, this is not the usual way we learn! In one word-boring...According to Bethany Bodenhamer in a blog post in Lesson Planet titled "Themes vs. Timelines" "Dates, names, numbers, and places are the facts that young historians are often required to memorize in their various history courses. Therefore, that is generally how and what teachers teach. However, what if there was a more interesting, intriguing, and captivating way to teach these same facts - a way in which students are taught the basics at the same time that they are making connections, discovering themes, and thinking at a higher level? This is all possible by teaching thematically." In short, what if there is a better way to go in-depth while avoiding boredom? Advantages of Episodic LearningEpisodic Learning enables learners to go deeper into the topic without being bugged down by the barrage of information coming in. Consider the following natural advantages: Heightens Curiosity Curiosity is the currency in learning. When you run out of it, you can't just expect to continue absorbing any kind of knowledge. The good thing with episodic learning is that it heightens our natural curiosity about what happens next. The "cliff hangers" that ends an episode in a story make us wanting for more episodes to come. Hence, learning becomes a natural process.Allows ReflectionThese cliff hangers make us mull over what's possibly going to happen next in the story. What will the main character do in this situation? Can he still pull more tricks from his sleeves? If so, will it work this time? These are some of the reflective questions that come to mind because you are left hanging by the last story episode. Enables Possibility ThinkingThis mulling over enables you, the learner, to become a possibility thinker. "Thinking out of the box" is a learned trait in traditional learning but it comes naturally in episodic story based learning. It enables you to think in terms of "what if" instead of "what is."Opens Up Other Scenarios Now that you have considered other possibilities by thinking out of the box, other scenarios open up. A world of possibilities is all of a sudden available to you instead of just copying existing ones. The well-trodden path is not always the best path. True learners try the path least traveled.Allows Open DiscussionOpened up scenarios allow like-minded learners to discuss them openly. There are no stupid ideas, all are given equal air-time in the discussion forums. Open discussions create an escalation of the available ideas contributed from all learners. Since all feel welcome to contribute, all possibilities are exhausted and ideas are collated to form a unified solution.More Opportunities for DesignersThis openness allows designers to insert more content pertinent to the stories. The possibilities are endless and you are not bound to any specific format. The only limit to content creation is your creativity.I’d love to hear your thoughts about this topic. Sound off in the comments section! References: Bethany Bodenhamer: Themes vs. Timelines: Lesson Planet: May 10, 2014 John F. Kihlstrom: How Students Learn -- and How We Can Help Them: Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley: March 8, 2011   Margaret Rhodes: A New Way to Tell Stories That Outlive the Media's Attention Span: Wired: Feb. 25, 2015  Ray Jimenez, PhDVignettes Learning"Helping Learners Learn Their Way"Ray Jimenez, PhD Vignettes Learning Learn more about story and experience-based eLearning