1. Who Says Good Learning
Can’t Be Fun?
Ed Duffy
Purpose
Challenge you
Ask why
Ask why not
See why it works
Decide how to apply it in
your organization
Fun Defined
1. Something that provides
mirth or amusement
2. Enjoyment or playfulness
Synonym: Entertainment,
merriment, pleasure
*Random House Dictionary
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2. Fun Defined
Fun Defined
Fun Applied
Humor
Laughter
Smiles
Energy
Pleasure
Excitement
Entertainment
Enjoyment
Engagement
Flow
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3. Argument for F.U.N.
Feeling
Unexpected
Neurological
benefits
Argument for F.U.N.
Stress causes your
body to release
cortisol into the
bloodstream, which
destroys glucose,
the brain's only
source of food.
*Tina Konstant, Teach Yourself Speed Reading
Argument for F.U.N.
Laughter reduces
stress and stress
hormones:
Epinephrine
Cortisol
Dopac
Growth hormone
*Paul E. McGhee, PhD, Healing and the Amuse System
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4. Argument Against F.U.N.
Frivolous
Unconventional
No
Fun to Whom?
End user
Stakeholder
SME
Instructional designer
The Survey Says …
53% humor is key, but
should match content and
learning outcomes
24% audience, culture,
and topic are key
17% Engagement is key
3% No entertainment
needed
*Poll of 150 training professionals
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5. The Experts Say …
Roger Shank: "When learning isn't fun,
it's not learning.”
Thiagi: “I believe all learning must be
enjoyable. It is not true that true
learning requires suffering and pain.”
The Experts Say …
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: “It does not seem
to be true that work necessarily needs to be
unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or
at least harder than doing nothing at all. But
there is ample evidence that work can be
enjoyable, and that indeed, is often the most
enjoyable part of life.” Flow: The Psychology
of Optimal Experience, 1990
Fun in the Classroom
Icebreakers
Games
Energizers
Videos
Teams
Music
Movement
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6. Commercial: Automotive Client
Tactic: Learners
created and acted
out their own
commercial
Impact: Challenged
learners to
summarize the
content and use
their creativity
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7. Lost in Translation
Body language
Facial expression
Mood
Live adjustment
of delivery
Peer support
JIT coaching
Fun in eLearning
Conversational
writing
Narrators with
character
Practice and
feedback
Music
Engaging visuals
Theme
Create community
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8. Fun in eLearning
Needs
assessment
Usability testing
Pilot testing
Fun in eLearning
Personality
Humor
Games
Stories
Personality: Mfg Client
Tactic: Used
narrators with a
sports personality
Impact: Increased
audience
engagement and
program buzz
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9. Personality: Mfg Client
The four step process we’ll go through is:
1. Plan Use best practices to devise your installation plan
2. Prepare Get ready for the installation
3. Perform Execute the installation successfully
4. 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 they
may save you three hours during step three. As Abe Lincoln
once said, “If I only had an hour to chop down a tree, I would
spend the first 45 minutes sharpening my axe.”
Personality: Mfg Client
C.J. - “To be a top performer at any game you’ve got
to know the rules of the game. To be an all star
WEATHER GUARD installer you need to: (1) do your
Pre-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 to
organize our list of equipment in the order that we’re
actually going to install it. For instance, we want to
start with the Floor mat, then go to the Bulkheads,
Shelving Units, Storage, Bed and Pack Rats, then the
Roof Racks.”
Personality: Mfg Client
Sean - “Nice work C.J. Here’s some feedback on your answers. You
can see the benefit that checking the Van Solutions Catalog can have
in planning for this installation. The 215 ladder rack in this configuration
should be replaced with the 216 ladder rack and the 8463 Van Shelving
Unit 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 without
the Pre-Game. But tell me this, what should I do if I’ve got a van or a
configuration that’s different than the half-dozen spec’d in the back of
the Van Solutions Catalog?”
Sean - “That’s where you’re going to have to put your brains and you
measuring tape to work C.J. For instance, you can look up the right
configuration for roof racks in the Van Solutions Catalog, but for
bulkheads you need to check the catalog, the WEATHER GUARD (R)
web site, or your instruction sheets to check if the model number you
have is designed to fit the vehicle.”
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10. Humor: Pharma Client
Tactic: Used humor
to poke fun at
undesirable sales
behaviors
Impact: Allowed
sales people to
laugh at themselves
as they learned and
refined new
behaviors
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14. Stories: Non-Profit Client
Tactic: Used story-
telling to make
content more
engaging and
relevant
Impact: Put real
meat on the bones
of the content to
make it come to life
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16. Closing Song
All I wanna to do is have some fun
When it comes to eLearning, I’m not the
only one
All I wanna do is have some fun,
No more page turners and in-for-mation
dumps
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