Creating scenarios for eLearning
Training contents are generally gathered under two roofs. The first is to convey the information in education directly to the students.
The other one is training to improve behavior and current performance. Both are methods used in the eLearning environment.
Evaluations of training aimed at improving students' current performance are always much easier because it is much simpler to determine the performances before and after the training.
It is much more difficult to evaluate education methods that are based on direct knowledge transfer compared to the first method since it is difficult to determine whether the person receiving the training and using the information or not.
Why should we use scenarios in eLearning?
Give a new perspective
eLearning scenarios enable students to comprehend education more easily. In addition, it also helps the student to have a different experience from the classical educational content.
The student is the manager of the e-Learning content in the scenario flow, makes the choices in the scenario, and decides the training flow. The student has the biggest say.
Make learning permanent
Scenarios provide realistic experiences in educational content. The decisions and reactions the students might take are very close to the reactions and decisions they would give in a similar situation in real life.
Therefore, the student's experience in the scenario is also very realistic. This will make the feedback about the student permanent in the content of the training.
In addition, eLearning scenarios will also affect people's decision-making mechanisms in daily life.
Provide motivation
eLearning Scenarios allow students to see that the training is beneficial. At the same time, students will feel more motivated because there is no winner in such training and the main goal is to educate the students.
Design a more active learning environment
Scenarios are dynamic. It contains an idea and a solution. The scenario and the student are integrated, a common path is discovered, and solutions are anticipated.
As a result, there is an interaction that will activate the brain's inactive regions. The student will have an easier time imagining an experience that he has never had.
Improve decision making
Scenarios help students solve potential problems that may arise in their daily actions, with scenarios decision-making mechanisms develop and become much more experienced about what to do in similar situations.
How to create a good eLearning scenario?
How do you think a good scenario should be? Let's talk about this a little bit.
Realism
Scenarios ought to principally stand out for understudies. A successful educational process will also come from an education that piques the student's interest.
As a result, the scenario's realisticity plays a significant role. The student will feel connected to education and will find the scenario interesting if it is very real.
The scenarios ought to be as realistic as is humanly possible and ought to provide the students with the necessary data.
The important thing is; the student
The student's identity takes precedence in the scenarios. There ought to be a closeness between the situation and the understudy with the goal that the understudy can feel near the story.
As a result, knowing more about our students, our intended audience, will be beneficial to us.
Scenarios will be easier to create if we are aware of their skills, current knowledge, and point of view.
Students will be able to connect with a scenario that was created by combining all of these students' characteristics and will have no trouble integrating themselves into education.
As a result, it will be simpler for them to comprehend and follow the topic.
Interaction in the scenario
As previously stated, one crucial aspect of the scenario is the student's involvement in the narrative and involvement in the design.
Students will be completely absorbed in the system as a result of the high level of interaction, and they will achieve success by internalizing the learning significantly more.
Student-scenario interaction within the scenario will also help in transferring theoretical knowledge to the real world.
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The power of the characters
Include characters that students can find and relate to in your scenarios. Leave it to the students how this character will produce solutions to the problems they encounter in their education flow.
In this way, students can draw their path through the characters in an imaginary scenario and see the results.
In addition to the characters, scenarios containing realistic dialogues will also strengthen the relationship between education and real life and increase the permanence of education on the student side.
Now let's design a sample scenario considering all these.
Our topic is earthquake education. Step by step, we will determine the details of our scenario using which rules, let's examine it.
Make your scenario realistic
Keep your scenario realistic, either feed on events happening around you or hear from others.
Here, we decided on earthquake education as the main subject. But let's start our scenario like this; Let our main character be a child, the youngest in the family, and there was an earthquake last week.
The family should want to inform the child about the earthquake to overcome the fear of earthquakes. However, it turned out that the family also did not know about the earthquake.
According to the scenario, the family should conduct earthquake education together during the training. A child with a fear of earthquakes and a family with little knowledge about earthquakes.
Students can find something of themselves in your scenario
Provide your students with real-life snippets of the scenario as possible. Thus, students will enter the scenario much more quickly.
We have all experienced concerns about earthquakes. This idea of a scenario will therefore come close to many students and will draw their attention to the story.
At the beginning of our earthquake education, let's talk about the story of our child's character. Here, let's tell about the child character's experience and what kind of action plan his family has prepared.
In addition, if we also provide information about what students should do during the actual earthquake within the scenario, it will be much more permanent for the students.
Start with simple choices
It is good to warm the students to the scenario. Simple choices students may come up with at the beginning will affect they're getting used to the scenario and the story.
You can also use these simple choices in one of the beginning parts of the scenario to guide the student to key points in the story. This method will be a simple and effective method of tying.
Here, let's divide our earthquake scenario into 3 parts. These 3 parts;
- Let there be precautions to be taken before an earthquake
- What to do during an earthquake
- What to do after an earthquake.
Allow time for choices
We will leave many choices in eLearning content to students. In these choices, it is important to leave time for selection.
During this period, students will be able to make an in-depth analysis of the subject they need to learn and make better decisions.
In this scenario, we will ask the student what he/she should do before, during, and after the earthquake.
At one point in the education, the student asked "What object in the room during the earthquake can you create a triangle of life next to?
The student will be given the necessary time. For the student who will choose the question carefully, without haste, this will allow him to absorb the issue and choose the options he believes more. This proposition can be assumed for all similar questions except this example.
Don't forget scenario goals
Align your scenarios with your original goals. Not aimed at your educational goals,
Education with a scenario that does not provide students with target competencies will be a waste of time.
Target-oriented, realistic scenarios that students can choose from will always be more successful.
The main character's goal in a scenario should generally reflect the goal of the scenario. Using your main characters to reflect the goal of your system will enable you to create a successful strategy.
As you can see our main character in earthquake education, the target here is to inform students about the situations before, during, and after the earthquake.
Get help from subject matter experts if needed
Whatever subject you are preparing a scenario for, if you do not have enough information about the subject, getting help from subject experts will help you.
In addition, getting help from subject matter experts will add to the originality of your scenario. The subject matter expert will have much more experience and exemplary story on the subject, as he is more exposed to the scenario topic.
Here, you can consult experts and get information about earthquake education.
Make your students feel the "need to know"
Adding mysteries to your scenario will always be of interest to the student. It would be better if you did not give some information clearly and directly to the student.
Students will want to overcome their lack of knowledge in education and focus on the mysteries related to the subject.
The screenwriter needs to focus more on what happened and why it happened.
If we want to use it in earthquake education in a simple way, we can use it in the post-earthquake things to do section.
Buildings that were damaged but not collapsed after the earthquake come to the screen.
The buildings were not destroyed, but there was a fire.
Through this example, uncertainty can be created through the student and the student's opinions on the subject can be asked with the questions to be asked.
As an answer, the valves that are not closed during the evacuation from the building after an earthquake can be given as an example.
Let your students see the results
One of the most important points in scenarios is realistic feedback. Especially in scenarios involving branching, there is not a very correct answer as the student's choices determine the flow of the story.
The student will choose the option that is close to his opinion and the story will continue according to the option he chose.
Therefore, it would not make sense to give very sharp feedback on such choices.
Besides, in earthquake education; For example, each student can choose different objects while choosing the objects to create a triangle of life.
While a much more solid object is a more successful choice here, a bed or sofa that you will be positioned next to during an earthquake can also save your life.
So some students will choose such options as well. It would not be correct to give clear feedback about such choices as you selected a successful or unsuccessful object.