I'll Take Learning for 500!

Custom Game Show: A Fistful of Dollars

2011-10-24T13:58:00.000-05:00

Company: Toyota (Financial Division)

Event: Sales Team Reward Breakfast

Custom Audience-Response Game: A Fistful of Dollars – Three different game plays

Graphics, Programming, Scripting and Game-play: Designed by LearningWare

Situation: Toyota wanted a way to engage and entertain their top sales reps while at the same time testing their company knowledge and giving them the opportunity to earn some big rewards with that knowledge. This was a great teambuilding event in the morning; it gave the audience a chance to compete on teams and individually and allowed them important, low-stress face-time with top executives.

Toyota had already used a game show the previous two years—both times utilizing either LearningWare software (Gameshow Pro) or custom software programmed for their event by LearningWare. They wanted something to fit their Clint Eastwood “Western” theme and that would add variety from previous years’ play.

Solution: A custom Fistful of Dollars game show with three completely unique varieties of game play. The audience still played along using audience-response keypads, but there were a few variations:

Target Practice: In this game play variation, we asked extremely difficult multiple choice questions. The audience members, consequently, had three opportunities to get a question right.

The question was be asked the first time, and the audience saw what percentage of their team responded correctly. They did not know whether they—individually—answered correctly. They then got a chance to answer again—and they could either change their answer or stick with it. Again, the percentage of correct answers was be shown. They got one final chance to answer the question, and only their third response counted as correct or incorrect.

Do You Feel Lucky Punk?: (Wager Round) In this game variation, we utilized a team leader—someone with guts, daring, and willingness to take the glory or the fall.

Everyone on the team was shown a question. Before the audience votes, the team leader decided whether he/she thinks that 75% of the team will know the answer or not. If he/she is confident, then they’ll bet high. If not, they’ll bet low.

No guts, no glory. The team leader wrote down or verbally submitted their wager. The question then played out as a typical audience-response question.

Six-Shooter: (Speed Round/Final Round) Teams were asked a group of 6 questions—rapid-fire-style. They were NOT shown the team results of their answers until after the questions are done, at which point the team scores rose (and failed to rise as much as they should) dramatically, determining the final winner.

Results: The game show was entertaining, challenging, tough, competitive and held a level of novelty—being different than the year before. The audience was engaged with each other and management for the entire morning.

63% Increase in Content Retention Cited Using Game Shows

2011-10-17T16:20:00.000-05:00

Game shows have long been a fun and entertaining way to pass the time, but recently they’ve started to gain a reputation as something more than just entertainment. Game shows have been migrating into the training space with great success. They have the remarkable ability to engage trainees, revive the training space, and they are, of course, fun. However, are game shows really effective?

Candace Armstrong, the Corporate Training Director for ERC Properties, Inc. asked that same question. ERC faced several common challenges with their training:

· Mandatory certification exams

· Difficult and dry material (This ranged anywhere between strict federal regulations like tax credit compliance in managing apartments to ERC specific topics.)

· A diverse pool of trainees with different backgrounds and individual learning styles

“After going through orientation,” says Candace, “The trainees at ERC are typically overwhelmed with all the rules, policies and procedures that they have to memorize. Trainees are worried about having to pass the exam—that worry was not conducive to producing the best test results.”

This was when Candace found Gameshow Pro, a game show template software program.

“After I first saw Gameshow Pro,” says Candace, “I couldn’t wait to go home and see how difficult the training would be to design…I couldn’t believe how quickly I could have the game up and running. I have to admit, however, I was somewhat skeptical about how I would apply government rules and regulations to a game.”

Gameshow Pro would have to prove that it could:

1. Improve trainees’ retention

2. Convey complex, technical and difficult information, and

3. Do all this while captivating trainees’ attention.

Candace first introduced Gameshow Pro into her training space in front of a group of superintendents.

“They appeared very disgusted that I would even suggest playing a game,” says Candace. However, after they started, they changed their tune, “They were standing in the chairs, yelling the answers and even trying to cheat! The losing team demanded a rematch and we played the game twice. The transformation was amazing—to this day, when I see any of those guys, they all want to come to training if we can play that game again.”

The first run of Gameshow Pro was a success with a tough crowd, and definitely energized the room—even with very detailed material.

“To my surprise, the more difficult the regulations, the better they seemed to fit into the games, and the easier they were to comprehend,” says Candace.

After Candace and her compliance director heard comments like, “Can we do this again?” after every training with Gameshow Pro, they started looking at the impact it made on trainees’ test scores. Candace and her colleagues measured test results while playing a Gameshow Pro game as a review versus orally reading the same Gameshow Pro questions as a review. Every other factor in the training was the same, including the material, instructor, questions and exams.

The results:

63% more people passed the exam reviewing with Gameshow Pro, the passing scores in these 3 groups were also higher—as were the overall scores.

As one can see, Gameshow Pro had a significant positive effect on trainees’ exam scores.

“Playing the game really makes a difference,” says Candace, “I have had many students tell me after the exam that they would never have passed without playing the review game. They could even remember who answered what question and whether or not they answered it correctly.”

Part of the ERC University goal was to ensure that necessary information was delivered to the appropriate personnel in a timely and efficient manner. Part of that efficiency means that the material has to be retained, remembered and utilized by all trainees—no matter what their learning style. With the help of Gameshow Pro, ERC achieved that goal.

Case Study: Game Shows in the Classroom – Increasing Content Retention Pre-to-Post Test.

2011-08-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

Case Study: Game Shows in the Classroom – Increasing Content Retention Pre-to-Post Test.

Overview

Jack Gallegos, Ph.D, discovered that game shows (specifically, game shows using the Gameshow Pro software product) were instrumental in producing higher test scores from pre to post test. He conducted an independent study with his high school Economics class in the first semester of the school year, showing the specific increase in test scores and, most dramatically with lower-scoring students.

Process

Jack Gallegos administered 21 question, free-response (fill-in-the-blank) pretest. It was the vocabulary terms for the chapter on Gross National Product. There were 25 students who took the test. Average number correct 2.08. The students never saw the results of the pretest.

Gallegos then taught the chapter using traditional methods - lecture, notes, activities, handouts, et cetera. The class took a posttest (same as pretest). The number correct was 8.18. The class then played two rounds of Gameshow Pro - Game 1. They took a second posttest (same test, again students never saw the results of the pretest or first posttest). The average score after playing Game 1 was 11.13.

Demographics

Students: 25

Ages: High School; 16-18

Subject: Economics

Number of questions: 21

Question Type: Open-ended.

Results

Correct answer average, pre-test: 2.08

Correct answer average, post-test: 8.18

Correct answer average, post-game show: 11.13

There was a 36% increase in the scores after playing Gameshow Pro - Game 1.

Further analysis and comments

Gallegos suspected there would be an increase in scores, but there was more to it than that.

Dividing the pretest scores into the better scoring students (upper half) and lower scoring students (lower half), another result became evident. Gallegos compared the increase in scores after playing Game 1 by student breakdown. Both groups showed an increase in scores, but the top half students increased their scores by 32% while the bottom half students showed an increase of 62%.

Summary

Not only did the Gameshow Pro game increase test scores from test to test, but it also increased test scores where it really counts: with the lower scoring students. As teachers continually struggle to engage students in the classroom, the use of game shows has broad implications for increasing content retention in a way that is both effective and fun.

To quote Jack Gallegos, “Great product, great results; especially for those students who need it the most.”

Introducing: LearningWare Services

2011-08-17T22:23:00.000-05:00

Introducing the launch of LearningWare Services!

Why Utilize LearningWare Services?

Using games can improve your training immensely. Compatible with any type of training, they turn a potentially boring, dull or stagnant classroom experience into an engaging, fun and highly interactive session.

When we entered the game show software market with our pioneering product-- Gameshow Pro--we knew that it would make learning more fun. But it surprised us to find that it also made learning more effective. We received reports from trainers that engagement and motivation were soaring, test scores zooming UP, etc. Since then, independent academic research has also confirmed that using game shows in a learning session can dramatically improve content retention and comprehension.

We now have over 15 years of game show experience, and have learned how to maximize the effects of games in the training classroom to completely engage every student. We even published a book—“I’ll Take Learning for 500; Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate and Train”—on the subject, and have spoken as trusted experts on game shows in training at several training conferences and company events.

Bottom line? We want you to get the most out of using game shows in your training, whether it be:

Compliance

New Product Introductions

Orientations

Sales Training

Webinars

Safety

HIPPA/OSHA/Etc.

Audience engagement

Academic classes (K-12 or Collegiate level)

Or any other training session

Consulting Services:

We'll help you integrate games into training to maximize engagement and retention. We'll consult with you to understand your training objectives and put you on a course to successfully implement games. We'll show you:

- Where to implement games

- How to put them into practice smoothly (including hosting training, etc.)

- What games to use and when

- How to design your game, develop your questions, set up your session, etc.

We’ve consulted with dozens of clients on game show utilization including: Procter & Gamble (Marketing University), Johnson & Johnson, Mystic Tan, Intel, Toyota, Lawson Software, Transamerica, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Comcast, etc.

Custom Game Development:

We'll develop a classroom or web-based games that is perfect for you. This can include large-scale audience response games, branded games with custom graphics, unique game play formats, etc. Our in-house programmers work with you to make a game show solution that will revolutionize your training or event, and looks like nothing else out there.

Train-the-Trainer Workshops

We want your game show roll-out to be smooth and successful. We offer train-the-trainer workshops to ensure that everyone in your organization is up to speed on game show implementation for their training sessions. These workshops are highly interactive, and will teach:

- The where-when-how of using game shows in training

- Question creation best practices

- Setting up the rules and games in your software

- Choosing the best game for your content

- Hosting best practices and tips

Depending on your need and workshop format, experts will be on hand to walk each attendee through creating their first games; this means that everyone will leave the session absolutely primed for a successful first game show experience.

Large Scale events

We’ll work with you to produce a game show at your next tradeshow, conference or workshop that will engage your entire audience.

Our production ranges from on-site implementation of existing game shows, to custom game design using audience-response systems, and everything in between.

Game shows can be used in a large event as:

- Main-stage entertainment

- A teambuilding activity

- A competition throughout the event

- A unique presentation sure to be remembered

- A review tool after key presentations

- An evening activity

- A featured trade show attraction

- A tool to make workshops/breakouts incredibly engaging

We’ll consult with you to make sure your game design is flawless and be onsite to ensure that it is executed perfectly.

Is your game show a speedbump or a smooth operator?

2011-08-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

After doing hundreds of game show training sessions, we've picked up quite a few best practices for structuring the game show event.

One tip: Game shows sprinkled throughout a longer session can keep the trainees' energy high, refresh engagement, and add important review points.

However, this sometimes worked better than other times. Occasionally the game show question set would seem like an interruption--or the energy just never picked up like we expected it to.

What was the problem? The game show was a speed bump and not an integrated part of the training.

Why was this happening?

We were asking single questions, or questions in groups of two. The audience never had time to get back "in" to the game show experience. Instead they answered one question (that had little overall consequence), cheered a little, and went back to the training material dutifully.

The rule of three seemed to apply; when we asked questions in groups of three or more, the energy would build progressively. Participants became more engaged with the questions, and the energy and engagement lasted through the next training session until the next set of questions (which were inevitably greeted with more enthusiasm than the single-question-sets).

In short: Give your game show enough significant time for the audience to get into the game play. Ask at least three questions in a set and you'll reap the rewards of increased engagement throughout your training session.

Top 5 Mistakes That Bring Your Game Show to a Grinding Halt

2011-06-23T01:16:00.000-05:00

In the classroom or online, you want your training game show to flow smoothly. Questions and game play should proceed at a steady pace without too much interruption (save for breaks in matches, content explanations or elaborations, etc.).

What you *don't* want to do is have your game show crawl along like the slow snail in the gene pool; making the experience unpleasant or awkward, and taking the natural energy of competition out of your game show event.

Here are the top 5 mistakes that slow down your game play (and how to solve them):

1. The questions are too difficult. Questions should be challenging, but not mystifying. Questions that are too advanced, or even hard to read or understand can result in the crickets-chirping phenomenon. This not only slows down game play, but it can become quite frustrating when trainees aren't able to get a taste of success.

If you're playing a review game, ask a slightly-simpler question in the competitive part of the game show, and then ask more challenging follow-up questions in your info screens (either for extra points or for knowledge alone).

Make sure that your questions are up to date (i.e. that you've covered the material in your session that you intend to review in your game).

If you have a long or complex question, break the question into pieces. Add an intro screen before the question and take time to explain the scenario--making the question itself fairly brief.

2. Timers are set incorrectly. If no one knows a question (no one is ringing in) and yet it takes the ring-in timer a long time to expire, there can be a lot of waiting around.

Keep your timers between 10-15 seconds each, or set them to manual mode. We find that manually controlling the timers can give the trainer more flexibility to spend time on a question when everyone is involved, or speed through a question that is less relevant to the training session.

3. Contestants don't understand the rules. Confusion is the cousin of chaos. Contestants need to know what they're supposed to do within a game show or they will: a.) Do nothing, b.) Dispute everything ("Hey, but they didn't answer in the form of a question, isn't that against the rules?"). Both of these scenarios suck time away from game play and disrupt the flow of training information.

Be sure to clearly explain the rules before the game starts--even if you think contestants will know how to play. A game doesn't have to be complex to be engaging; try simplifying the rules so that the focus is on playing the game--not HOW to play the game.

4. There's a logistical/tactical mismatch. Game shows can be played successfully in a large group. They can also be played successfully over a longer period of time. However, you have to have the right set up for your game and use it thoughtfully in a large group or a long session.

One of the most painful game show experiences we've seen was when a client wanted to use a large number of teams and then have the teams take turns answering questions (taking out some of the competitive aspect). While team 1 was answering, team 8 had no incentive to pay attention and vice versa. The game dragged for participants.

While playing in a large group, consider having fewer teams and utilizing small groups of trainees to represent those teams--then switching out the contestants during game play. Make sure that the non-playing audience is assigned to one of the playing teams so they have a stake in the game.

When wanting a longer game show, be sure to add variety; switch up the game format, double the points, change participants or break the game show into smaller sections throughout the session.

5. Equipment failure. We once had a projector go out in the middle of a game show. Once we procured a new projection device, the momentum of the game show had been lost, and it was a bit of a slog to get through the rest.

Sometimes there's not much you can do about spontaneous equipment failure, but you can make sure that you practice with the equipment you're going to use. Test your laptop, slammers (are the batteries turned the right way?) and projection systems. Run through your game to make sure everything is set and in the right order. If there's too much of a delay, sometimes it's better to save the game for another day, or send a follow-up version after the session that trainees can play online (i.e. Quiz Point).

Changing the Game Plan with Wager to Win

2011-06-15T16:15:00.000-05:00

Before a product goes out, we do extensive internal and external testing.

This is both for quality control and for game play control; we don't always know if the game play in a new game is going to work in the classroom the way it's supposed to.

Originally, the game play with Wager to Win--the new game format within AllPlay Web--allowed participants to wager a percentage of their bank on every question. Their wager was dependent on how confident they were in their own ability to answer the question.

Naturally, we were really excited about this game format. Not only could individuals play against each other, but the element of wagering--and risking--was very compelling. Development and programming ensued, and we ended up with a beta (pre-release) version of Wager to Win.

There were a few elements we built in based on anticipated game play:

We were afraid that if people were allowed to wager all of their points, there was a potential for someone to end up with a score of zero early and not be able to play the rest of the game. Therefore, people could only wager a certain percentage of their points.

We wanted the ability to add variety, so we added multipliers by difficulty level. If a question was very difficult, for instance, the payout could be 5:1 instead of 1:1--and anywhere in between.

We set about testing Wager to Win--having friendly office-wide competitions over the web that involved a lot of trivia and a lot of smack-talk. Unfortunately, something happened in game play that we hadn't anticipated: because there were no real stakes for us, we all wagered our maximum amount possible every time regardless of the question difficulty level.

Because of the multipliers involved, the moment one person got a question right that no one else did--they were way ahead. If this happened in the beginning of the game the potential for a blowout lead was huge.

It was frustrating for the players lagging behind.

So what we did was modified the game. Wager to Win will now have two question options:

1. Bank-Building questions in the beginning--where people have an opportunity to gain points at a 1:1 ratio, don't have to wager, and don't lose points for incorrect answers.

2. Wager questions with a percentage limit--as described previously.

Now--voila!--AllPlay Web's Wager to Win is even closer to being released--with already-improved functionality.

Throughout the product testing process, we've also incorporated suggestions for how to display the data and results, game play and more from beta-testing clients, independent testers and trainers. We really do design our software with the training situation in mind; with the best possible experience for the trainer and the participants. We should also say: we are always open to feedback about improvements, changes and issues with the game play in our products.

We're constantly developing and constantly learning--and we hope you are too!

Audience Response Keypads vs. Smartphone Systems

2011-06-02T18:49:00.000-05:00

Many companies make an effort to keep up with the latest technology in their training classrooms (and training events). This can aid in engagement and make the training seem more technologically relevant to a younger or more tech-savvy audience. Audience response systems are a great way to engage everyone in an audience, involve trainees in competition, and encourage interaction.

We've been hearing quite a bit about using smartphones as audience response devices lately. Naturally, we're intrigued since our Gameshow Pro and AllPlay software incorporates audience response keypad technology. We've also helped clients produce larger training events using audience response systems--so we have some thoughts.

We love the idea of an audience response device that the trainee can always have with them, keep with them, and is multi-purpose. That's what we love about the smartphone audience response concept.

However, the smartphone technology still has a few things that need to be worked out:

Not everyone has a smartphone yet. Hard to believe, but true! Unless the company is providing the smartphone, it can be hard to reconcile the availability of technology AND make sure that the audience response system is compatible across all platforms.

Reception. It can be difficult to get reception in a training room. Though smartphones can often hook on to internal wifi, etc, this may pose security issues of another kind. Therefore, you have a legitimate concern with steady connectivity. If someone's cell signal gives out at a game-winning moment... We'd hate to be the judge on that one!

With a smartphone, everything is at hand. Literally. It's easy to get distracted by an incoming text, email, the internet, etc. Additionally, if you're using this in a large event it encourages people to have their cell phones out (when it can already be difficult to maintain their attention spans).

Cheater, cheater. . . having a phone in-hand while voting makes sending a game show answer to a friend just a quick-text away. Not that we'd question the integrity of trainees, but stranger things have been known to happen.

While we think smartphone response systems are a great concept, we think they have a long way to go in terms of practical application in the training classroom or training event. For right now, we'll stick with our good ol', reliable, radio-frequency audience response keypads.

Study: It's not the teacher, but the method that matters.

2011-05-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

AP: University of Columbia

One of our customers sent us this news story:

Study: It's not teacher, but method that matters.

While you can read the entire article at the link above, the gist of the story is that it doesn't matter whether a teacher is new and inexperienced, or a seasoned lecturer--the delivery method is what matters.

Using interactive methods, such as "...in-class 'clicker' quizzes, demonstrations and question-answer sessions..." produced a better and more effective learning experience.

Students being taught with the interactive method scored 74% on a test, versus lecture-method students scoring 41%. The highest scores in the lecture class were below average for the interactive class. Not only that, but interactive-method classes were better attended.

That's in-class "clicker" quizzes like Gameshow Pro (including AllPlay functionality) using audience response pads. We've seen these results anecdotally--trainers and teachers often report the tremendous difference in effectiveness between using an interactive game show and using traditional lecture methods. What's exciting to us is that these results are being validated by Nobel-prize-winning scientists.

Carl Wieman of the University of British Columbia states:
"This is clearly more effective learning. Everybody should be doing this. ... You're practicing bad teaching if you are not doing this."

Wieman also said that "the need for a more hands-on teaching approach isn't an indictment of a generation raised on video games. It has more to do with the way the brain learns."

Game shows, quizzes, interactive tests, response pads...anything that actively engages a student in an interactive way is going to be a more effective method of teaching information than straight lecture. We're happy that these results are spreading the word and validating instructors already using interactive training and instructional methods.

You can read the whole article here.

The International Appeal of Game Shows

2011-05-11T15:17:00.000-05:00

We're often asked if we have used game shows internationally:

Do game shows even translate in concept with an international audience? What about cultural barriers? Will the rules be too foreign to understand or explain easily?

Not only have we used game shows internationally with great success (and with international audiences locally) but game shows tend to have a rare universal appeal.

Consider this: Jeopardy! has over 25 international adaptations, and is screened in many more countries around the globe.

Consider also, the sheer volume of game shows around the world.

This not only leads to a game show having a shorter learning curve in an international audience, but it's also a great way to bring audiences of varied backgrounds together in a universal way.

All game shows share a common goal. The base of a game show is a task or a question. The base goal of a game show is competition, collaboration, and ultimately scoring the most points. No matter what game show you use and in which language you use it, the concepts and goals are the same.

Do adjustments need to be made? Aside from language barriers/translation, we haven't come across any game show elements (in American game shows) that are taboo in other cultures. There are slight shifts in hosting demeanor (in England, the host can get away with being "meaner") and in challenge execution (Japanese game shows have more of an angle of sensation and physicality), but the base product is the same.

And in the training classroom? A game show is a great way to bring an international audience together for a commonly understood goal. When it comes down to it, it's an activity that fosters communication among peers in a relaxing, fun environment.

Wager to Win AllPlay Web Preview

2011-05-05T16:47:00.000-05:00

LearningWare, pioneers in game show software and the first to bring game show learning into the webinar space, has a new innovation launching: Wager to Win.

Wager to Win is a brand-new game format within AllPlay Web (the amazing tool that allows you to bring a competitive, interactive game show into a webinar for ultimate attendee engagement).

The category is displayed before wagering.

AllPlay Web will shortly include two different game formats: Team Showdown (the standard AllPlay Web game that pits teams against each other for an exciting competition) and Wager to Win. Other game formats are also currently in development.

Here's some preview information about Wager to Win:

Contestants enter their wagers.

• Contestants play individually in this game of risk and reward.
• Individuals wager from their point bank depending on how confident they are in the subject/question.
• To keep the game going, the host can set the maximum amount of allowed wager percentage. (Contestants are never allowed to wager ALL their points and "check out" of the game.)
• The webinar host can display the top scorers at any time to stoke competition.

Answer on screen or using a virtual keypad.

However, we haven't just added a single game to AllPlay Web. In addition to developing more new formats (ongoing), we've made significant improvements to the software that will be released with Wager To Win:

Improved log-in process allows the webinar host to set more flexible options for logging in.
New assigned game rooms with password protection keeps your game going and re-enterable (even if your webinar is knocked offline).
Contestants can play with an on-screen game board, or using virtual keypads.
AllPlay Web is embedded within omNovia and Adobe Connect (and is fully compatible with ALL webinar programs).
New option to play with up to 30 teams (or 30 individuals if each one is a team) in Team Showdown. (Unlimited number of players per team/individuals playing overall.)
New leaderboard options and designs.
Updated Graphics.
Improved results reporting.

And, of course, AllPlay Web still maintains its flawless ease-of-use, robust question bank, ability to add graphics and sound, ability to do polling questions in any order (and mixed with competitive questions) and question-interchangeability with all other LearningWare software products.

The Play-Doh Principle: Engaging Kinesthetic Learners

2011-04-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

A little peek inside the LearningWare office space reveals a creative secret: We keep Play-Doh in our conference room.

At any given meeting, brainstorming session, information de-brief, etc., you'll find at least one LearningWare employee kneading Play-Doh (if not sculpting something similar to the dragon/dinosaur/ambiguous creature seen here).

Some visiting our office have asked about the Play-Doh, wondering if it wasn't more of a distraction than an aid. It's a fair point that can be asked of providing trainees with any sort of kinesthetic plaything in a training session. Some presenters are uncomfortable without the eye-contact-attention of their audience.

However, most trainers know that learners don't all learn the same way. The very basic learning styles can be broken down into auditory, kinesthetic, and visual. Auditory learners need to hear the information spoken. Kinesthetic learners need to touch and feel and move while learning. Visual learners need to see the information presented (or read it) in order to learn.

It makes sense, then, that a company dedicated to engaging the three types of learners with game show software would have Play-Doh on their conference table. Our founder, Dan Yaman, was one of those students who just couldn't learn in a traditional way. School was frustrating, but things like games (spelling bees, etc.) were fun. Thus, Gameshow Pro was born. It engages learners in auditory, visual and kinesthetic realms.

What are some other ways to engage kinesthetic learners?

Have hands-on demonstrations of new products
Have students engage in activities that get them moving around the room
Incorporate frequent breaks
Use toys (like Play-Doh) on the tables for students to interact with (in a non-distracting way)
Make sure there are places to take notes (some people need the action of writing notes, even if they never refer to them)
Game shows, of course!
Encourage activities that require physical manipulation (i.e. word-match reviews, assembling a plan-o-gram from cutouts, etc.)

Question Bowl: The Underutilized Game Show

2011-04-20T17:21:00.000-05:00

Gameshow Pro has 7 game show formats, and by far the most popular is the Jeopardy!-style "Categories" game. (This is with good enough reason; it's easy to use, easy to understand, culturally ubiquitous, accommodates many categories of content, etc.)

However, the reason there are 7 game formats instead of one or two, is that different formats will accommodate different content and purposes. For instance, a Classroom Feud game is great for content with multiple steps or any questions with multiple correct answers.

One of the best, and also least-played, games in the Gameshow Pro arsenal is Question Bowl. This highly theatrical, versatile game is plays like a College or Quiz Bowl and is great in both the classroom and at events. Here are three reasons why it should get more use:

Variable question types: There are three question/round types in Question Bowl:
Toss Up--This is a question format similar to those used in Categories. A question is displayed and teams "ring in" to get the opportunity to answer the question. (Note: this can also be toggled so that teams take turns answering the toss up questions.)

Follow Up/Bonus--These questions optionally follow a toss up question. They can only be answered by the team that answered the toss up question. This is a great way to elaborate on a topic. A trainer can add as many follow up/bonus questions as they'd like...or none at all.

Speed Round--Teams must answer as many questions as they can get through in a set amount of time. If they're quick to respond, this can be a great way to rack up the game points. These questions can be toss-up/ring in or take-turns.

Leisurely or Fast-Paced, Competitive or Collaborative game: The way a trainer sets up the game can make it useful for extended play (with lots of toss-up/follow-up questions) or can facilitate quick bursts of energy within a training session (speed rounds). The game accommodates multiple choice or short answer questions, and trainers can choose whether teams are ringing in to answer questions, or whether teams take turns to answer questions.

Flexible rounds: Questions can be used in any combination of rounds. For instance, a trainer could have 3 toss-up questions (with our without various follow-up/bonus questions) then two speed rounds, a take-turns question round, a toss-up question round and then end with a speed round. These rounds can be combined in any order and at any frequency--making the variety in game play almost infinite.

Badges, Barons, and the Game of No Prizes

2011-04-05T09:01:00.001-05:00

We've stated before that prizes aren't really a necessary payoff to doing well in a game show. People tend to receive this statement with mixed reviews; on one hand, it's fun to give prizes. On the other hand, prizes can be difficult to come by, blow your budget, and tricky to price (too high and scrutiny and cheating go through the roof--too low and why bother?).

Never was the lack of a need for prizes more clear to us than when everyone here at LearningWare went to lunch together. Two of us immediately got out our smartphones and "checked in" to Yelp. "Ha!" one of us exclaimed triumphantly, "I'm now the duke of this eating establishment!" A non-yelper asked us what we got for being a duke or getting a badge.

"Well. We don't get anything. Except to be the duke."

Then it occurred to us; the currency of involvement in many social media outlets--from foursquare to the aforementioned Yelp--isn't any kind of prize or currency. These groups garner tremendous investment and involvement from participants simply by engaging their sense of competition and collection. They want to have the most badges, be the mayor or baron or duke of a place or even a city...to be king of the hill.

The same principle works with game show competition--and it's why you don't need prizes. In this fast-paced world of Millennial trainees and social networks, people are used to playing for bragging rights. This may also be why leaderboards can be incredibly effective--especially when you play a series of game shows, or keep the competition going through an extended period of time (a training session, a few days, a week, a month or even a quarter). Acknowledgment of success over one's peers can be a powerful motivator.

If you'd like, you can even give out your own game show badges. Just for fun, a little brainstorming:

Fast Finger: For the person quickest to hit the slammers every time and ring-in.
Know-it-All: The person with the most correct answers overall.
Wicked Wagerer: The person taking big risks in wager games or on final questions.
Team Titan: The person most helpful to their teammates.
Short Answer Sherpa: The queen or king of the short-answer question.
Multiple-Choice Maven: Either by guess or by guile, this person owns the multiple-choice question.

...or maybe we'll just stick with scores, leaderboards, and the natural appeal of competition.

When Contestants Cheat

2011-04-01T09:51:00.002-05:00

We recently developed a custom game show experience for a pharmaceutical company's annual sales event. By all accounts, the event and the game were incredibly successful--keeping participants engaged, motivated to absorb presentation content, and keeping the event energy high.

However, we were amazed to find out that whenever the teams could, they were trying to cheat to get ahead or win. (Our sense of game show fairness was appalled!)

The kicker? The content was all about rules and regulations within the industry: how they couldn't bribe, cheat, make false or leading claims, or imply incentives in trying to sell their drug into the medical industry. The content? About not cheating in the industry. The game show participants? Cheating. And shamelessly, too.

When we were writing our game show book, we sent an advance copy to fellow training game guru Thiagi. We had included tips on how to prevent cheating (though we never imagined it on this grand a scale), and Thiagi commented: "Advise trainers to think: What does cheating say about the culture of their organization?"

And what *does* cheating in a mere game show say about the mentality of the audience? It's not all bad:

They're invested in the game
They want to win
They're highly competitive
They may break rules to get to success

In this case, the highly competitive sales force in a very lucrative field just didn't want to lose. In their industry there are multi-million-dollar penalties for subverting the rules. Because the cheating was happening on such a grand scale in the event, there was no way to fairly enact penalties--the teams that "weren't" cheating just weren't getting caught, and at some point one must be careful that the host doesn't devolve into scolding and penalizing above conveying information.

The cheating was allowed to continue, but only because the following elements were in place:

Low-value prizes. The higher the value of the prize, the more people will be at each other's throats about cheating and the enforcement of the rules.
The contestants were getting the information--and in some cases were reinforcing the information more through their cheating ways than would have normally occurred. We didn't mind that they were looking up answers in their materials in some cases since it was still reviewing the information.
The host was willing to go-with-the-flow and game play was not interrupted significantly by the teams' antics.
Judges were used to keep the host out of the fray.

If the prizes had been great, the content had been taking a back seat to winning, or the event was being disrupted then penalties or a pause in the game would have had to be enforced.

There are a few ways that one can help minimize or prevent cheating--though we find that if a team is determined to cheat it is very hard to fight against that drive successfully and come out looking like a positive host.

Keep prizes small. In most cases, we find that winning is a prize in and of itself and contestants don't even inquire about what they're going to "win" when they get into the game.
Have judges. Judges can spot infractions and enforce penalties without the host having to sully their hands.
Clearly explain the rules beforehand--this way when one is broken, everyone acknowledges the reference/rule.
Enact small penalties for rule infractions. You don't want to turn into "bad-cop" trainer, but knowing BEFORE they cheat that there will be a penalty for that behavior can prevent cheating.

At the end of the game, the point isn't to win--so some rules of civilized game play can be discarded or treated with a light touch. As long as contestants are engaged and involved with the content (accomplishing the game's purpose of aiding and abetting learning) and are in good spirits about the game play, a little cheating doesn't always significantly harm the game.

Creating Questions: Creating Knowledge Experts

2011-03-17T13:39:00.000-05:00

We do a lot of custom game creation for clients--either as part of a consulting/launch package with Gameshow Pro, or as part of their event, workshop, etc. This entails taking their content--often in packets, brochures, PowerPoints, etc.--and distilling the important information, then making that information into questions.

What we've found is that, well, we're learning a LOT about a lot of different topics. Question creation is creating subject matter experts out of us! (Go ahead, ask me about the double loop process in knowledge database creation...)

This makes sense. It takes a deep understanding of material to create good questions. You have to find the key content, have a question that is appropriately relevant AND create plausible distractors.

This isn't a unique discovery, however. For years, we've been hearing how teachers have used Gameshow Pro with their students--having the students create questions for each other. So maybe it's time to start bringing question creation into the corporate world as a learning tool for trainees.

The benefits of question creation:
A creator spends an extended amount of time with materials--familiarizing themselves with both the content and where to FIND the content.
This creates a feedback loop of question creation--sharing--answering that reinforces information multiple times without feeling redundant
The creator has to absorb more information than merely contained within the question

Implausible Distractors

2011-03-09T14:36:00.000-06:00

One of the tricky parts about writing multiple-choice game show questions is including plausible distractors. Those are the answer options that are NOT correct, but still sound correct enough to provide an appropriate level of challenge.

However, there are some times when you want a multiple choice question, but the plausible distractors aren't so obvious or even necessary. Perhaps you just want a quick review, and it's more important to reiterate the information than to make the question challenging. Perhaps you're looking for a speedier game that relies on quick recall instead of making a judgment call. Perhaps there's just a lack of available distractors in your content.

Whatever the reason, occasionally you need an implausible distractor... and this is when we like to add a little humor into the game show. For instance, I was recently creating questions for a customer using their content, and this was a question used [content changed slightly to protect information privacy]:

Q: What's “in it for you” to search the answer database if you already know the answer?

A. Search-typing builds finger strength
B. You don’t have to retype the solution
C. It validates your answer
D. Both B&C

The answer was D, of course. Answer option A is an implausible distractor--you pretty much know that's not going to be the answer, but it is slightly amusing. In this case, the client didn't want to conflate the content by adding more benefits or benefits that were slightly-off or *could* technically be right, but weren't.

The benefits of using humorous implausible distractors can be:

They break the pattern of thinking, causing a participant to pause in the routine of game play
They can increase the level of cognitive processing without increasing the difficulty of a question
They add entertainment value (and can be a place to insert relatable in-jokes)
They can highlight the point you're trying to make
They are also fun to write

Implausible distractors aren't always necessary, but in the right game play situations, they can add a level of levity and fun to even a serious game--without detracting from the content.

Hey! Keep it Down in There!

2011-02-17T17:06:00.000-06:00

We recently helped a client Gameshow Pro 5 in their educational workshop.

This session was part of a multi-day event, and attendees could sign up for any session that they so chose. Groups would rotate after a set amount of time--giving attendees the opportunity to be in more than one session and making the presenters give multiple presentations with the same content.

When our client came to us, they were concerned about the interest level of their content. This was a sales group we were dealing with, and they had heard all about the new customer management system (the topic of their workshop), but they weren't adopting the technology as the sales leaders had hoped. So how were they going to generate excitement around not-new information?

With a game show, of course*!

The workshop ended up being structured like so (game show sections in italics):

Welcome

Introductory game questions (2 questions using Gameshow Pro 5's AllPlay game)

Subject: Account Planning

Review game: Account Planning (5 questions: GSP5 AllPlay)

Subject: Customer Management System

Review game: CMS (5 questions: GSP5 AllPlay)

Summary, additional info and questions

Review game: Both topics (6 questions: GSP5 Classroom Feud)

Closing words

We divided the audience of 60 into two teams--based on the complex criteria of being either on the left or right side of the room. For the AllPlay games, every member of the audience had their own keypad and entered answers individually--the percentage of correct answers going toward their team's score. For the Classroom Feud game, we took several volunteers from each side to come up and play for their team (while the audience cheered them on).

The entire session ended up being about 90 minutes--with games interspersed to keep the energy high.

And boy, was the energy ever high! Aside from a marked increase in attention to the content (just in case anything came up in a game), and retention of the content (as seen in tracking their individual responses) there were two stand-out results:

1. Since the workshop breakout rooms were beside each other at the hotel, you could hear the game being played in other classes. Not the game sound effects, mind, but the cheering, encouragement and general good time. One of the other leaders--jokingly--asked the facilitators to "Keep it down in there!"

2. As a result of the energy spilling out of the room, spontaneous attendance to the workshops increased dramatically. The client had people come up and say, "I know I wasn't signed up for your class, but do you have room for one more..." People *wanted* to come in and play, because it sounded like there was life and energy in the session. It attracted quite the crowd, and as a result MORE people received and retained the information than would have otherwise.

The game shows were a great success. Both the presenters and the audience had a tremendous amount of fun--but it wasn't fun without a purpose. Most importantly: the audience walked away with the message.

*Disclaimer: Game shows may not be the answer to everything... just most things. ;)

What'll be new in 2011?

2011-01-13T15:27:00.000-06:00

2010 was an amazing year for game shows in training!

Here at LearningWare, we:

Developed new ways to embed AllPlay Web within a webinar using Adobe Connect, omNovia and other platforms.
Got a new keypad partner in Meridia--allowing for our customers to have greater flexibility with their audience response keypad choices.
Released Gameshow Pro 5--adding new game boards, a new design, a new backend, AllPlay functionality and MORE to the most popular game show software for training.
And more (including moving into a new office)!

BUT we're not resting on our laurels. Here's what's on the docket SO FAR for 2011:

New games for QuizPoint, our popular online game show software.
New games for AllPlay Web, bringing more variety and engagements into webinars, elearning and virtual classrooms.
An iPad control app: The ability to completely control our Gameshow Pro 5 software using your iPad.
OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 Construction games: Pre-packaged, plug-and-play games making OSHA training entertaining, effective and far more engaging.

But that's just a start. Going into the next year, we'll continue to innovate by leaps and bounds--helping instructors deliver more engaging, effective and fun training.

So what do you want to see in 2011?

Simply Having a Wonderful Game Show Time

2010-12-21T17:56:00.000-06:00

Here's an idea: A Virtual Holiday Party.

We all want to connect with our family, friends, co-workers and other loved ones over the holiday season. (Or at least some of the above.) However, distance, travel, time and budget often prohibit us from having everyone we want come to the holiday festivities.

Recently, we attended a virtual holiday party held by speaker/author/trainer/guru/wonderwoman Lou Russell. Since she couldn't get all her friends, clients and co-conspirators together, she hosted the party online.

Of course, the question comes up: how does one create a party atmosphere in a virtual environment?

Interact-interact-interact! Lou hosted a variety of party games. Using collaborative webinar technology, attendees could decorate a Christmas tree, play the dreidel game, list thoughts of community and family for Kwanzaa--and even play a holiday trivia smackdown (including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Festivus questions)!

The latter was played using AllPlay Web--our software that lets you create and play game shows in a real-time webinar environment. The webinar audience (of about 100) was divided into two teams--the elves and the reindeer. Each person had a virtual keypad on their desktop that allowed them to answer the game questions. The reindeer triumphed in the end (despite a valiant effort from the elves), but everyone interacted and had a festive holiday competition.

The virtual holiday party was a fabulous idea for getting everyone together. In fact... hmm... we might "borrow" that idea for next year. :)

If you want to get a taste of the holiday competition, you can play our QuizPoint holiday game--using many of the same questions that were played during the virtual party. Just click here and good luck!

You're Using a Game Show for THAT?!

2010-12-09T11:24:00.000-06:00

When we talk to customers, we're always surprised at the broad range of content/material they incorporate into the game shows.

We were even more surprised as we uncovered that some trainers were using game shows to cover very traditionally sensitive/serious topics: sexual harassment, diversity training, etc. Topics where one wouldn't normally see people cheering, or --heaven forbid-- having fun.

I asked one trainer--a coordinator for student living on a college campus--why they were using game shows to train students on recognizing and reporting sexual assault. This was his response: "The subject is very serious and VERY important. However, we need to have an open dialog about it, and playing the game show diffuses the tension inherent in the room. People feel more open."

Here are some of the reasons why playing a game show with sensitive subject matter can be beneficial:

Your content is serious, but YOU don't have to be. Just because the content is serious, doesn't mean you have to take yourself seriously. It's okay to have fun--even in sensitive situations. Obviously, one doesn't want to be irreverent to the point of offensiveness--and pre-framing so that the content isn't trivialized is important--but adding competition to engage the audience is no crime.

The more important the subject, the more important the retention. It's critically important that employees know how to recognize harassment in the workplace. If the training is not engaging, they're less likely to remember the content. Game shows are a proven strategy for increasing attention and retention. Even though the content is serious, having a dry, non-engaging training session may jeopardize the content itself.

Games diffuse tension. No one likes to talk about personnel issues, for instance, but sometimes an open dialog is absolutely necessary. The friendly competition of playing a game breaks the ice and diffuses the tension in the room; allowing a trainer to segue into a deeper discussion.

The Top 5 Reasons They're Not Answering Your Game Show Questions

2010-11-17T00:49:00.000-06:00

It's game time. Your game show is all ready to go. The content is in place, the ring-in devices are handy. You read the first question and. . .

. . . no one is ringing in to answer. The answer timer counts down in silence (with maybe a little prompting from the host; "Anyone? Anyone know the answer? Ring in..."). You reveal the answer and move on to the next question, thinking it's a fluke response. Again, the proverbial crickets chirp in place of audience responses!

So what happened? Game shows are pretty much guaranteed to generate energy and excitement in the classroom. Are your trainees just really, really shy? Out of coffee? Something else?

Here are the top 5 reasons we've found for the occasional audience-wide silence in response to game show questions.

1. The questions are too tough. Complexity is not a question's friend. If it takes contestants too long to process what you're actually trying to ask--the clock is going to tick away with nary a response. Avoid the complicated word-problem questions, questions that actually ask multiple questions (or ask you to fill in multiple blanks) or questions with many layers of information or qualification required.

Similarly, if it takes contestants too long to figure out a difficult solution to a question, the question should either be simplified or used in a less rapid-fire format. (I.e. Instead of a Categories-style game, an untimed Tic-Tac-Toe game might be more appropriate.)

Once, we had a presenter who spoke for 90 minutes and then wanted to play a game show to review her content. When the time came for the audience to answer the questions, no one was ringing in. She had covered the content, but it was too complex for the audience to absorb without a simpler review.

Tip: Questions should be not-too-easy (there needs to be some challenge) and not-too-tough (allowing the contestants to grasp the concepts).

2. The content wasn't covered. This is the sister problem of the questions being too tough--if only because content that wasn't covered and isn't with the knowledge base of the audience IS technically too tough.

We once created a game for a training course. It was the first time we had given this course, so we only had a rough idea of the timing. We ended up running long, and had to skip almost the last third of our presentation. We didn't, however, want to skip the energizing post-session game show. As could be expected, the first 2/3 of the game show went really well. . . and the last third had us pleading, "I know we didn't cover this, but try to take a guess?"

Tip: This is where the "end game" feature comes in handy if you're using Gameshow Pro. You can also turn the game show into an open-book game if your trainees have access to materials you haven't reviewed yet.

3. The contestants don't understand the rules. We were once playing a Jeopardy!-style Categories game. A team selected the category and point value. The question was read. No one rang in. When the time ran out, we asked if anyone wanted to take a guess at the answer. As it turns out, the other (non-category-selecting) teams KNEW the answer, but thought that ONLY the team in control of the board was eligible to answer the question. Oops.

Explaining the rules clearly and up front is critical to the success of your game show. If you're using ring-in slammers, the contestants might not know *when* they can start to ring in, or who should ring in, or whether they can ring in after a team answers correctly, or how long they have to decide to ring in, etc.

Tip: Cover the rules after you introduce the game and the stakes--attention will be at its peak. Also, it's helpful to play a sample question to familiarize the audience with how the game is played.

4. Too much pressure. Your whole audience might not be shy, but chances are you'll have a mix of introverted and extroverted people. Playing individualistically can cause particular people to "opt out" of playing the game for fear of embarrassment or simply because they don't want the spotlight on themselves.

Tip: Playing in teams instead of individually is tremendously helpful in mitigating the pressures and stresses that some people may feel. There is an accountability to one's team, but not having the direct responsibility of standing up and giving an answer can be an enormous relief. You may want to designate an outgoing team captain to be the mouthpiece of the group; that way everyone can contribute but only the person who feels comfortable speaking up will be required to do so.

5. Too much risk. You're playing a Jeopardy-style categories game. You've been deducting points for incorrect answers. The scores are very close. It may be a difficult question--one that's worth a lot of points.

The team in the lead doesn't want to give up that lead, and the teams behind them don't want to lose ground. No one wants to take the risk of answering the question, so they let the time slip away. No one gains any points, but no one loses anything, either. This is a somewhat-rare phenomenon, but it does happen.

Tip: Incorporate chances to "catch up" inside the game--like extra bonus and wager questions, or just extra credit things that people can do for extra points.

You may also choose to deduct FEWER points for an incorrect answer than the question is worth. (I.e. Set the penalty at 50 points for each question, whether they're worth 200 points, or 1000.) This way the reward is greater than the risk. You may also set the game to take NO point deductions for wrong answers, if you so desire.

Training Just Got More Exciting: LearningWare Releases Gameshow Pro Version 5

2010-11-01T14:13:00.000-05:00

LearningWare; Minneapolis, MN. November 1, 2010: LearningWare, the experts in using game shows for training, is pleased to announce the release of Gameshow Pro Version 5. Gameshow Pro version 5 combines 7 different Hollywood-style game show templates with LearningWare’s popular AllPlay assessment software functionality. This means that trainers can quickly create their own Hollywood-style game shows in their classrooms using their own content for preview, teaching, review, assessment, energizers and more.

Using game shows in training is one of the most effective ways to increase content retention. The competition and game show experience provides a unique way to engage every trainee in a classroom; reinventing the sometimes-dry or dull training experience. Gameshow Pro is already in use in over 35,000 classrooms by trainers worldwide, and is loved by both trainers and trainees alike.

First launched in 1995, Gameshow Pro is now being released in its 5^th version. It features 7 different TV-style game formats—one more than the previous release. The addition of AllPlay functionality means that each player can answer game questions using their own audience response keypad—for accurate tracking and assessment—OR players can use slammers to ring-in as a team for an exciting game show experience.

“The new release of Gameshow Pro 5 is a game-changer. Never before has it been so easy to bring game shows into the training classroom,” says Dan Yaman, President and Founder of LearningWare, “Not only does this give much-needed innovation to the industry, but it isn’t just a step forward—it’s a leap.”

The new release is a more full-bodied and powerful training tool, and it still retains its easy-to-use format. New and exclusive features include:

• AllPlay assessment capability.

• 14 new game board designs—redesigned to range from corporate-sleek to Hollywood-splashy.

• A robust question library with superior search-ability and sort-ability that makes it even easier to organize content.

• Expanded ready-to-use sound and graphics libraries.

• A redesigned interface that makes the game more intuitive than ever to use.

• And many, many more.

People interested in getting a free 30-day trial to Gameshow Pro can visit www.learningware.com/gameshowpro.html

For more information on the newly released Gameshow Pro Version 5, please visit www.learningware.com, and call 1.800.457.5661 or email info@learningware.com.

Since 1995, LearningWare (www.learningware.com) has been producing software templates that have been proven to increase content comprehension and retention. They are the leading providers of game show software, and have products that include Gameshow Pro 5, QuizPoint and AllPlay Web.

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Gameshow Pro 5 Exclusive Features.

2010-10-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

Gameshow Pro 5 has a lot of exclusive features that you won't find in any other product. Here are just a few of our exclusive innovations--designed to make the software more functional for trainers and useful for learning. Take a look:

Gameshow Pro 5 Preview!

2010-10-11T13:35:00.000-05:00

Gameshow Pro 5 is just moments away from release, and we are SO excited about the new version of our industry-leading product.

As Dan Yaman, our President and Founder says, "This is not only our most innovative software, but it's leaps and bounds above anything else that might be out there."

So what's new with Gameshow Pro--version 5? Let's take a journey in pictures!

New GSP5 Opening Screen

We've re-designed Gameshow Pro 5 from the ground up. You'll notice that the logo looks different from any other product.

Throughout Gameshow Pro 5, you'll find cleaner, more modern, professionally designed graphics.

This isn't just beauty for beauty's sake, however. The graphic re-fresh also comes with increased ease-of-use, simplicity in form and an overall-intuitive feel.

GSP5 Back End

The "back end" of the product has also been completely redesigned. This is what the user sees when they are creating a game.

GSP5 Back End--Game Library

A few important feature highlights:

• It's now easier to switch between games, or to choose to only see one game at once (or all of your games).
• The question library is now beside the game questions--making it easier than ever to drag-and-drop questions for fast game creation.
• Tabs are now clearer and easier to navigate, improving the overall user experience.

GSP5 Question Editor

We've also improved the question editor, making it easier than ever to modify the layout of your question, the size and style of your text, your intro hint and info screens, and more.

Gameshow Pro 5 exclusive features include the ability to:

• Modify picture size and layout within the question.
• Manually or automatically size text.

• Add, edit and select to use or not use intro, hint and info screens.
• Select to add graphics, video and sound that you've already imported, or import new media.
• Add question description, topic AND difficulty level for super-easy sorting and sharing.
• Preview the entire question--graphics and all-- before playing the game.

GSP5 Graphic Library

We've increased the functionality of the user's graphic library--making it easier than ever to rename, sort, find, and re-use your graphics. No need to re-import if you want to re-use a graphic--they're all right there in an easy-to-access, easy to sort library.

Tic Tac Toe Title Screen

Are You Smarter Than.... custom title screen

It isn't just the back end that's had a makeover, we've drastically changed the graphics in the games--including adding dozens of new title screen templates.

Users can still add their own graphics, put text over their own graphics, customize one of our templates AND they can now use any of these professionally-designed title screens.

Smack Down custom title screen


Some of the new game screens.

In addition to the title screens, the game boards themselves have been redesigned for a fresh, clean look. These game "skins" allow trainers to have a variety of different looks--from corporate-sleek to Hollywood-style splashy--that they can change on a game-by-game basis. Classic game boards are also available.

The class list in AllPlay mode

Re-designed AllPlay screen

Oh, and did we mention...there are now 7 different games in Gameshow Pro 5?

AND we've incorporated AllPlay functionality into the software? This means that each player can answer game questions using their own keypad—for accurate tracking and assessment—OR players can use slammers to ring-in as a team for an exciting game show experience.

Tic Tac Toe in AllPlay Mode

Currently our Categories, Tic Tac Toe and AllPlay games have AllPlay functionality--designed from the ground up to work perfectly with the natural game play of those programs. Assessment…review…preview…instruction…and more… Gameshow Pro 5 is the most advanced, easy-to-use, exciting and effective game show template software available!

Engaging Participants in OSHA Training

2010-09-22T01:23:00.004-05:00

OSHA (Occupational Safety Hazard Association) training is the mandatory standard in many industries where being improperly trained can mean the difference between life and death. Or at the very least, between safety and injury.

Proper instruction doesn’t just mean conveying information, it means making sure that you’re training in a way where content is going to be remembered.

But the problem is that OSHA training is often dry. OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 courses can cover topics like fall protection, handling of waste and chemical materials, biological hazards, disaster recovery and many, many more. Some of which may require trainees to sit through the same courses or be recertified year after year.

So if the content is critical, but making the training engaging is challenging—what is the solution?

Deb Hilmerson, of Hilmerson Safety, came up with an answer while conducting large safety and OSHA training seminars:

“We all know the challenges of keeping learners interested and engaged in safety and health training programs. To add some fun, entertainment and help engage learners, I started using game shows built around my content.”

Using game shows within such serious training modules as OSHA may not seem obvious, but game shows capitalize on competition to drive learning and captivate trainees’ attention—dramatically increasing participation, engaging their emotions and motivating them to explore content.

Dan Yaman, of LearningWare, elaborates:

“Game shows take an ordinary training session and turn it into something extraordinary. More than that, game shows create an engaging, lively classroom environment.”

If a trainer can engage their trainees at a higher rate during a training session—more of that critical information is going to be retained.

This is why Hilmerson Saftey partnered with LearningWare to create OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 games. These game show modules are ready-to-go--alleviating hours and hours of content development. Question content has been organized into “libraries” based on standard subpart topics such as fall protection, scaffolding, hazard communication, HAZWOPER and many more. Each question is painstakingly crafted to include multimedia, extra information, AND align (with citation) with the required industry standard.

OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 games are built using LearningWare’s Gameshow Pro template software, which already being over 35,000 classrooms worldwide, and is prominent in safety training. Used to preview, present and review information, Gameshow Pro has been shown to increase content retention by over 60% and has received rave reviews from trainers, trainees and corporations alike.

OSHA-10 and OSHA-30 ready-to-play games for construction will be available shortly. For inquiries, contact info@learningware.com.

Brain-Based Webinars Session

2010-09-07T21:02:00.003-05:00

Hey everybody! You're cordially invited to a webinar we've developed and are hosting through one of our technology partners, omNovia.

Hosted by Dan Yaman, this is a best-practices webinar that both demonstrates and illustrates how to engage the brain for a truly effective webinar. It also features our AllPlay Web technology in action--so sign up, stop in, play a game, learn a lot and have fun!

When: September 23, 2010 1:00 PM
US/Central

Description: There’s a wealth of research on how the brain best receives and retains information. This knowledge is key to conducting a webinar that is truly effective.

This entertaining and interactive presentation will focus on the latest brain-based research; illuminating the science behind conducting a webinar that:

• Engages your webinar audience and keeps them engaged throughout your presentation.
• Leads the audience through a natural learning cycle that will help them to understand and better retain the information.
• Utilizes “brain-friendly” graphics.
• Provides methods of interaction that go beyond polling.

You’ll also be exposed to examples of how to use multimedia, stories, case studies, etc. to add variety and novelty for a truly fun and memorable webinar experience.

Most importantly, you will leave with a deeper understanding of how to communicate to the brain for immediate webinar improvement.

REGISTER HERE!

A Happy Accident for AllPlay Web Webinars

2010-08-25T10:08:00.004-05:00

We were asked to sit in on a customer's webinar (where he was going to be utilizing AllPlay Web).

He wanted to do a discovery run (not even as polished as a dry run) to figure out how his content should flow, which slides should go where, and when to play which questions in the course of the webinar. (The screencap on the side is one of his AllPlay Web questions.)

And--as with any first time--there were some hiccups. We found ourselves seeing some of the questions only to have our host say, "Whoops, I haven't covered that yet!" and switching quickly back into the content. However, two things happened:

1. We were surprised how competitive we got, considering that we had NO knowledge of the dry topic. We really focused in on the details and data of the webinar--knowing that things may be covered later. We found ourselves taking notes (with specific details of content WE DIDN'T CARE ABOUT) in order to get correct answers.

2. Related to the mistake of showing questions before their time: We became laser-focused in on that content. We knew we were going to find the answer somewhere in the webinar material coming up, so we payed extra-close attention to getting those questions answered.

So what are the implications of our accidental discovery?

It's definitely important to pre-frame the game at the beginning of the webinar. Tell the participants right away that they'll be playing a game--competing against each other.
There's really no substitute for competition. We felt compelled not just to interact (i.e. like with polling) but to get the *right* answer to demonstrate our attention. There was skin in the game, so to speak.
It's not a bad idea to preview which questions are going to be in the game before the content is covered. Especially if there is content you want to be sure to focus on or highlight. It's not tipping your hat, it's shifting the attendee focus to the most important place.

Time and time again, we're surprised by the amazing experience that we have as *participants* using our products. What we mean is, we spend a lot of time testing and practicing internally, but there's really no substitute for the real-world experience of the game shows--and seeing the absolute joy and effectiveness they bring to a webinar or training session.

Custom! Custom! Custom!

2010-08-16T23:54:00.004-05:00

Wow! Whoever coined the term "lazy summer" sure wasn't talking about us over here at LearningWare.

You may have noticed that our blog and Facebook page has been updated a little sporadically over August so far, and there's a reason for that: We've been on the road--creating and producing custom audience-response game shows!

If you're following this blog, you're (probably) already familiar with our Gameshow Pro classroom game show solution, as well as our webinar solution (AllPlay Web), assessment solution (AllPlay) and our online solution (QuizPoint). What makes the custom game shows different from our off-the-shelf software listed is that they're completely redesigned from the ground-up with custom graphics, programming, game play, etc.

Here are just a few of our summer highlights:

"The Fairway 2 Heaven"
Toyota
[Image seen above]

We traveled to Pebble Beach, CA to produce the "Fairway 2 Heaven"--a themed game show event that took place during their Circle of Excellence. The game had custom golf-themed graphics (appropriate for Pebble Beach) and included audience response pads. However, the audience didn't just play along on teams. At different points, we "highlighted" audience member keypads for high-stakes play. The game was also programmed so that audience members could "wager" on whether they thought their colleagues would answer a question correctly--or not.

"The PulteGroup Smackdown!"
PulteGroup

To reinforce information over a 3-day event, we programmed "The PulteGroup Smackdown". Audience members were divided into six teams that stayed together throughout the three days, and competed in progressively building challenges. The Smackdown highlighted and reviewed key content; from one day to the next it became the "Planning Smackdown" or the "Coaching Smackdown" or the "Sales Process Smackdown"

The picture shown was taken by an audience member--illustrating their keypad (coded by team color) and the opening game screen in the background.

"The Deep Dive"
EBMS
[Not shown]

A mixture of polling and competition, all in the same game! The "Deep Dive" for EBMS featured graphics that matched their oceanic deep-dive theme, and focused on gathering information and reinforcing knowledge. Since the audience was made up of clients, EBMS wanted to more deeply investigate the needs and behaviors of the audience as well as engage them and energize them with a game show. With custom programming, we were able to securely assign keypads and track data, seamlessly ask polling questions, and also switch to team competition that brought down the house.

Hershey Uses Gameshow Pro in Their Orientations

2010-08-02T14:12:00.006-05:00

In the July issue of IAAPA's (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) Funworld Magazine (how great is that name!), LearningWare received a featured mention.

The article, by Jeremy Schoolfield, detailed how Hershey has altered its orientation program to reflect the nature of the company---and this includes using Gameshow Pro!

From the article:

Orientation Should Be Fun, Too
Making orientation fun doesn’t fall solely on the ambassadors—Hershey goes to great lengths to ensure the entire process is set for success, right down to how the new employees are seated.
The training room is called a “Legacy Zone,” and it’s designed to feel like anything but a stodgy classroom. Current and historic Hershey jingles play over speakers while company trivia flashes on the walls. Rather than rows upon rows of desks, employees sit in table clusters that Buffington says are more conducive to a social atmosphere.

“We immerse them in the culture right away and get them excited,” she says. “This company sells experiences, and we’re trying to model what we expect.”

The orientation program thus minimizes lectures and maximizes interaction. Hershey uses Gameshow Pro software from Minnesota-based LearningWare (www.LearningWare. com) to set up its own “Jeopardy!”-style trivia game about the brand and its legacy. “We’re educating them on who we are in a fun way,” Buffington says.

Orientation also includes a “Bingo”-type get-to-know-one- another mixer game (as opposed to just the boring ol’ “My name is …” introductions) and employs videos and other multimedia programming wherever possible—anything to keep it from being one person standing in front of the group talking for too long.

“We’re an entertainment and hospitality company—so the first step is being entertaining and hospitable,” says Public Relations Manager Kathy Burrows.

You can read the entire article here.
[Photo from article, credit: Giniwoy]

Top Ways to Celebrate Game Show Month

2010-07-22T10:39:00.002-05:00

July is game show month!

How did the summer month get to have this illustrious title? Well, July tends to be a month that is traditionally...nontraditional. Employees are on vacations, there are a lot of new hires gearing up for the next quarter, the office can be very busy or it can seem very slow. . . so it's a great time to utilize game shows to engage, motivate and train.

So what are some ways you can celebrate game show month?

Play our game of the month: The Game Show Blitz, and test your knowledge of game shows past and present.
Organize a game show tournament that runs through multiple training modules and days. Display a leader board in the office or training room to keep competition going.
Bring your classroom game show online or into your webinar with QuizPoint and AllPlay Web
Incorporate videos, pictures and your own sounds into your game show for a highly visual, highly sensory multimedia experience.
Download our latest version of Gameshow Pro v4 with 10 new game board designs.
Try a new game show format--Gameshow Pro alone has 6 different styles. Varying the game play can add freshness to a classroom game show.
Have trainees create their own questions as part of a mid-training review, then use them in the game show to review.
Catch up on game show hosting tips in our comprehensive learning center.
Use a Classroom Feud-style game show to preview content and generate curiosity around a topic.
Join our Facebook Fan Page for frequent, exclusive tips and updates.
Get ready for our beta version of Gameshow Pro v5--coming in late summer!

Individual Assessment vs. Team Play

2010-07-07T11:44:00.003-05:00

We've talked quite a bit about the strength and appeal of team competition in game shows. However, there are times when individual play may be more appropriate--even in a training setting.

Team Play:
• Allows contestants to be "safe"
• Enables trainees to learn from their peers
• Utilizes competition to add energy to the room
• Allows a trainer to get a general sense of group progress/review en masse, etc.

Individual Play:
• Allows a game show to become a less-stressful assessment tool
• Illuminates individual knowledge gaps
• Caters to those who may be opposed to team play

However, there's a third "blended" approach--team play with audience-response pads--that allows you to both group people on teams, and individually assess them. This mixed approach combines the competitive elements and the supportive environment of a team with the specific assessment element that appeals to the accountability of learning management systems.

1. Find a program that can accommodate the blended individual/team approach--like AllPlay or our upcoming release of Gameshow Pro (version 5)--with individual keypads and team gameplay.
2. Assign keypads to individuals. Usually this can be done beforehand, or you can do this when students are in-classroom.
3. You can either assign students to teams, let them assign themselves, or split the room once students are seated. We recommend seating teams apart from each other so correct answers don't get "passed around". There's still a team cohesion even though team members may not be close in proximity.

Each individual's answer will go to their team's score--the final tally being the total percentage of correct answers per team. On the back end, you can also track individual responses by keypad, but during gameplay, responses can remain anonymous to give the experience of a safe, fun learning environment.

Ten Points to Gryffindor: Using Team Points to Motivate Trainees

2010-06-14T16:21:00.004-05:00

Anyone who has smallish children, or (ehhem) is like me and occasionally reads young adult fiction, is probably familiar with Harry Potter and, consequently, the world of Hogwarts (School of Witchcraft and Wizardry).

In the books and movies, the instructors at Hogwarts use point systems throughout the year as both an incentive for good behavior/academics and a deterrent for bad behavior. At the end of the year, the house with the most points gets the cup.

We could take a lesson from Hogwarts. But how does this apply to training? Well, team points can be incredibly motivating in a training session. They can be used to:

Reward "good" behavior (i.e. on-time attendance)
Encourage participation
Reinforce correct answers
Engage trainees as individuals and teams

Even if trainees don't know each other, and even if the "prize" at the end of the session is insignificant (or if there is no prize), competition still adds an element of fun and responsibility to a training session that might not otherwise be there.

Game shows: Game shows are a great way for teams to earn points in a team competition. You can either add a single game to a training session, or have a game that runs throughout the day (previewing information, reviewing information, teaching information, etc). You can use the same format in different rounds (i.e. Multiple matches of a Jeopardy-style game) or you can use different game formats. Game shows can even be structured in tournament style to make them an event within the training.

Knowledge Bucks: A great way to keep individuals engaged and participating in a less structured session is "Monopoly money" or Knowledge Bucks. This funny-money can be given out when individuals respond to a question, arrive on time, etc. Team members can put them in a designated box, and they are added to the team's total score. These can be tallied during breaks.

Energizers: Have the teams organize a post-lunch cheer, with the most creative, on-point and well-executed cheer receiving the most points. Have a paper-toss where members write questions on paper, crumple them up and toss them around until a designated time period passes and one person from each team must answer the question in their hand--for a certain number of points a piece. Activities like this both contribute to the energy of the room and the team competition.

Leader Board: Have a leader board that shows the tally of team scores for all activities--game shows, knowledge bucks, team cheers, etc. Update it at breaks so teams can see where they stand and to stoke a little competition. This doesn't have to be anything fancy--a grid on a white board or a PowerPoint slide will do nicely.

Game Shows at the Trade Show: Drawing a Crowd

2010-06-02T14:31:00.005-05:00

Most of our clients and customers use game shows in their training programs. They're ideal for this; increasing content retention and enabling trainers to review, preview and present information in an incredibly engaging format.

However, as we've collected many, many stories and anecdotes from customers, we've discovered some alternate uses outside of the training department. As it turns out, some sales departments use game shows to promote their products to interested parties. Also, marketing teams are deploying game shows on the floor of trade shows.

Having used game shows at trade shows before (the screen cap in this post is from a custom game we designed for Mystic Tan), we can attest to the power of the medium. Game shows:

Attract a crowd: Whether a few people out of a crowd are playing along or everyone in your booth audience is playing along using keypads, game shows naturally attract an audience. Not only do people want to see whether others succeed or not, but they want to test their own knowledge (to see if they're "smarter than the player"--so to speak).

Engage people with your content: Game shows are a great way to uncover "ah-ha!" moments with your product or company by showcasing unique features/benefits in the form of a question. You can use specific content, (i.e. Which of the following is a new product feature, etc.) or general content to drive interest around a topic (i.e. As you see in the screen capture above--the question is tangentially related to tanning, but doesn't cover Mystic Tan's specific product line), or a mixture of both.

Can direct conversations: Game shows can direct meaningful trade show conversations in several ways:

Booth personnel can listen to a game show round and then follow up with more information while attendees' attention is piqued (i.e. Yes, the new product has this feature...and did you know it allows you to do x, y and z as well?).
Using audience response pads, you can measure what parts of the audience have knowledge gaps and incorporate survey questions to gauge the level of interest in particular topics or products.

Get people to spend more time at a booth: Game shows not only draw a crowd, but we've seen people who won't stop for a free tchotchke or engage with booth personnel spend large chunks of time at a booth when a game show is involved. And that's more opportunity to get qualified leads!

6 Multiple Choice Question Writing Mistakes

2010-05-25T08:45:00.002-05:00

We found this article on Making Change: Ideas for lively elearning. It demonstrates some pretty clear (and humorous) fallacies when designing multiple choice questions. We think that any of these can apply to writing questions for your game show as well.

[Italics are from the article, commentary is ours]

Can you answer these 6 questions about multiple-choice questions?

1. I opened a course on a topic I know nothing about, clicked through without reading anything, and took the assessment. I passed! What does that suggest?

I am a genius!
The assessment was too easy.
Maybe the course was too easy, too.
Maybe the course didn’t even need to be written.
b, c, and d

2. In a multiple-choice question, when is the longest answer the correct answer?

Rarely
Sometimes
It’s almost always the correct answer, and it’s often stuffed with new information that should have gone in the main part of the course but we forgot so now we’re putting it in the quiz because we can’t possibly leave out the tiniest detail
Occasionally

3. When is “All of the above” the correct answer?

With alarming regularity
When we try to cover too much in one question
When we use a question to teach instead of assess
All of the above

4. When is it NOT a good idea to avoid negative questions?

Never
Sometimes
Always
What?

5. How often is the correct answer a?

Usually
Frequently
Often
Almost never, because if a is the right answer, then the learner doesn’t have to read all the other options we spent so much time writing and revising, and where’s the ROI in that?

6. We can confuse learners when we:

fail to actually complete the sentence we started in the question.
inconsistent grammar in the options.
sometimes we veer off into another idea entirely.
wombats.

How did you do?

When writing your game show questions, it's incredibly important to write good questions. When questions are too easy or difficult, unclear or otherwise, it can stall out game play.

Game shows as a "serious game" solution.

2010-05-19T15:44:00.005-05:00

The term "serious game" has been floating around a lot lately. There has been much in-industry debate about what, exactly, constitutes a "serious game" (Versus a training game? Versus a plain ol' game?). Some argue that serious games are digital by their nature, others purport that serious games are really simulations or 3D environments. Some say that any kind of activity that is engaging for a serious purpose is a serious game, others say that the activity has to be directly related and utilizing the content at hand.

So what is a serious game? Wikipedia says:

A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally appended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics.

So where do game shows fit into the realm of serious games? Surely, the primary purpose (or original purpose) of a game show was to entertain. This is true if we think about the game shows that came with the early days of television--they were friendly competitions meant to test the wit of competitors, entertain, and bring the family games that everyone knew and loved from around the dining room table onto the new medium of television.

However, a game show's frivolous beginnings become irrelevant when they are re-purposed as serious games for absolutely every topic in every area of training.

Why do game shows make such strong serious games?

Their roots as (international) cultural fixtures make them a format that many trainees can identify with. (This also gives them a very short learning curve.)
They allow peer groups to work collectively--capitalizing on a trend of collaboration in the workplace.
They utilize both individually motivated and peer-motivated competition.
They are infinitely adaptable for content. Since most game shows are based on trivia/questions and answers, training material inserted into a game is a natural fit.
They can be played in traditional classroom settings, in large events, online or in webinars.
They are simple to produce, don't usually require much additional setup or programming and anyone can be a game show host.

These reasons put game shows solidly in the serious games camp. Of course, game shows can still be used as entertainment--heck, there is even value in doing an entertaining game in a training session (to give people a brain break, re-energize the room, break the ice, etc.)--but there is a huge potential for game shows in the serious games realm with very serious subjects.

Game Show Minute May 2010

2010-05-19T15:42:00.001-05:00

Believe it or not, we occasionally find resistance to using game shows--based solely on the fact that they are a game show. Here are ways of overcoming the game show bias and getting buy-in.

Training Design with the Game Show in Mind: P&G Case Study

2010-05-12T11:38:00.003-05:00

LearningWare's 16-plus years of experience being directly involved with training design and the training industry has enabled us to provide solutions above and beyond simple game show software.

Proctor&Gamble (P&G) came to us with interest in Gameshow Pro, initially. They held a week-long training course for interns transitioning to full time positions in the marketing department (called ABM College), and were looking to review and reinforce (dry) content in a way that would appeal to a younger generation.

They knew they had to engage the troops with interaction, and that game shows were the right direction to go. However, they needed guidance to incorporate games into the 5-day training program. We consulted with the head trainers at P&G to develop a program that fully engaged their trainees throughout the ABM College.

We:

Designed a team competition that utilized Gameshow Pro and other activities to keep everyone engaged—with a stake in learning the information.
Streamlined the content and organized it into learner-friendly chunks.
Worked with presenters on making each individual portion interactive and engaging.
Developed a comprehensive production guide.
Consulted on all aspects of the training including presentation graphics, signage, course materials, and pre- and post- communication.
Were on site at the ﬁrst rollout to make sure that all the activities went off smoothly and the team competition was organized.

Gameshow Pro was utilized heavily throughout; we had "Branding Feud", a Categories-style "FMOT/SMOT Challenge" and many other game rounds either before or after a presentation to preview and review content.

Result: P&G elicits feedback after every ABM College. The change in format and interaction brought on a dramatic increase in the feedback scores for the event. Participants loved the games and team activities, and felt they got a lot out of their week.

Competition is Key

2010-05-06T11:17:00.000-05:00

We're often asked (and we often ask ourselves) what--exactly--makes game shows such effective training tools. They're undeniably and unarguably engaging and effective, but what makes them so compelling?

There are several components that go into a game show that make it an incredible training tool, such as:

• Interaction
• Utilizing questions
• It's a change of pace
• Capitalizing on multimedia
• Etc.

But one of the single largest components that make game shows more effective than, say, a traditional oral question-and-answer review or a poll, is competition. There's something in our DNA, in the heart of how we live and work that makes competition appealing. Perhaps it came from the caveman days when we competed for natural resources and now plays out in gentler, less primitive ways.

The act of competing makes our brains secrete adrenaline, and adrenaline works to fuse memory. Competition also generates emotion--another memory-making component. These elements combined allow game shows to pack a powerful punch and have great training impact where content retention is concerned.

Competition factors in multiple ways during a game show:

Team competition: When placed on a team in a game show, you're no longer just individually responsible for your performance, you're also collectivistically responsible for the success of your team. This peer pressure can be incredibly motivating and can also add a great teambuilding/networking dynamic in the training class.

Self-motivated competition: Even casually watching a game show on television, most people will find themselves playing along. It's not as if we get prizes for answering a question on Jeopardy! correctly, but we play along for the sake of our own self-knowledge and satisfaction. We compete with ourselves.

Competition against others: A game show is a vehicle for friendly competition. A participant competes against others to ring-in first, competes to give the most correct answer, and competes to get the most total points. This competition generates discussion, desire to play another game, and a focus on the content at hand. It's also an incredibly motivational way to interact within a training session.

While there isn't any one single element that makes game shows successful, it's pretty clear that competition is one of the more powerful elements in making them an incredibly effective training tool.

Business Solutions: Better Training Through Gaming

2010-04-27T15:55:00.003-05:00

An article including LearningWare and Gameshow Pro from the Wall Street Journal:

THE JOURNAL REPORT: TECHNOLOGY

Business Solutions:

Better Training Through Gaming

By MICHAEL TOTTY

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

April 25, 2005; Page R6

Note to managers: It's OK to let your employees play games at work.

We're not talking about all those hours fooling around at computer solitaire. Where games have their place -- and significant benefits -- is in livening up boring corporate training sessions.

Companies in the U.S. spend about $60 billion a year on training their employees, but there's a good chance much of that is wasted. The reason: Most training sessions are just too dull. (Web-based e-learning classes were supposed to fix that, but in reality they just allow employees to get bored at their own pace.) As a result, employees aren't coming away from the training with the knowledge or skills their employers are paying for.

"Forget learning," says Marcia Sitcoske, director of Cisco Systems Inc.'s Creative Learning Studio, whose mission is to make the company's online training tools more effective and appealing. "People aren't even completing these things, they're so boring."

Training experts insist it doesn't have to be this way. They argue that companies could make their employee-education programs more compelling, and more effective, if they made them more fun -- specifically, more like computer games.

Evidence suggests adults learn more and retain more in courses that incorporate such game elements as competitive scoring, increasingly difficult player levels and fantasy role-playing. But many managers remain skeptical. It's a rare boss who thrills at seeing workers playing games on the job, and adding games to a learning package tacks on extra expense.

War Games

The U.S. military is a lot further along in adopting game elements in training than are most businesses. In part, that's because learning on a computer is much cheaper and safer than in the field, and recruits come from a generation comfortable in the fast-paced gaming world. The best of the military's training games rival the complexity and richness of some of the best videogames. In fact, a version of Full Spectrum Warrior, a training game developed for the U.S. Army by the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California, has recently been released for the public game market.

Outside of a few custom-designed applications, such games remain a rarity in the corporate training world; don't look for Full Spectrum CEO anytime soon. Instead, a growing number of companies are turning to more modest courses that mix work and play.

In some cases, the lack of good commercial alternatives has prompted companies to take a do-it-yourself approach. Cisco Systems' Creative Learning Studio, formed in 2001, uses technology, high-quality video -- and entertainment -- to enliven its vast library of online training tools. It now has about 4,500 e-learning courses of varying lengths. One such course, for employees and outsiders seeking certification as authorized Cisco "networking professionals," uses a game to help teach fundamentals of building a high- speed network of shared storage devices. Called SAN Rover (for storage area network), the game requires students to race the clock to gather the pieces -- hard drives, switches and other components -- and correctly put together such a network while dodging crashing asteroids.

The game, which reinforces the skills students learn in classes and from their reading, has been played about 2,000 times since it was introduced last June. "More and more people are learning that gaming can be useful in training in the corporate environment," Cisco's Ms. Sitcoske says.

It's All About Competition

Companies also can turn to simple, off-the-shelf games for reviewing and testing. The games don't even have to be that sophisticated as long as they include an essential element: competition.

Borland Software Corp. wanted to give its sales staff an incentive to master details of its product line before an annual world-wide sales meeting earlier this year, and was looking for better results than with its previous PowerPoint-laden e- learning program. So it turned to QB International, a San Rafael, Calif., e-learning company, to develop online study guides that incorporated a series of games for testing students' knowledge of the material. The simple games, based on such diversions as tic-tac-toe and hangman, featured a series of timed questions. Each member of the sales staff had to get at least 80% of the answers correct on a series of nine tests interspersed with the lessons, and those who received perfect scores were entered into a drawing for five Apple iPods. Everyone also had to take a final comprehensive exam of 100 questions, and the one with the highest score and fastest time received a $3,000 prize.

Though the games weren't very sophisticated, they were enough to motivate the highly competitive salespeople. Scores in the preliminary exams were posted for all to see.

"All of sudden, people are instant messaging each other, 'You're on top today, but you're going down,' " says Wynn Johnson, director of field readiness for Borland, based in Scott City, Calif. "The competition is a motivator."

ERC Properties Inc., a Fort Smith, Ark., builder and manager of multifamily developments faced a crucial training challenge: teaching 355 property managers how to comply with Revenue Service regulations for affordable housing tax credits. Managers need to determine the eligibility of qualified tenants, and penalties for not following the law are huge.

Candace Armstrong, ERC's corporate training director, chose software from Minneapolis-based LearningWare Inc. The software, called Gameshow Pro, provides a series of game templates based on popular television shows. Using questions and answers based on her training materials, Armstrong divides each training class into two teams that compete in a tic-tac-toe variation of "Hollywood Squares."

To test the effectiveness of the games, she compared results from a group of employees who played the game with those of a different group that received the same questions in oral review. Managers need to score 80% on a subsequent certification exam; Ms. Armstrong revealed that 88% of the group that played the game passed the test on the first try, compared with 54% of the group that received the basic review.

"Most training is very boring, especially if it's government-required," Ms. Armstrong explained, "The difference was pretty obvious. People learn more when they laugh."

Write to Michael Totty at michael.totty@wsj.com

Raising the Energy Level by "1000%"

2010-04-19T10:28:00.000-05:00

This last week, we received this customer feedback about Gameshow Pro in our inboxes. This comes from Dan S. at Workflow Studios (a collaborator with IBM), and it's too good not to share:

The student reaction exceeded my expectations. My first use of Gameshow Pro was the last presentation of the morning before lunch. The energy level rose 1000%. The students had a lot of fun with it and I hope that translated in to greater knowledge transfer. Unlike a standard lecture where only a few students ask questions or speak up, everyone participated in this exercise. It made them think and process the information. The word of mouth spread so fast in IBM that I had someone who wasn't a part of the class approach me during lunch to see if we'd be playing any games in the afternoon where he could see it in action. I tweeted twice about repurposing the content and the results. I had a former IBMer inquire about it.

One line sticks out to us: "The energy level rose 1000%." Any slight hyperbole aside, THIS is the power of game shows--and it's what we see all the time; in large events, in the training classroom, etc. When the game show starts, everyone is paying attention. It's like someone plugged in the room and electricity is now flowing.

It's also why we're so passionate about using game shows in the training session: they work. They're not just a game for game's sake, they're a tool to engage learners--to convey and review content. This review of Gameshow Pro isn't unique--we hear it from trainers all the time, in every subject area, in every classroom (online or in-person) of every size.

The Top 5 Reasons to Use Game Shows in a Webinar

2010-04-12T12:29:00.002-05:00

In April's Game Show Minute: The Top 5 Reasons to Use Game Shows in a Webinar:

Article: How [LearningWare]* Makes Content Fun in Virtual Environments to Drive Engagement

2010-04-05T16:41:00.005-05:00

From VirtualEdge.org:

How [LearningWare]* Makes Content Fun in Virtual Environments to Drive Engagement

By: Frank Spinelli

Content is king. That is the mantra throughout the event industry. Technology is all well and good, but at the end of the day, what keeps users engaged is not graphics but content. And too often, content is left up to the client who may know what to say, but not how to say it in an engaging way.

Studies have shown that virtual event attendees do not stay engaged for as long as physical attendees. Whatever the cause—politeness in a face-to-face context, the anonymity of the virtual experience which allows disengagement for periods of time—the need to create content that not only grabs attention, but holds it is vital to the success of the industry. Minneapolis-based [LearningWare] develops creative and unique solutions to content delivery. With its [product], All Play Web and sister company Live Spark, [LearningWare] has a foot in both the virtual and physical worlds and seeks to keep users engaged in both.

One of the keys to keeping users engaged is to give them a stake in the outcome, according to ... Creative VP Missy Covington. Using games and quizzes, for example, can bring out a competitive drive, one sure way to hold focus. Animated characters (AniMates), voiced by local Minneapolis acting talent, can be a strong complement to live event activities. Live Spark produces both physical and virtual events, and until recently, has produced them as separate entities. They are beginning to experiment with hybrid events, however, the roster of animated characters being one virtual element augmenting their physical events.

One of the topics at this year’s Virtual Edge Summit has been incorporating successful elements of online gaming into the production of virtual content. If gamers willingly spend hours online, the theory goes, perhaps the industry can find ways to recreate that experience in its presentation of content (without the blood and guts). [LearningWare] has taken a playful approach to this theory. By utilizing games and animation, they hope to deliver content in a way keeps users in their seats while maintaining the integrity of the information. When a potential client is advised, “Make sure your content is compelling,” the question of how is often left unanswered. [LearningWare] can provide those answers in a unique and fun way.

*Both Live Spark and LearningWare presented at the Virtual Edge Summit. AllPlay Web, referenced here, is a LearningWare product, though the article references the offerings of both companies

New Game Board Previews

2010-03-31T16:53:00.006-05:00

Our Twitter and Facebook followers have already gotten a sneak-peek at our new game skins for Gameshow Pro game boards, but in case you haven't seen them, take a look here: New Game Skin Album.

We've re-designed 4 of our most popular Gameshow Pro games with 10 new game skins, including designs such as: Retro Modern (shown here), Construction, Corporate, and Red Hot. Re-vamped games include Categories, Tic Tac Toe, Classroom Feud and Final Answer.

These new skins will be available shortly for FREE for existing Gameshow Pro (version 4) users, and will be included with all new Gameshow Pro licenses.
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We're also adding NEW game formats AND game skins to our new AllPlay Web product. Check them out here: AllPlay Web New Game Preview Album.

New game formats include a Wager-to-Win game and a Tic Tac Toe game--and that's just for starters. As with the AllPlay Web standard format, everyone can play along in a webinar or web conference using virtual keypads.

Check out these new, fresh updates to our already incredibly effective, industry-leading software, and keep your eyes open for even more new things from LearningWare!

AllPlay at an Event: The Experient Experience.

2010-03-23T16:29:00.003-05:00

Imagine taking the classroom audience response experience of an AllPlay game show--every single person playing along, engaged and motivated--and expanding it to a large event audience of ~250.

That's exactly what happened in the Experient event. With the cooperation of our sister company, Live Spark, we produced a customized AllPlay audience response game show that kept everyone in the audience involved, kept the energy in the event high, and reinforced crucial content.

THE CSI SMACKDOWN

The theme of the event was "CSI: Customer Strategy Investigation". The goal was to train the audience (all functionaries within the meeting industry) to be more strategic with their clients. The audience was given a case study before the event--but the key players were unsure whether they would read it and how much they would take away from it. In addition to the case study information, attendees also had to gather "clues" throughout the event. At the end of the event, teams had to present solutions to the case study utilizing the information and clues.

OBJECTIVES:
The "CSI Smackdown"--a customized AllPlay audience-response game show--was developed to:

Reinforce key case study information.
Reinforce and point out clues.
Supplement a few key presentation points from the keynote speaker.
Energize the audience in between sometimes-dry presentations.
Give everyone equal footing going into the case study presentation.
Be part of the bigger team challenge throughout the event (game show points for each team were added into their case study scores).
Keep the audience on-the-lookout for clues (lest they miss any points in the game show!).

GAME PLAY: The audience was divided into four teams. Each member of each team had a keypad--and the percentage of correct responses taken from each person on the team went their team's total score.

The CSI Smackdown was played throughout the four day event in rounds of 2-4 questions each. This was just enough of a "touch" to reinforce information and energize the room without making the event too much about the game show.

Scores accumulated over 4 days, but the second day, points were doubled. The third--tripled, and the fourth--quadrupled. This was so that--in theory--any team had the chance to leap ahead of the pack with a well-played question. This meant that all teams maintained a stake in the game--whether they were the top scoring team, or the bottom of the bunch.

THE RESULTS: Cheering. Energy. Excitement. Buzz about the game show. A little bit of smack-talking.

After each question, the teams saw the right answer, and were taken to a scoring screen. Four columns--one representing each of the teams--started to rise in suspense in accordance with the teams' scores. (Chants of "Go Team X" or "Go Team Y" were heard.) The column of the lowest scoring team would stop. . . then the next. . . then the next. . . and then the room erupted into cheers, high-fives, and a burst of energy as the highest scoring team was revealed. It's amazing the amount of rejoicing takes place after each question. There's nothing like it at an event.

Most importantly--at the end of the game show, teams had a better understanding of the content than when they began. Everyone was on equal footing so they could present their final case studies, and everyone had a heck of a lot of fun.

As seen in this picture below. After all...does that look like a typical corporate event to you?

March Game Show Minute

2010-03-16T12:57:00.003-05:00

Also featured in the March Game Show Espresso Newsletter:

The Top 4 Things a Trainer Should Do Before Playing a Game Show

The Virtual Classroom: Virtually Imperfect

2010-03-03T16:06:00.005-06:00

Recently, we attended the Virtual Edge Summit in Santa Clara California. We made the following observations:

There is a tremendous demand for "hybrid" events: conferences or training that occurs in-person and virtually. Sometimes together and simultaneously, sometimes separately and with a symbiotic relationship. This is driven by the demand for low-budget, internationally viable solutions AND the recognition of the ongoing value and effectiveness of face-to-face interactions. Personally, we're glad that we're not seeing much of an either-or opinion coming from the technology leaders. It's nice that the "real" classroom can co-exist in harmony with the virtual classroom.

There are a huge number of completely innovative solutions coming out for virtual conferences, trade shows, webinars, training sessions, etc. This includes streaming video at a rate unheard of in a virtual meeting space, 3-D rooms where participants can log in and "sit down", PowerPoints that stream along with a speaker along with a twitter feed and a chat feed and...well, anything else you'd want, really. It was downright inspiring to see what progress is being made and what new solutions are coming down the pipeline.

While virtual events and conferences have been around for over 5 years now, there's a lack of general knowledge in this area from the general populace. It seems like most people are just taking live presentations and putting them into a virtual tool instead of modifying them for a unique virtual situation. Part of this is ignorance; thinking that a web class is the same as an in-person class--save for the physical presence aspect. It's not.

And speaking of the last two points--the wide availability of solutions and the direct translation of in-person material to a virtual event, there was one thing that we *didn't* notice at the conference:

Emotion.

We're not talking about the emotion of the attendees, or just plain happy-sad-etc. expressions. We're talking about the effort to engage the attendees in an emotional experience within a webinar or web conference. Sure, virtual meeting spaces were designed to be pretty, streaming media was designed to add variety. But how do you keep participants engaged in a meaningful way when they're attending a session virtually?

AllPlay Web was the only product of its kind there--the concept of playing a competitive game within a web conference (as opposed to simple polling) and getting to use teams was not only new to most attendees, but also tremendously popular.

Right now, we're looking at an industry not quite in its infancy, but rapidly growing in its youth. As people start to adopt virtual solutions in hybrid training and events, we look forward to being part of an incredible solution.

Online Game Shows that Generate Interest

2010-02-12T01:40:00.007-06:00

Most of our customers are using game shows for a training application of some sort; whether it's in a K-12 classroom, internal corporate/government training, consulting, etc.

A smaller subset of our users take game shows and use them in a different way. We have a loyal and satisfied base of DJs that have used Gameshow Pro for custom games at weddings, parties, etc.; pastors that use game shows as an addition to sermons; even entertainers who take the game show act on the road to competition nights at bars or clubs.

We even had an employee who used a Classroom Feud game at his wedding--pitting the bride's side against the groom's side in a how-well-do-you-know-the-newlyweds showdown!

(It just goes to show one that in addition to being a highly effective content retention tool, game shows are also an incredibly entertaining vehicle for learning or just for fun.)

Recently I had a different scenario proposed: Could someone use a game show to drum up public interest in a topic? The question was asked by a personal trainer, looking to stand out from the (numerous) competitors and draw potential clients to his website. He proposed doing a monthly online game show (QuizPoint would be used in this instance) to generate traffic, discussion, and to increase peoples' general knowledge of fitness topics.

It's a great idea--and one that has application both for the public AND for internal corporate/government/k-12 use. The thing is--game shows capitalize on competition. Most people love to play a fun quiz or game online, even if it's merely to test their knowledge. Having a weekly or monthly game show where online visitors can come back and prove their smarts, see where they rank amongst their quiz-taking peers, and perhaps even be entered to win a prize is an excellent way spread the word about a topic.

Used internally, weekly or monthly game shows about relevant training modules that trainees could visit and play at their own pace gets them coming back to web resources and sustains the training far beyond the bounds of a virtual or in-person classroom.

K-12 users can generate online game shows for parents (or parents and kids to play together at home)--keeping them apprised on the latest school information, hot topics and classroom subjects.

Internally, externally or for the general public, online game shows are a great way to generate, sustain and drive interest in topics.

The Game Show Minute

2010-01-26T12:54:00.003-06:00

We've started a new video segment within our monthly newsletter--Game Show Espresso-- called...

The Game Show Minute!

Introducing the inaugural episode:

Game Show Makeovers

2010-01-15T08:57:00.001-06:00

A lot of people resolve to make changes in the new year; to try a new hobby, to get more active, to put more effort into their appearance, etc. It's a time for renewal and reevaluation, reflecting on what works and what doesn't and then adjusting accordingly for the future.

Game shows shouldn't escape the resolution revolution--here are ways that you can refresh your existing game shows:

New Game Skins: Sometimes we all need a bit of a makeover. You can put a fresh "skin" on your game board, revamping the look. This can either be an arbitrary design (maybe you'd like a game show with a more retro or more modern feel, for instance) or you can use your game show to further your company's brand--incorporating your logo and company colors into the game board. (To see more about customizing game boards, go here.)

Try a Different Game Show: Most trainers I speak with use the Categories or Jeopardy-style game in their training most often. This is excellent if they have a lot of information that they want to review quickly with a straightforward question-and-answer format. However, different game show formats suit different purposes. Try Tic-Tac-Toe for brainstorming, Classroom Feud for processes and procedures, or Final answer to utilize different resources (i.e. subject matter experts can be "lifelines").

Transform Your Game Show: You don't have to play a game show the existing way or in the existing format. For instance, we've found that using the Tic-Tac-Toe board as a Hollywood Squares-style game show is incredibly effective for teaching information. Because the "expert" is on the spot--and trainees only have to agree or disagree with *their* answer, it gives attendees with little idea of the content a good introduction and base of knowledge.

Add Variety in Existing Game Play: Game shows are ultimately a flexible tool. Change the rules to suit how you want to play. For instance, one of the best examples of modified game play we've seen deals with the training materials themselves. Contestants in the game show were allowed to look up answers in their training manuals and resource books, because in that case knowing *where* to find the answers when they needed them was as important as knowing them right off the top of their head. Playing the game show this way allowed for participants to develop a deep familiarity with the materials that they carried back on the job.

These aren't the only examples, of course, of how to give your game show a makeover--both visually and through the rules and game play. Game show templates offer enough flexibility for you to play them exactly how you NEED to play them to achieve your training goals.

Happy Holidays from LearningWare

2009-12-22T17:05:00.003-06:00

Happy holidays to all our customers, friends, family and trainers everywhere. This past year has been one of tremendous growth and excitement for LearningWare as we launched two new products, gave presentations in Orlando, DC, Minneapolis, San Diego, Chicago--to name a few, gained new partnerships, added fresh talent to our team, and made a lot of changes big and small to the look and feel of our website, newsletter, Linked In group, Facebook page and more.

Whew.

It's also been a great year for training and development. As many companies have cut back in various departments, it is more critical than ever to make sure that employees are learning and retaining information. Now that the recession of last year is lifting, somewhat, we're seeing a renewed enthusiasm for the training departments and ongoing interest in making training more engaging, effective and fun.

It's with that goal in mind--making training more engaging, effective and fun--that we've been able to meet so many new customers this year, continue to meet the needs of current clients and renew old friendships. Thank you to each and every one of you for having the dedication to your learners to use game shows while educating. Thank you for your input and feedback--our customers have been tremendously valuable in determining our development paths. Thank you for your ongoing support and your business.

Most of all, thank you for being a part of our LearningWare family.

We've got a lot of exciting things coming up in the new year that are going to continue to revolutionize games and game shows in training--both in the classroom and online--so stay tuned.

Happy Holidays!

Your friends at LearningWare.

Webinar Experiences Survey: Full Results

2009-12-14T15:46:00.004-06:00

The Webinar Experiences Survey Results
By: LearningWare, Inc.

November 12th, 2009, LearningWare sent out a survey to a large database of (mostly) trainers--asking them basic questions about their experiences within webinars. Some of the results we got were expected, others were unexpected in scope, while others completely surprised us.

Let’s take a look at some selected results:
It’s not surprising that webinars have replaced in-person meetings. Not only is webinar technology growing--and it will naturally gain new adopters--but it’s also an economical, efficient choice in an economy where budgets are tight and companies are becoming more globalized. This seems to support the reasons for using more webinars: attendees can be at their desks, saving money on travel, while bringing people together from around the world.

Respondents ranked the following issues (each issue ranked individually) on a scale from 1-3. A “1” meant that the issue was a MAJOR issue--where a “3” was not an issue at all. All of the items were at least minor issues--with little to no interaction, technical problems and boring presentations ranking as the most major issues.

But not knowing what attendees are doing--a “minor” issue--might be more critical than previously thought:

Here’s where results got interesting. While fewer people played computer games or visited social networking sites than expected, a whopping 80% checked their email during a webinar (not unexpected, but unexpectedly high), 65% worked on other projects and 67% muted the call to have other conversations. But perhaps most shocking: 51% left their desks and 35% went to the bathroom! So participants in a webinar were not even there.

The next statistic, then, is not surprising at all:
55% believe that webinar training is not as effective as classroom training. And boy, did this question ever get people talking. We included a section for elaboration, and here is what some survey takers said:

It may be more efficient and the cost savings may result in additional training taking place over he span of a given year, but there is something lost in the interaction between facilitator and participant. Gauging participant interest and retention, along with maintaining their attention, is extremely difficult.

If used the right way. Interaction and design are key. Without interaction, you lose participants. Designing a webinar so participants stay engaged is challenging, but necessary.

So what could make webinars better?

With a whopping 82% of people responding that more interaction would make a webinar better--the call to action is clear. But are people currently using the sparse interaction tools available to them?

Only 11% are using interactive tools in every webinar--with a whopping near-30% NEVER using interactive tools.

Summary
While we suspected that accountability and attention were lacking in webinars, we were surprised at the extent that our suspicions were correct. It’s clear that webinars are here to stay--as companies continue to globalize and do more on a smaller budget. It’s also clear that action needs to be taken to keep webinars engaging and make them as effective as a face-to-face meeting (all while people are sitting in front of one of the biggest sources of distraction: their computers).

For full survey results, visit www.learningware.com/WebinarSurveyResults.html.

Recent Webinar Survey Shows Attendees Not Paying Attention; Seek More Interaction

2009-12-07T10:50:00.000-06:00

Some of the statistics from the recent Webinar Experience survey were expected, like 38% of respondents reporting that webinars have replaced in-person meetings. But other statistics shockingly outline webinars' faults. For instance, 67% of webinar attendees mute the conference call to have other conversations.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) December 3, 2009 -- LearningWare Inc., a leader in classroom and elearning training solutions, recently conducted a very revealing Webinar Experiences Survey. The survey validated the trend of webinars continuing to replace in-person meetings, but also showed that attendees' minds, and bodies, may be elsewhere during said webinars.

The survey revealed that:

35% of attendees had gone to the bathroom during a webinar.
65% of attendees had worked on other projects during a webinar.
67% of attendees had muted the conference call to have other conversations.
81% of attendees regularly check their email during webinars.

More and more companies are replacing traditional face-to-face meetings with virtual, online webinars. According to the survey, a third of those in-person meetings and trainings have been replaced by webinars, while (according to Frost and Sullivan) webinars have increased by 20% across the board since 2008. It makes sense—it saves time and money in a world where offices are more likely to be decentralized and travel budgets have been cut.

But one survey respondent states,

“(Webinars) may be more efficient … but there is something lost in the lack of interaction between facilitator and participant. Gauging participant interest and retention, along with maintaining their attention, is extremely difficult.”

With a lack of face-to-face connection, it becomes increasingly difficult for the webinar leader to know what’s going on in the minds of one’s attendees on the other side of the webinar screen. This lack of accountability, combined with attendees sitting in front of one of the biggest sources of distraction (their computer), makes it no wonder attendees’ attention is elsewhere and webinars are, therefore, less effective.

When asked if webinars could be as effective as in-person training, one of the respondents stated,

“If used the right way. (But) Interaction and design are key. Without interaction, you lose participants. Designing a webinar so participants stay engaged is challenging, but necessary.”

Approximately 80% of respondents said more interaction is the number one solution to increase effectiveness, but only 12% of people surveyed regularly use some kind of interaction tool (i.e. polling, whiteboards, etc.) in their current webinars.

While webinars are a cost-effective meeting and training solution, there is definitely room for improvement. Adding interaction that keeps participants accountable for their attention could be the first step to revolutionizing a medium that is currently flawed, but clearly here to stay.

To see the full results of the Webinar Experiences survey, go here.

About LearningWare:

Since 1995, LearningWare has been producing software templates that have been proven to increase content comprehension and retention. AllPlay Web is their newest product—designed to make webinars more engaging and effective by using interactive competition. Their flagship product, Gameshow Pro, is in use in over 40,000 corporate and educational classrooms, and has been receiving rave reviews.

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News and changes and gurus and more!

2009-12-03T14:35:00.006-06:00

There have been a *lot* of changes and additions and all-around great things happening at LearningWare lately. To keep you apprised, here's a quick summary:

We got a new website!

We started a Game Show Gurus group on Linked In! (Feel free to join!)

We relaunched our monthly Game Show Espresso Newsletter with a totally new design--including more articles, information, an ask-the-experts section and more!

And a reminder: We're also on Facebook and Twitter, so friend and follow to get the latest info on LearningWare products, news, game show tips, and more!

Webinars for the Hard-of-Hearing

2009-11-17T11:09:00.004-06:00

With any new technology, there are always growing pains--additions need to be made, functionality needs to be modified, etc.

When conducting a recent survey on Webinar Experiences, we were left with this comment after the question, "Are webinars as effective as classroom training?":

"It can be for many people. However as a hard of hearing person, I have difficulty hearing what the other attendees are saying or asking. I depend a lot on reading lips and I can't see their lips. I am sure it is the same for other hard of hearing or deaf people. Not often is it captioned."

With webinars often relying solely on the prowess of the presenter, and then incorporating PowerPoint presentations as per usual, it's easy to see how information can be lost in the telling. It's a consideration that, I'm guessing, not many presenters take into account when scheduling their webinars. Certainly, the comment raised a point in my mind that I had not previously considered.

Webinar interaction is often limited to presenters asking questions and soliciting responses from attendees. It can be easy, then, for a minimally-interactive webinar to become a non-interactive webinar for the hard-of-hearing or deaf community.

Perhaps as the technology evolves and webinars become more and more popular, captioning will become ubiquitous and interaction will take place on-screen instead of only verbally (AllPlay Web performs this function--using competition to engage attendees without relying on verbal-only interaction). It will be interesting to see how accommodations for attendees with varying abilities will evolve.

Professors Use Game Shows to Review for Exams

2009-11-03T11:42:00.001-06:00

[Reprinted from The Chronicle of Higher Education]

Professors Use Game-Show Format to Help Students Review for Exams

Salt Lake City — When it’s time to review for an exam in her entry-level computer-science course at Montgomery County Community College, Patricia Rahmlow divides the students into teams, hands each team an electronic buzzer, and cues the Jeopardy theme music.

Thanks to a software program that can display a series of questions in a style similar to the popular TV trivia game show, she turns review sessions into competitions. Ms. Rahmlow, an assistant professor of business and computer science, and two of her colleagues at the college described their experiences with classroom games in a session at the League for Innovation in the Community College’s annual technology conference this week.

She said that students now look forward to what used to be a drag. Before she started using the software, she said, “I had never had students ask me, When are we going to do the review?”

For the presentation, she divided session participants into teams and demonstrated the game, using trivia questions on the history of computing, U.S. presidents, and other topics. The buzzers were simple, with just one button. Their wireless signals told the software which team buzzed first.

One drawback of the technology quickly became clear: Winning sometimes just depends on who can click the buzzer fastest. One team always seemed to buzz in first to keep others from getting a chance to answer. Still, everyone in the room seemed attentive and eager to win, even though there were no prizes. (For her courses, Ms. Rahmlow gives the winning team ten points extra credit on the test.)

The demonstration used a system called Gameshow Prep. [A K-20 version of the popular Gameshow Pro.] But presenters also pointed out alternatives, including some that are free online.

Several attendees said they were already using game-show-like approaches in their own courses. One of them was Bill Yarrow, an English professor at Joliet Junior College, who said he had given the midterm for his Shakespeare class in the form of a Jeopardy game in which each student answered individually rather than as part of a team. He used a feature built into the Angel course-management system that his college has installed on campus. —Jeffrey R. Young

Case Study: Game Shows in Retail Training

2009-10-23T16:00:00.002-05:00

The following is an interview with Karen Carlson, a former trainer for the Best Buy corporation, and now an independent Training Designer and Facilitator.

Tell me a little bit about your background.
I worked for Best Buy for nearly 19 years, half in the retail stores and half at corporate. My training background mainly lies in developing and delivering engaging training sessions for retail leadership. Topics ranged from company culture to diversity to leadership development to facilitation skills and more.

Why game shows?
Why not game shows?!?

What caused or inspired you to bring game shows into the training space?
I love to play games myself and always enjoy a little friendly competition. I found game shows and other interactive forums to be a great way to measure if learning is truly taking place without having to do former exams. What would you rather do: take a “final exam” or play a game?!?

Tell me a little bit about your trainees and training group?
Most of my trainees were new or existing leaders within Best Buy who were about to open a new store. Most participant were under age 30, likely even under age 25. My training groups ranged in size from 30 – 150 people from across the United States.

There's a new push to "engage the Millennial generation" entering the workforce, how do you feel, or how have you seen, game shows work with the Millennial audience?
Game shows are perfect for the Millennial audience. They have grown up on games, likely computer games. They are highly competitive and full of energy. The game shows play right into this. They are a way to learn while having fun. Getting a question right or winning the game also gives their self esteem a little boost.

What was the game show experience like in your training classroom?
I created the questions (usually using the Jeopardy-style [Categories] game) based on the content of the 4-day training program. I facilitated the game as a closing activity on the last day of class, again to see what learning had taken place AND to end the event on a high-energy note. With large groups, I had the teams rotate so each person would at least get a chance at answering a question. If I saw that certain questions were consistently missed, my coworkers and I would reexamine the content to see if we weren’t landing that message appropriately or if the question simply wasn’t well written. The game show was always a very popular part of the program.

Getting into Gameshow Pro, specifically, what games did you use, and what are some examples of how they were used?
I usually used Categories [Jeopardy!-style] as it seemed to fit my larger group size better. We also used this in some of our department meetings to spice them up a bit, especially if a new initiative was rolling out.

What impact do you think game shows have on trainees/training?
It showed the trainees that training does not (and should not) simply be a download of information from one person to the others AND that training is fun! If you let the trainees know ahead of time that there will be some sort of a quiz, they are also likely to pay closer attention and take better notes. Since my audience would have to go to their home market and train their new employees, it also provided good examples of how they could bring life and interactivity to their training sessions – even if they did not have access to Gameshow Pro.

What advice would you give to other trainers either using game shows, or considering using game shows in training?
Keep doing it, or start doing it if you aren’t already! Everyone wants to learn, but no one wants to be bored by learning. Collaborating and interacting are important and necessary skills in today’s world. Game shows are an arena where these skills can be practiced in a fun, safe, yet somewhat competitive environment.

Anything else you'd like to share?
Anyone for a game of Scrabble?!?

The Game Show Effect

2009-10-07T15:09:00.006-05:00

The Game Show Effect

The remarkable way that game shows transform an event.

I, personally, am a little surprised every time a client is blown away by the effect of a game show on their event. Not that game shows aren’t amazing—it’s just that I’ve seen maybe hundreds of game shows at live events, and they’re consistently, predictably amazing. I suppose I’m a bit used to it.

Our client came up to me at the last show and said with awe and wonder,

“I cannot believe what a difference the game show made—it was like every time we introduced a round the energy in the room just shifted. All of a sudden they were all up and awake and looking at the screen and their keypads and whispering….”

I smiled and nodded knowingly and in agreement—because that kind of experience is what happens every single time we bring a game show into a live event.

The Barnyard Bowl: An AllPlay Case Study.

The aforementioned comment was made by an executive at Kemps—a nation-wide producer of all kinds of dairy products. Live Spark—our sister company—had designed the one-day event to have a game show running throughout the day.

They took our AllPlay software, and customized the screens, logos, timers, etc., to give it a totally unique and custom look for Kemps—but the base premise of the software remained the same: everyone in the audience had their own keypad to answer the questions in the game show.

They were broken into teams—It’s Local, It’s Fresh and It’s the Cows (put together, all three teams form the Kemps slogan)—by the colors on their randomly-distributed keypads.

When a question and answer options were displayed on the screen, everyone input their answer on their keypads, and the percentage of correct answers was then added to the team score. This was displayed as an empty glass filling with one of Kemps’ major products: milk.

Each team had from the time the custom cow-timer at the bottom of screen started until she reached the barn to lock in their answers.

We played 4 complete rounds of three questions each. The first two rounds, the percentage of people that answered a question correctly on the team was added to the team score.
In round 3, points doubled.
In round 4, they tripled—so that even a team who was behind had a chance to catch up till the very end.

The game show ran throughout the day, and incorporated questions from the previous presentations.

The effect of the Barnyard Bowl was immediately and consistently visible. Each time a round was announced, the audience would sit up in their chairs; bodies leaning forward, reaching for their keypads and murmuring amongst themselves. It was like pressing a “refresh” button for the room, recharging everyone’s batteries after occasionally-dry presentations. After a question, the right answer would be revealed—inspiring cheers and discussion. Then, when the scoreboard came up and the glasses started to “fill” with the percentage of right answers, teams would cheer. Then one glass would stop and the others would go on, causing the cheers to get louder. Then the other glass would stop, revealing the top-scoring team for that question, and the room would erupt in cheering and clapping.

Rounds were played sometimes before and sometimes after lunch and/or breaks, reinforcing information and preparing the audience for content to come. But the greatest thing was walking out to a break after playing a round and hearing the halls a-buzz with game show talk. Audience members were talking about their teams, the questions they had just answered, and the content within the game show (and related presentation content). This means that the presentation material wasn’t just left in the room and consequently forgotten—in addition to energizing the audience and being a heck of a lot of fun, the game show was also reinforcing information and improving content retention.

At the end of the day, after the last round and as people were leaving, comments were flowing:

“That was a lot of fun!”
“I loved the game show!”
“I hope we do that next year, too.”
“We should do that in our normal meetings.”
“I’m glad we had a game!”

The thing is--we hear this each and *every* time we use a game show in a large event like this--whether it's a simple Jeopardy!-style Gameshow Pro game, or a customized AllPlay game.

The client came up to me after the event,

“The game show was a huge hit!”

And that speaks for itself.

Custom Game Boards: FireApps

2009-10-05T16:22:00.004-05:00

Gameshow Pro already comes with 4 or 5 eye-popping game board skins, but every now and then we get a request for a customized design. We are more than happy to customize a customer's Gameshow Pro software to reflect a theme, their company design, a special event, or even their personal style.

The following screen snaps are examples of a custom skin that we made for FireApps including the game board, team display screen and question display screen:

You can find out more about game skin customization under LearningWare Creative Services, or by contacting info@learningware.com.

"I'll Take Learning for 500" Book Review

2009-09-23T14:25:00.003-05:00

Review for "I'll Take Learning for 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate and Train"

Reprinted from Training Media Review

I'll Take Learning for 500, by Dan Yaman and Missy Covington, Book, 2006, Pfeiffer & Company. Support: CD-ROM. Review by Travis Russ Rating: 3 and a half stars

Field trainers and instructional designers are always looking for innovative techniques for engaging their learners and motivating them to retain training content. Game shows have proven to be particularly useful at accomplishing training objectives.

For years, classroom trainers have used game shows like Jeopardy, Family Feud, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire to review course content. These nontraditional learning methods have proved generally effective at helping participants retain the material as well as fostering exciting and motivating learning climates. Until now, few books have been available to help trainers use games shows to their fullest potential.

Fortunately, Dan Yaman and Missy Covington have written I’ll Take Learning for 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate, and Train to fill that gap. The book is a reference guide for trainers and designers that allows the reader to quickly locate information and tips about creating and hosting classroom game shows.

The text is divided into four sections. The first, “Game Shows and Learning,” includes frequently asked questions, a list of critical differences between classroom game shows and TV game shows, a description of brain-based theory that underlies game shows, and the busting of popular myths about game shows.

The next section, “Designing a Game Show for Learning,” includes the nuts and bolts of design, including brief descriptions of popular shows, an explanation of how to select and customize a TV game show for the training classroom, and how to establish rules for the game.

The third section, “Writing Effective Questions,” highlights the types of questions that can be asked during a game show, tips for writing effective (and fair) questions, and strategies for writing questions with multimedia clues. The last section, “Conducting a Game Show,” gives valuable tips for being the host of a classroom game show and maximizing participant learning, logistical details regarding game show setup, game show software and hardware peripherals, and criteria to evaluate success of the game and your performance as the host.

The book also contains a “Resources” section chock full of helpful books and sources for software, hardware, and professionally produced materials for game shows. Finally, one of the most attractive features of this book—the biggest selling point that is also the most underplayed—is a CD that contains a demo of Gameshow Pro, software for creating professionally designed electronic question boards and scoreboards.

This book exhibits several positive characteristics in critical categories. First, it is generally quite effective at holding the reader’s interest. Game shows are a hot topic as trainers are frequently using them in the classroom and always looking for and better ways to leverage this learning methodology. Yet, few resources inform trainers how to use them appropriately and to their fullest advantage. The authors have made a concerted effort to close this gap.

The authors have written a readable text by minimizing technical jargon and writing in an accessible manner for a broad training audience. They are quite effective at dispensing advice that can be easily understood and used by the intended audience.

Second, the self-study value of I’ll Take Learning for 500 is quite high. The reader learns what the book promises to teach. It is generally quite successful at helping readers:
(1) correctly choose and design/modify a training game that will help their participants achieve the training objectives;
(2) integrate multimedia into the game show for superior creativity and innovation; and
(3) learn the ins-and-outs of playing a fun and entertaining game show host while also being an educational classroom trainer.

Third, the content of this book will likely be quite valuable to new as well as experienced field trainers and instructional designers. The authors provide a large number of practical best practices, strategies, and suggestions that are extremely action-oriented and realistic to implement in the typical training classroom and will enhance learning outcomes.

However, the authors primarily talk about how to use established game shows (e.g., Jeopardy) in the classroom. Experienced trainers and instructional designers would benefit more from the introduction of new, innovative game show formats. Chances are, veteran trainers are already using (or have used) well-known game shows. And students may perceive some of these “classic” game shows as outdated.

Newer game show formats could reinvigorate the energy and enthusiasm of trainers and participants alike. So the instructional value of this text will likely be higher for new trainers versus those more established in the field. However, I should note that I’ll Take Learning for 500 does include a helpful section for customizing a game show to fit one’s own needs and offers a number of hints and tips for using game shows in the classroom that experienced and new trainers will find helpful.

Recommendation:
Although new trainers and designers will find I’ll Take Learning for 500 more useful than veterans, I strongly suggest that all instructional practitioners have this reference guide on their bookshelves. The depth of quality information as well as the accompanying CD makes the price of the book commensurate with its value. All readers—novices and veterans—will learn something they didn’t know about designing and hosting classroom game shows. The Gameshow Pro software demo introduces readers to a tool that can create professional-looking game shows as a capstone to learning events—a benefit to both trainers and participants.

Title: I'll Take Learning for 500
Rating: 3 ½ stars out of 4

Using Game Shows as an Instructional Tool

2009-09-17T13:37:00.001-05:00

Using Game Shows as an Instructional Tool

By Dan Yaman, CEO, and Missy Covington, Communications, LearningWare, Inc.

Republished from eLearn: Best Practices

As more and more corporate and K-12 instructors gravitate towards interactive and attention-grabbing instructional techniques, many are starting to see the intrinsic benefits of using game shows. Our experiences, and those of hundreds of instructors, have shown that when learners play game shows their energy levels surge, they pay attention, and they remember more of the instructional content.

Game shows are an appealing medium—they provide healthy competition, have entertainment value, and are a cultural staple both in the U.S. and internationally. However, many instructors are unable to come up with a practical and justifiable way to use them. They are sometimes met with resistance from skeptical supervisors and financiers. What follows are a few of the most frequently voiced objections and our time-tested responses.

"Game shows aren't serious enough-they're just for fun." Training and teaching is a serious business. It's critical that learners absorb and retain content. Game shows are fun, but they're not just fun for fun's sake—they can engage learners so instructors can get serious messages across.

Using game shows can be a way to convey sensitive or serious material in a way that doesn't intimidate learners. This informal training tool opens up discussion around a topic and can "break the ice," making learners feel at ease in the training session and with the material at hand.

"Our employees or students would never buy into, or get excited about playing a game show." Game shows appeal to learners of all ages. We've personally conducted game shows that were "expected" to fail because the audience "just won't get into it." We've never had an experience (with any audience, ever) where the game show didn't appeal to a majority of the audience. There are a few reasons behind this:

Everyone loves to compete; people love to show what they know and see if they can answer given questions.
Game shows are a medium that people of all ages can relate to—nearly everyone has seen a game show in some format. They're easy to understand and pick up without complex instruction.
Game shows appeal to all learning styles—they allow visual learners to see the question and surrounding information; auditory learners to hear the question and discuss answers; and kinesthetic learners to ring in, cheer, and participate.

"Our content is too complex to fit into a game show format." Information is more readily absorbed when broken into smaller chunks and information groups—as is required in a game show format. We've seen game shows used successfully in every type of training situation—from learning about the American Revolution, to rocket science, to OSHA standards, to general corporate policies and procedures.

"We just don't have time to do this with all the other information we have to teach and assessments we have to give." Any type of training and instruction requires a method of review. Learners need to hear information multiple times in order to retain that information. Game shows can be used in place of an "ordinary" review, or can supplement an already existing review process. Game shows can incorporate pre-existing review exercises like role-plays, quick question-and-answer sessions, and learner demonstrations.

Game shows can also take the place of a formal assessment—many game show software programs allow instructors to record results by individual learners. This method of assessment can be less stressful and more accessible than traditional paper-and-pencil methods.

How to Use Game Shows
Game shows are used most frequently in three basic ways: previewing information, reviewing information, and as an energizing event. How an instructor uses a game show depends on the type of content they're presenting and the structure of their information session.

Using game shows as a preview mechanism in a training session can make trainees aware of their gaps, generate curiosity for an upcoming topic, and let instructors know what they need to cover in depth (and what they can skip over). "Family Feud"-style game shows work well for previewing information since you can ask questions that have multiple answers. For instance, you could build interest in a topic like customer-service policy by asking: "What are our customers' top-five complaints?" When previewing information with game shows, be "forgiving" about right or wrong answers, and consider eliminating (or minimizing) penalties for wrong answers.

Game shows are among the most powerful content-review tools around. They're great for assessment and test preparation, or for just a quick recap. Use game shows as a quick review immediately before an exam to alleviate test anxiety and refresh learners' minds. Review after a long training session to "cement" the content in trainees' brains and to provide an emotionally compelling final event.

Almost any game show can be used to review information, but for a quick-fire review session we like to use a Jeopardy!-style game show. This rapid question-answer format allows instructors to cover a lot of information in a short period of time, and as point-levels increase, they can increase the difficulty level of their questions. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", Tic-Tac-Toe, College Bowl, and "Wheel of Fortune"-style game shows also work well for reviewing information-and most can accommodate both short-answer and multiple-choice questions.

There's nothing wrong with using a game show to simply raise the energy level in a classroom or training session. Play a quick, fast-paced game show (like "Jeopardy!") with content that may be one level easier than you would usually use. The purpose is to "warm up" your audience and give them a positive, successful experience—not to stump them. We've also played ice breaker game shows that have nothing to do with the content at hand-using current-event or pop-culture trivia.

A Unique Experience
However an instructor chooses to use them, game shows provide learners with an experience unlike anything else. They motivate learners to pay attention during a training session, they engage and captivate the audience like no other training method, and—most importantly—they are a tool with which instructors can deliver and elaborate on their content. Most instructors know that teaching isn't just about standing up and lecturing anymore—today's learners crave interaction and excitement. As a result, game shows are a practical addition to an instructor's toolkit.

About the Authors
Dan Yaman, CEO, and Missy Covington, Communications, of LearningWare, Inc. have created and consulted on thousands of game shows in hundreds of training scenarios over the years. They are also authors of the book, I'll Take Learning for 500: Using Game Shows to Engage, Motivate and Train.

New education bundle specials for September!

2009-09-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

September Specials for Government!

2009-09-09T11:55:00.003-05:00

New September bundle specials are now up for government trainers!

The Top 5 Reasons to Use AllPlay Web!

2009-09-01T14:22:00.002-05:00

The Top 5 Reasons to use AllPlay Web in your Webinar

Adults need to be re-engaged every 5-7 minutes.
Competition captivates and motivates learners.
Team play builds camaraderie and fosters networking--even in the virtual space.
Specific, measured interactions makes attendees accountable for their attention.
Game formats have been proven to increase content retention and comprehension.

But don't take our word for it. Sign up for a webinar and see AllPlay Web in action today!

To Poll or to Play

2009-08-26T16:24:00.004-05:00

To Poll or to Play

How AllPlay Web goes beyond polling to create interactive webinar experiences.

When LearningWare first saw the need for more engaging webinars, we did a lot of research into what was already out there. Our experiences with webinars thus far had left us flat. For the most part, they were just another presentation as usual; only there was no accountability, no interaction, and no effort made to re-focus attention.

We did find that there was a measure in place in some webinar technology (i.e. Webex, Gotomeeting, etc.) attempting to solve this problem: polling.

But polling has been around since the advent of webinars, and it hadn’t yet solved the problem of disengagement. Polling is a nice start, but it only goes a portion of the way in creating truly interactive webinars—whereas game-based technologies (like AllPlay Web) are a revolutionary tool in the webinar space.

Why is this such a radical shift from simple polling technology? Well, there are five major differences between polling and playing in a webinar:

1. Scoring

Yes, polling can show how many people answered a question a certain way—but to what end? The score in a game format is added question-by-question, keeping the attendees invested in the game. This cumulative score also allows a presenter to reward attendees based on their total answers throughout the webinar. (This reward may be as simple as prestige or praise, but it can also be something like a small gift certificate or promotional item.)

Concrete scoring can also allow presenters to track how much everyone is learning and retaining.

2. Competition

Competition engages webinar attendees like nothing else. There are now stakes involved in answering questions (whether the aforementioned reward is valuable or not). When attendees know that they’re going to be tested on the material—and that they’re going to be competing with peers—they have an incentive to pay close attention to the content at hand.

People are naturally competitive—whether playing by themselves or in teams—and a game format capitalizes on this friendly competition to wholly captivate a webinar audience.

3. Teams

Unlike polling—game formats like AllPlay Web allow people to play in teams. This is significant for a few reasons:

The team structure makes attendees accountable to their peers. One doesn’t want to be “that guy” who lowers the team score—so they engage with the webinar content.

When people are grouped together they are more invested in interaction. They’ll speak up, participate, and become active attendees.

In a team, an attendee is no longer one person in a sea of dozens or hundreds. The team allows for a small-group experience—even in a large webinar.

Teams build relationships and networking. Even if a group is scattered across the globe, being on a team will allow them to interact with their peers on a personal level that one usually doesn’t get in a webinar.

4. Structure

Unlike a poll—which doesn’t have a particular structure throughout the webinar—a game can frame a webinar presentation. Ask questions at the beginning to preview information, then pause the game and go into content. Use the game again to bring up and teach additional points. Then elaborate more on presentation content. Then, wrap up the webinar with a final, rousing game round—reviewing the content.

Not only does it keep attendees engaged (and attendees need to be reengaged every 5-7 minutes), but it’s continually reinforcing key points—boosting the learning potential in a webinar.

5. Visual Appeal

A webinar is a visual medium—hosts can put a lot of work into their PowerPoint presentations and graphics. Most existing polling functionality in a webinar is very rudimentary. The game format is visually captivating, and allows hosts to add graphics, sounds and a game feel that reengages attendees.

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Don’t get us wrong—we believe that polls have their time and place (which is why we’ve included a polling feature within the AllPlay Web software—that merges smoothly with the game questions). Sometimes you want to solicit opinions where there is no right-wrong answer. Sometimes you might just want to throw out a single, quick question. There’s no denying that polling software is useful and a step up from no interaction—it’s just not a fraction as engaging as a game format.

Brighten Boring Webinars: AllPlay Web Write-Up

2009-08-18T13:49:00.000-05:00

AllPlay Web is getting nice buzz around the industry already--and we couldn't be more excited.

Recently it was featured at smallbiztechnology.com. The complete text is below as well:

August 6, 2009

Brighten Boring Webinars: Add Game Shows to the Q&A!

I've attended and/or participated in many webinars - as I'm sure you have as well. Most, compared to an exciting, live and face to face event are quite boring.

The speaker speaks, some questions are asked, a poll might even be given, the speaker continues, there's time for audience question and answers, and the webinar is over.

If you like to do things "out of the box" and make a splash and a bang AND you do webinars you've got to take a look at LearningWare's Allplayweb.com web site. LearningWare sells software for the creation of customized game shows for classrooms and other uses, Allplayweb.com showcases its new services to liven up webinars with a game show experience.

We all love to learn, but we also love to have fun (or be entertained) while we learn. It's exciting.

Furthermore, we retain information better when the education (be it a sales pitch, product demonstration or staff meeting) challenges us to respond to what we've learned.

LearningWare also has software, QuizPoint, which lets you create online quizzes and games to test content retention, review material and engage every learner. You can create, post and host a complete suite of quizzes and games. You can then invite users to play your online game!

All the time, companies need to innovate and be a step ahead of the competition. With tools like this, your webinars and educational or sales presentations will definitely be different and beyond your competition. I hate to sound like a cliche, but especially in this recession, it's even more important to INVEST in technology that can directly affect your bottom line. Boosting sales in a webinar or increasing employee attentiveness in a weekly webinar will definitely boost the "bottom line".

We're on Facebook!

2009-08-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

You can now become a fan of LearningWare on Facebook!

Not only do we post extra stuff there like screencaps, previews, pictures, links, news, articles, interviews and more, but it also includes an automatic feed from our Twitter page and this blog (so apologies to Facebook fans to whom this post is a bit redundant).

It's all the latest and greatest with LearningWare AND using game shows in training--all in one place!

Millennials and Game Show Training

2009-08-10T09:03:00.000-05:00

Millennials (those born after 1980, or so--depending on which research group you ask) are entering the workforce in droves. This is only going to increase over the next few years as "Boomers" retire and job positions open up.

This means that the Millennials are coming--and trainers are having to find new ways to engage them.

Recent research has discovered something particularly unique to Millennials:

The love to collaborate.

Positive or negative, collaboration is the lifeblood of the Millennial generation. They grew up working in teams and getting constant feedback from teachers, parents and peers.

This is why, when we've spoken to trainers, game shows are absolutely critical in the training classroom. Why game shows, though? Why not just some other interactive activity?

Game shows:

Are cross-generational. A Millennial can play a Categories game along with a Boomer or a Gen-X-er. It's a familiar format for all generations currently in the workplace.
Capitalize on competition. They're a friendly, non-threatening way to introduce competition into a training classroom; raising the stakes and increasing accountability.
Encourage team work and collaboration. Peers play together on teams, so everyone is involved and interacting with each other.
Are incredibly engaging. The Millennial generation is used to interactive activities and multimedia. The training-by-powerpoint-only method is particularly ineffective in the group that wants to be entertained and engaged while they learn.
Reinforce content. "I was learning, but I didn't know I was learning," was a comment from a high-school student we interviewed a few years ago. Game shows reinforce training content and increase retention of material by over 62%.

It's true that Millennials aren't the only generation that wants to be engaged, but with the advent of Millennials, more trainers are thinking about reinventing their training--and game shows (like Gameshow Pro) are a great start.

Case Study: Using Game Shows in the Government

2009-08-03T12:10:00.000-05:00

Training Software Brings on Spirit of Competition in the Government Sector

Gameshow Pro Puts The Fun into Functional Training

The government - it turns out - likes to have a little fun, even while getting down to business. Gameshow Pro, by LearningWare, provides both a fun and worthwhile training session for a government agency in California, and the classroom environment has never been the same.

The curriculum has been rounded out, the return on investment (both time and money) has been reached and the overall experience is lasting.

“It is an excellent and a great addition to our active teaching tool box. We have been told that the friendly competition and depth of questions has supported overall learning,” one government trainer noted.

Gameshow Pro has been used widely amongst various government sectors, a development that has been made possible by the unique game show software’s ease and enjoyment of use, for both trainers and trainees.

“Other organizations we work with have purchased the software based on their experience in our courses. They use it much the same way we do, as a tool in a traditional face-to-face education environment,” the government trainer said.

In a time-crunch world, it’s a breeze for trainers to put presentations together. That, combined with a trainer’s ability to quickly track the class’ success rate after each course, makes it a valuable component for teaching.

“From a faculty position, it has been a wonderful tool for summary learning after a multiple-day course.”

Hilmerson Safety Gets Star Tribune Write-Up!

2009-07-29T16:18:00.005-05:00

We're happy to pass on this link from the local Minneapolis Star Tribune:

Tough Cookie Doesn't Let Safety Crumble

In the write-up: Deb Hilmerson of Hilmerson Safety talks about her experiences in safety training. Hilmerson Safety uses Gameshow Pro as an exclusive game show software solution in their safety training--making their training the most engaging around!

One can also purchase safety game modules for their Gameshow Pro software through Hilmerson here.

Follow us on Twitter!

2009-07-24T12:23:00.003-05:00

Well, we're twitterpated (to steal a word from the movie "Bambi").

You can now follow LearningWare on Twitter!

Get updates, exclusive tips, news bits, and whatever's on our mind in 140 glorious characters.

Follow us on Twitter here:

www.twitter.com/learningware

Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day: AllPlay Web

2009-07-20T09:28:00.001-05:00

Jane Hart is a Social Media & Learning Strategy Consultant with a 25 year track record of helping business and education understand how new technologies can be used for learning as well as to improve job and business performance and implement them successfully in their organizations.

AllPlay Web is Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day!

Press Release: LearningWare Looks to Create the Ultimate Webinar Experience With Engaging Software Solution

2009-07-15T02:54:00.003-05:00

Today's marketplace calls for new AllPlay Web product to make Webinars more interactive and produce measurable results.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jul 14, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- LearningWare, a leading provider of training and education software has launched AllPlay Web to make Webinars more interactive, engaging and measurable. This software allows facilitators to insert quiz and survey questions--in either a game show or poll format--into their webinars. This capitalizes on interactive competition, captivating attendees--who all respond at their own computers using virtual keypads.

Additional details can be found at http://www.allplayweb.com.

The product launch couldn't be more timely. Every day, an increasing number of companies are using Webinars -- they're efficient and cost-effective in a world where offices are becoming globalized and travel budgets are being slashed.

"Webinars are transforming the way people are meeting and conducting business," said Lou Russell, President of Russell Martin & Associates, a participant-centered training solutions company. "More and more I see training moving from a corporate classroom to a company webinar."

In fact, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) 2009 Business Travel Spend Survey indicating 71 percent of respondents will spend less on travel in 2009. Webinars are clearly the trend in communicating with employees and customers. According to Frost & Sullivan, the number of Webinars given increased 20 percent in 2008, alone. But as the world is introduced to the obvious benefits of web conferencing, the deficiencies also become apparent.

"A Webinar is a great way to reach people, but the problem is that it can be a one-sided presentation with no measure for learning," says Dan Yaman, President and Founder of LearningWare and co-author of I'll Take Learning for 500.

AllPlay Web Transforms Webinars

LearningWare first introduced the unique, effective game show training format 15 years ago with Gameshow Pro and its products have been used in more than 35,000 corporate and government classrooms. Now, the company brings its expertise from the classroom to Webinars with the AllPlay Web software.

AllPlay Web turns Webinars into a interactive experience by transforming passive attendees into active participants. Instead of simply viewing a presentation, attendees engage in a game experience around Webinar content using browser-based keypads.

Russell, who is also the author of "The Accelerated Learning Fieldbook", conducts numerous webinars on a variety of learning-related topics, but says they have limitations.

"Audience members need to be re-engaged continuously," Russell said. "Research proves that learning is a social activity. Finally, technology has evolved to the point that social interaction is honored in an online environment and not just restricted to face-to-face instruction. I am excited that I now have AllPlay Web to increase the value I provide to my customers."

It's a simple concept with big impact; facilitators create questions and answers in the AllPlay Web software, attendees respond to the questions in a game format during the Webinar, and the software tracks how each participant answered each question for measurable results. AllPlay Web engages participants' sense of competition, it creates accountability, it reinforces the Webinar content, and it makes the Webinar fun and engaging.

"AllPlay Web was developed with a wide range of people in mind. From trainers to educators to sales managers to business owners," said Yaman, "The applications are endless."

The software works with every Webinar provider, including Webex, Gotomeeting and Elluminate. Pricing options vary depending on number of users and depth of service agreement. Webinar attendees do not need additional software to participate.

LearningWare offers frequent Webinars for first-hand walkthroughs. For more information - including videos - please visit www.learningware.com.

SOURCE: LearningWare
CONTACT: LearningWare Clint Roberts, 612-242-3721 media@onesimpleplan.com

Online Training's Got Game

2009-07-07T14:01:00.002-05:00

Dan Hannan, a safety trainer and consultant, who uses Gameshow Pro for his clients recently wrote an article on using games in safety training.

The article, which highlights both Gameshow Pro and other virtual or manual gaming devices for safety training, is available here: Online Training's Got Game.

The text is also mostly intact here:

Online Training's Got Game

Constructed and used properly, gaming activities are highly effective tools for educating on virtually any topic. We can all probably remember having fun with family or friends playing board games, card games or something else on a rainy day or late at night. For me, I got caught-up in the Trivial Pursuit craze of the mid and late 1980’s. In fact, I can still remember several of the questions that I answered incorrectly en-route to loosing—and that was over 25 years ago. That is the power of a game—engaging, entertaining, extremely memorable—and and all the while they’re educating. Take these principles and apply them to some aspect of the working world, say health and safety, and you have a formula for creating “knowledge with staying power”.
The potential power of gaming activities for learning purposes, or game-based learning (GBL), became was realized about 10 years ago. Since that time, many white papers have been written touting increased retention rates of training material where gaming activities were used. The use of custom custom-developed, interactive video games for workplace training has earned the term “serious games”. Video game simulation training is now being utilized on everything from retail sales to flying drone airplanes on a battlefield. Virtual environments enable employees to interact and engage in situations in advance of “going live”. This allows an employee to learn about them self—; their ability to make decisions, be confronted (by other characters), it tests their knowledge in a very engaging way, and they can ultimately learn from a variety of different simulated interactions.
Apart from training simulations, video gaming has become a multi-billion dollar industry. To better understand the entertainment and learning potential of this media, Microsoft Research and a consortium of university partners have formed the Games for Learning Institute (G4LI). G4LI is, a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional gaming research alliance seeking evidence to support games as learning tools for math and science subjects among middle-school students. With its research, G4LI hopes to identify which qualities elements of within video games engage students and then develop relevant, personalized teaching strategies that can be applied to the learning process. The consortium partners include Columbia University, the City University of New York (CUNY), Dartmouth College, Parsons, Polytechnic Institute of NYU, the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Teachers College.
“Technology has the potential to help reinvent the education process, and excite and inspire young learners to embrace science, math and technology,” said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft. “The Games for Learning Institute is a great example of how technology can change how students learn, making it far more natural and intuitive.”

What Makes a Good Training Game?
The author Sivasailam Thiagarajan has identified what he considers to be two critical laws that support the use of gaming activities for effective learning. They are:
1. The law of emotional learning states that events that elicit emotions result in long-lasting learning. This law suggests that people learn best when they are happy or sad or angry and they do not learn well when they are in a state of boredom or apathy. The playful elements of gaming activities add powerful emotional elements.
2. The law of practice and feedback states that learners cannot master concepts and skills without repeated practice and relevant feedback. This law emphasizes that passive understanding of content does not guarantee recall and application.
Based on the laws stated above, the desired recipe for a successful game should result in something that evokes emotion (preferably fun or happiness) and can be completed with some repetition (without getting old) to reinforce learning objectives. In the realm of video gaming, the game is working if physiological changes are taking place—heart rate increases, breathing increases, sweating, etc.
Unlike game shows on TV where information seems very “trivial”, games used to support training offer the ability to bend the rules and encourage discussion. Whether your application or need is a team-based classroom style game or a one-on-one activity, there are several elements to be mindful of when choosing and building a game to get the most out of it. These include:
Teams or every person for them self: —Team participation offers the opportunity for a collaboration of knowledge and the gathering of “skill sets” to solve a problem. This fosters teamwork and does not alienate or single-out someone for a lack of knowledge. Teams do, however, limit someone from “hiding-out in the back of the room” as all parties are accountable to their team. One-on-one “quiz” review or video simulation allows for individual performance to be tracked.
Easy, Hard or Impossible—: The quality and level of difficulty of the content being covered should be selected carefully. If the questions are too easy or too difficult, participants check-out. It is a good practice to make sure you know a bit about those attending a training session and prepare the game accordingly. Are the participant’s novices in their knowledge or veterans in their vocation? A game that allows the a progression of content from simple to difficult usually works well and offers a “little something for everyone”. Having the flexibility to customize game content and other aspects of game-play is beneficial.
Game-play dynamics and you, the Host—: The host is responsible for preparing and managing game play activities. This aspect is often overlooked and can make or break the game show experience. A host lacking in energy and not willing to foster participation will result in a less less-than than-entertaining time. The host is responsible for the pace of game play, being the “judge” in the event of a dispute and for ensuring that learning principles are reinforced (i.e. extended discussion on topics and reflection back on training completed).

Low-tech Alternatives
Although computer based game programs add extra visual and entertainment sizzle, not all games need to be high-tech. Low-tech alternatives exist and can be just as effective as a computer aid. Lego’s©, for instance, offer a great use of multi-colored and multi-shaped blocks to teach the art of communication between two people. With a common barrier between two participants, one describes the “structure” that is built to the other that cannot see it. The objective—to create the mirror image identical in shape, color and space. Not so easy unless you are listening and communicating properly. Want to sharpen your eye at hazard recognition—how about the age-old hazard hunt?. A photo is prepared (real or doctored) in which multiple hazards exist. The objective—identify all hazards. Twists on this activity include a team competition, timed for speed and extra points for those that can cite the regulatory standard that is being violated.

Conclusion
It appears that games, especially those that have a quick pace and are visually stimulating, speak well to the learning tendencies and needs of those younger persons entering the workforce today—no doubt groomed by Xbox, I-pods, the Internet, text messaging, etc. A properly constructed and used implemented game activity is an effective learning tool that results in increased retention of training content. Gaming activities add fun and entertainment to the training experience—something that everyone (from all generations) appreciates.
After all, Plato said “You can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a year of conversation”.

About the author
Dan Hannan, CSP, CHMM—has been an EH&S professional for 18 years and has been providing training for nearly that long. Mr. Hannan is Vice President of Hilmerson Safety Learning Systems (HSLS). HSLS develops computer game-based learning tools to enhance safety training for the general and construction industries. More information about HSLS training tools can be found by going to www.hilmersonsls.com or by contacting Mr. Hannan at danhannan@yahoo.com.

Case Study: Just What the Doctor Ordered: Learning With Game Shows

2009-07-01T16:24:00.001-05:00

Dr. C.W. Gowen supports game show learning format to improve focus and retention.

After finding out about LearningWare in the mid 1990s, Dr. C.W. Gowen has been using the LearningWare game show software product, Gameshow Pro, to train resident doctors at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) and Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS). This unique training tool has been successfully implemented in the pediatric resident training program.

“The residents really enjoy the gaming formats. They like working in groups to answer questions and competing against other teams.”

Dr. Gowen said his residents have played Gameshow Pro Categories (Jeopardy style), Question Bowl (Quiz Bowl style) and the AllPlay game. “The various teams compete against each other and everyone seems to retain the information much better,” he said.

Since the incorporation of games into the curriculum, more and more of the EVMS departments have asked about the tool, resulting in broader use around the facility for the residency programs. The innovative training technique is used weekly and has helped improve the residents’ pass rate for the Pediatrics Certifying Examination.

“We have incorporated Jeopardy and AllPlay into our Grand Rounds. Quite often, the pediatric residents will compete with the OB/GYN residents. Our pediatric faculty and community pediatricians even play against the residents.”

For the past 10 years or so, Dr. Gowen’s program has hosted the Virginia state competition, which includes teams from each of the five residency programs in Virginia (University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Inova Health System, Navy, and CHKD). Each fall, teams compete for the Williamsburg Cup playing AllPlay and answering questions about pediatrics. CHKD residents are the current champions - having won four of the last five years of competition.

Dr. Gowen also included the game formats and sample games at the annual Accreditation Counsel for Graduate Medical Education (www.acgme.org). The lecture was attended by more than 400 people and received much positive feedback about the use of games in curriculums.

“There were lots of great comments and questions from those in attendance. Hopefully, many purchased the games after they returned to their home programs.”

LearningWare has a new website!

2009-06-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't seen it, you should head on over to www.learningware.com and check out our new, totally redesigned website.

Not only is it spectacularly awesome looking, but it also has a bunch of new features designed by trainers, for trainers--like our new Learning Center.

The Learning Center includes:

Tips for being a better game show host, structuring your game, changing the rules and using game shows in training.
Expert interviews with Thiagi, Bob Pike, Lou Russell and more.
This blog--which will feature case studies, articles, game show tips and anecdotes, and LearningWare news.
And more to come--including more case studies and videos!

Head on over and check it out--and don't forget to give us your feedback!

Case Study: Unique Hospitality Training Method Leaves Them Wanting More

2009-06-22T16:14:00.003-05:00

Industry Vet Mark Eggers Keeps Employees In The Know, When It Matters Most

As a veteran of the hospitality business, Mark Eggers knows how important customer service is. Now more than ever, the competition for the consumer buck is stiff and the hospitality experience overall has to be second to none. This all starts with training and development – the learning experience has to be engaging, cost-effective, and worthwhile, so it really can spell success. Some say “enjoyable training” is an oxymoron, but Eggers thinks the opposite, in part because of his key training tool –Gameshow Pro by LearningWare.

Eggers has been a trainer in the hospitality industry for more than 10 years. He uses Gameshow Pro, which puts his training curriculum in a game show format to encourage better engagement. In fact, he’s used Gameshow Pro the last four years, and he’s found it to be a lasting experience.

“It was great for the employees because you could take training material and make it more engaging with better knowledge retention. Many times the employees wanted to keep playing after we were done,” he said.

The hospitality industry is a several billion-dollar industry. A large part of its success relies on what employees take away from their training sessions and into their day-to-day roles. The ultimate goal is extraordinary customer service and a wonderful guest experience. That is why Eggers uses Gameshow Pro in his traditional classroom training regularly. It ensures knowledge retention with the trainees and rounds out the learning process.

“Gameshow Pro is like the cherry on top of the sundae. It adds the finishing touch to a session,” he said.

New AllPlay Web Video

2009-06-22T12:32:00.004-05:00

We'll be back to the game show training tips shortly, but for now, we wanted to share the following video with you. It's a short walk-through of the new AllPlay Web software. Let us know what you think!

Extending an Invitation

2009-06-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

Recently, we were at ASTD conference delivering a workshop on using game shows in training called, appropriately: "I'll take Learning for 500."

We ended with a slide that said "You've got a friend in the business." It had the contact information for both Dan Yaman, the founder and CEO of LearningWare, and Missy Covington, the communications director. (It even included Dan's cell phone number!)

What we meant by that was that the participants in the workshop could contact us up any time to ask questions about using game shows in their training sessions--even if they weren't using our software. These questions could range from hosting the game to creating the questions, to setting up the room for a game show...anything game show related in training, and we'd be willing to help.

Because we're *that* passionate about using game shows in training, we would like to extend this invitation to you.

1.800.457.5661
x207 for Dan
x237 for Missy

dan@learningware.com
missy@learningware.com

We're dedicated to making your training successful using game shows. So give us a call today, and start revolutionizing your training.

The Cure for the Common Webinar

2009-06-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

My first webinar experience took place about 3 years ago. We were producing a live training event through our sister company, Live Spark, and wanted to get a solid grounding in our client's content so we sat in on one of their new product rollout webinars.

Webinars, at that time, were relatively new-ish. "How fantastic," I thought,"I can get up to speed quickly without having to leave my desk."

As the webinar progressed, however, my enthusiasm was quickly sapped. I'm not a particularly distraction-prone person, but after about 5 minutes I found myself (somewhat ashamedly and automatically) checking my email...checking the news highlights...trying to squeak in a little copyediting...

The webinar was a great way to reach people, but the problem was that it was just another deadly-dull-and-dry presentation. Not only that, but if it had been an in-person presentation, I would have been required to *try* to pay attention (or at least maintain that placid look of wakefulness). There wasn't even that level of accountability.

I don't blame that client. I've been in many, many other webinars since--and while they have been presented with varying degrees of skill, my mind was still left to wander...to email...to the news...to my other tasks...

There is just *no* way to ensure that attendees are paying attention. And if my mind is wandering, you can bet that every other attendee is experiencing brain check-out in mass as well.

More and more companies are doing webinars now--they're efficient and cost-effective in a world where offices are globalized and travel budgets are slashed. But if people aren't learning the webinar information--if they aren't engaged, if they aren't paying attention, if they aren't accountable--then webinars aren't a cost-effective solution, they're a waste of time.

Clearly, there was a problem here that needed a solution.

Hey, LearningWare had been the expert in making training engaging, memorable and fun for over 15 years... surely we would be able to come up with something to fix this new webinar problem, right?

Right.That's why LearningWare came up with AllPlay Web.
AllPlay Web lets you create a professional, fully-automated and engaging game show experience within your webinars. You can review and preview content, refresh the audience, and--most importantly--keep everyone engaged and accountable.

They have to pay attention to the presentation--their sense of competition is engaged and there might be a question on the material later.

They have to stay with you on the webinar instead of checking their email, because there is actual, tangible participation required on their part: registering their answers using their own keypads.

It's fun. It's engaging. It's memorable. It turns a common webinar into an interactive experience--truly making the webinar a cost-effective training and communication solution.

AllPlay Web even tracks how everyone answered, so you know where the knowledge gaps exist in your training. You can even ask survey questions.

We've just launched it in a beta version, it's awesome, and you should find out more about it here.

No, seriously, go check it out. Because not only is it absolutely revolutionary, but it's the first thing that's kept me on track--as a participant--during a webinar, *ever*.

And that's a pretty amazing feat. :)

Quiz Point Reviewed by ILEETA

2009-04-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

The International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA) recently reviewed LearningWare's QuizPoint in its "Use of Force" Newsletter. The article can be found here, but we've also copied the text here:

QuizPoint

with: Lt. Harvey Hedden
What an instructor knows is not nearly as important as what his student knows as a result of the instructor’s work. Law enforcement officers don’t really like being tested, but many agencies see cognitive testing as a valuable assessment tool to determine if an officer possesses important concepts, as well as a proactive defense to civil litigation, especially in the area of use of force.

Many trainers have developed PowerPoint presentations that permit the student to answer questions. The biggest limitation of these tools is that there is no means to keep individual scores.

Private industry discovered some years ago that they could make testing more palatable by making it a game. Our competitive nature means students study harder and recall more important information when learning is reinforced by competition. Even more mundane subjects are remembered because it could mean a higher score. Most of the officers you train have played some sort of video game – and many still do – making them ideal candidates for this type of testing.

Learningware is a company that has developed two such testing platforms. Their original product GameshowPro, has recently been augmented by a new product called QuizPoint. Like its predecessor, QuizPoint uses a form of television’s Jeopardy game. The game’s software allows an instructor to include pictures, video and audio clips – before, during or after a question. QuizPoint also allows for a variety of testing options, including timed responses and directing the student to corrective information.

I found the QuizPoint software easy to use as both an instructor and a student. The quizzes are created by the instructor with software provided by Learningware and then uploaded to the companies’ secure web site. The quizzes are hosted on-line and the games are flash based, meaning the student can access the test from any web browser without downloading software. Users must have a user name and password.

The student’s responses are recorded and kept on file for later retrieval. Leaningware provides a Learning Management System that allows the instructor to see results by exam, question class or student. The system is also ideal for remote learning because the exams and records are web based. QuizPoint can also provide aggregate test scores to help you identify problem learners, and you can post top scorers to maintain the spirit of competition.

QuizPoint is currently being used by California P.O.S.T. and examined by a number of other agencies. For my preference, alternative templates currently being developed by Learningware will also be a welcome addition, especially for some of our more serious subjects where the game show format may not be most appropriate.

Learningware.com offers free trials of QuizPoint so you can determine if the product can help you. Learningware also offers government pricing – a license for up to 250 students currently costs $2,000. For further pricing information, you can contact Learningware at 800-457-5661 or speak directly to the Government Services Representative at 866-433-5139.

Looks like QuizPoint is already making waves--and we're glad to hear it!

5 Game Show Myths that Simply aren’t True

2009-03-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

Simply saying “Game Show” can evoke a strong reaction in your training classroom—or amongst peers and superiors. Because everyone has experience with game shows in some form, everyone comes to the classroom with their own vision of what a “game show” should be like. Unfortunately, a lot of the time this vision doesn’t compliment training, and leads people away from using game shows in a training situation. Fortunately, the most common “myths” or misconceptions associated with using game shows can be easily corrected.

Myth #1: Game Shows Wouldn’t Appeal to my Trainees.

Truth: So your trainees are serious. They’re white-collar executives, they’re blue-collar miners, they’re doctors, they’re temps, etc. That definitely doesn’t mean that they won’t like game shows. Game shows provide an opportunity for your trainees to express their knowledge, compete, socialize and take a break from the ordinary. We’ve seen a lot of groups that no one would have pegged for “game show contestants” really get into the game show. This is because game shows aren’t just a novelty—they appeal to the fun side of everyone—no matter how “serious” or “technical” the person.

Myth #2: Game Shows Won’t Work for my Subject.

Truth: Game shows work with almost any subject you can train. Game shows can be adapted to fit both fact-based and brainstorming content, as well as both hard and soft skills training. We’ve seen trainers use game shows for everything from (literally) rocket science to harassment training. Game shows can help you facilitate complex subjects by breaking them down into smaller “chunks” within the game show, and can aid in discussion of “sensitive” topics by breaking down barriers and allowing everyone to relax.

Myth #3: Game Shows Take Too Much Time to Create.

Truth: Initially the act of creating a game show can take up to a few hours. However, software (like Gameshow Pro) can make this process quicker by giving you templates with which to create your game. Once you’ve created a game or two, creation becomes faster. You may also “refresh” an already-created game by adding in new questions, adding a few extra elements to a question, or simply rearranging the question order. Gameshow Pro version 4’s Question Library allows you to drag-and-drop questions into a game show, meaning that creating a game can literally take as few as 5 minutes.

Myth #4: I Don’t Have Time for a Game Show in My Training.

Truth: Most trainers do some kind of content review—so why not make that review more effective? Your training is too important NOT to be remembered. Use the time when you would normally do an oral review to do a 5-15 minute game show. (In fact, when compared to oral reviews, game shows increase exam scores by over 60%.) Game shows don’t have to be long to be effective either. If you have 3-5 minutes, insert a few questions from the game show to review and perk up your trainees. You can either have the short segments stand alone, or you can add up the teams’ points from all the “mini” rounds to get a final score at the end of the training session.

Myth #5: We Just Can’t DO that Kind of Thing Here.

Truth: We’ve been taught that training is serious business. That’s absolutely true and it’s also why it’s so important to deliver training in a memorable way—even if the way in question is a bit unconventional. Game shows don’t have to be tacky, loud or over-the-top—they can be tailored to fit your company’s culture. Sometimes doing little things like changing the game’s name to “Review Activity” can change the perception of the game show within the company. Game shows don’t “fit” only a particular brand of training, they can be modified to fit YOUR training.

Bonus 6th Myth: I Can’t Be a Game Show Host.

Truth: As a trainer, you’re already the face of your company or department. You’re delivering content, ensuring compliance, and putting yourself “out there” every day, even if you’re not physically in front of trainees. Almost anyone can be an effective game show host whether they’re more introverted or more extroverted. The key is to play to your own style. If you’re not a flamboyant person then that’s not going to be the hosting style for you. If you REALLY don’t want to host the game show, you can create a game show and have one of your peers host, or you can even get trainees to take turns hosting questions and you can contribute training content as needed.

Tips for Using Online Games

2009-03-04T16:35:00.000-06:00

In honor of our newest product, QuizPoint, we’re dedicating this issue of Espresso to using online games.

Online games can be a great way to unite learners from different locations and globalize your training classroom. So without further adieu, the top 5 tips for using online games:

1. Use Teams.
Playing a game online can be a largely individual experience. Regardless of location, group trainees into teams. This will give them the experience of playing as a competitive unit, and learning with their peers despite the relative isolation of online. Teams can compete against each other to get the highest collective scores. And speaking of scores…

2. Display Scores.
Have a continually updating leaderboard (displayed before or after the game—or both!) that shows which trainees or teams lead the group in highest scores. Trainees can check this scoreboard as frequently as they wish to see if they’re still at the head of the class. This keeps the spirit of competition alive, and engages trainees in the game. Trainers may choose to give prizes for the top ranking players.

3. Retake tests for mastery.
Consider allowing trainees to re-take quizzes or games online. This allows them to master the material at hand and continually improve their scores. Plus, it allows them to pick up questions that they missed, and reinforces questions that they already answered correctly. If you decide not to let trainees re-take the tests, be sure to review questions after the game. Trainees need to know why they got a question wrong, particularly in an online format.

4. Make use of tracking features.
Many online game and quiz programs feature Learning Management Systems (LMS) that provide detailed trainee results. These allow a trainer to see which questions were consistently missed, which trainees had the best scores, and in which areas the entire class (or particular persons) need further instruction. These features can be immensely helpful both with the current trainees and in designing or revamping the next training course.

5. Utilize the online component and links.
Incorporate media and links into your game show. After players answer a question, it’s a great time to direct them to additional resources or information. You can link to online PDFs, pictures, video clips, the company website, etc. Some programs also allow you to input your own sounds and pictures offline as well. This changes an online game show from a review activity or a fun competition into a truly involved and interactive learning experience.

Bonus: Use online game shows for fun.
Online games don’t always have to be intrinsically linked with your training content. Since they’re such a good way to unite people in different locations (and even countries), use a “fun” game with company trivia for a team building activity. Games and quizzes can also be used to address cultural considerations and build awareness for traveling employees.

Another bonus: Try out QuizPoint for free for 30 days. Visit this link to download a trial version of the new online game and quiz creator software.

Custom Game Shows: The Seagate Case Study

2009-02-23T16:33:00.000-06:00

LearningWare is pleased to be not just the provider of game show software, but also of solutions. LearningWare can create interactive solutions (with game shows or not) for your training session, curriculum or event through our LearningWare Services division (in partnership with its sister company, Live Spark). What follows is one example of LearningWare creating a custom game show to suit the needs of the trainer.
Summary: Seagate needed a way to engage their audience in traditionally dry breakout sessions. Live Spark created three different custom audience-response game shows that were played in each of the three breakout sessions throughout the session. The games were not only well received, but the audiences’ attention and retention of the material soared; as did the energy of both the presenters AND the attendees.

Overview: Seagate was getting all their local and international sales reps together for a large annual event. Part of this event included 90-minute workshops training on everything from product roadmaps, to new product introductions and sales strategies. Audience members cycled through the four major workshops in regional groups; from the Americas, to Europe, to Asia to Canada.

Issues: The extended workshop sessions were trying on the attention span of the attendees. A large amount of very important information needed to be presented, so presenters were scheduled back-to-back, giving attendees very little time to process and absorb the information. This was not conducive to learning.

Pile on top of that the fact that a lot of the material was very technical and could be dry. It was a recipe for attendees to check out of the breakout and check their Blackberries instead.

Solution: Live Spark designed three unique audience-response game shows that took place throughout three of the breakout sessions. They were a baseball-themed game, a quick-quiz game, and a “Get Smart” game.

Each audience member had a keypad waiting for them when they walked in the door. Depending on the game type, audience members were either playing individually (with the score of the highest keypads winning the game) or on teams. The games were introduced first thing, and a sample question was played.

After every presenter, a game show session took place. The content for the game show was based on the presentation the attendees had just heard—with the exception of the final round at the end of the workshop; which was a compendium of questions.

Why it worked: When the first question of the first round was played, and the audience found out how they scored in a dramatic, building fashion, the room erupted into cheers—led by the team with the highest score on that question. The energy, instead of draining with each progressive speaker, was refreshed and renewed in between every presentation. Not only that, but speakers highlighted the content that was going to be in the game show later—bringing out key points that were reinforced through the highly emotional game show experience.

Everyone in the audience was engaged. They were engaged during the game show--each playing along with their own keypad—but, perhaps more importantly, they were engaged DURING the speaker presentations. No one, after all, wanted to miss a question in the game show because they failed to hear a fact or key point during the presentation.

Because game shows are a somewhat-universal medium, there was no difficulty getting even international groups to play along.

Reactions: Seagate--the speakers, audience members, and organizers—were extremely happy with the game show.

”I didn’t believe you when you said they’d start cheering with the first score,” an event organizer remarked, “But this is simply amazing. Everyone is engaged.”

Audience members, knowing the next workshop was going to contain a game of some sort, were a-buzz in the hallways, talking with their peers about which session they had just come from; what game they played, who won, and which questions stumped them.

It was the most widely successful breakout session event that Seagate had ever had, and we’re happy to report that there was a distinct lack of Blackberry-checking.