Designing Digitally
01/16/2019
In a business simulation, learners are required to apply whatever they have learned in a risk-free environment. The simulation can be numeric or scenario-based. They are usually used for developing skills like business acumen, problem-solving, decision-making, and so on. But they are not the regular learning modules. They have the ‘fun’ element that keeps the learner enthused to learn.
However, you need to ensure that your simulations are well-designed. Otherwise, the entire purpose is lost. Here are top five elements that make simulations effective.
Business simulations are super fun, but your goal is not to entertain your learners. Your simulations need to have the right business impact. It needs to tie to the organizational goals. When you invest in training, you must attempt to enhance the return-on-investment (ROI). Make sure you know what your employees want and deliver it to them. Chalk out the goals clearly and map a process to meet them.
Business simulations are developed to teach certain skills to the learners. A great way to learn a skill is to learn from your own mistakes. Make sure your simulation provides ample opportunity for your learners to make mistakes. Weave in the fail points at regular intervals and provide opportunities to correct them. Conflict and stress should be part of the learning process. Your employees need to learn how to handle conflicts in their job role.
Plan the simulation before getting to the production process. Focus on the details as that is what will make the end product effective. Chalk out the specific digital interactions you plan to use – audio clips, placement of pages, and so on. Script the plot and build the characters gradually. It is important that your storyline, setting, characters, and visuals emulate the real job environment of the learners. That way, your employees will find the simulation relevant.
The simulations are not there for entertainment. It has a learning goal. It is the learning designer’s job to help your learners identify how the new skills and business decisions made in the simulation links to their job role. The best way to ensure this is to create situations that they face in their daily work. Let them make decisions to resolve the problem. If they make a wrong decision, they know where they faltered. They will not repeat the same mistake in the workplace.
How will you know if your hard work has paid off? There are several ways to evaluate if your learners have grasped the knowledge, and assessment is one of them. They can be in the form of multiple-choice questions, branched scenarios, quick quizzes, and so on. Consider giving your learners scenario-based activities. If you see that your learners are not able to complete their tasks even after going through the simulation, then you may need to rethink your strategy. You may also need to rework the plot and add more details.
A good business simulation is a blend of elements like competition, cooperation, repetition, and feedback. Combining modern technology and game elements within simulations creates a winning solution for the learners.
At Designing Digitally, Inc., our realistic training simulations are a perfect way to immerse learners and teach them skilled procedures that are either costly or dangerous to perform. We create our simulations emulating the exact scenario that the learners will face in real life.
To learn more about the options avaiable for your unique training needs, get in touch with our experts today!
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