In recent years, there has been a drastic move away from impersonal, uninspired services across most sectors, and eLearning is no different. There has been a collective push toward providing tailor-made, personalized content.

When employees hear the word “training,” a collective groan usually accompanies it. Training for most people brings forth images of an afternoon spent listening to a boring speech accompanied by a mediocre slideshow presentation whilst trying not to fall asleep.

By using a personalized eLearning approach to corporate training, employees are kept engaged while filling knowledge gaps.

That is not to say, however, that there is nothing to be gained from using traditional learning methodologies. In fact, a blended approach, consisting of a combination of personalized eLearning tools and traditional face-to-face learning, can offer people the best of both worlds.

Enter Game Theory

Using a gamified eLearning approach, especially with a specialized platform, has been shown to keep people engaged and enthusiastic throughout the learning experience.

With smart, adaptive gamification, the platform is constantly learning as people make their way through each task or level.

When choosing an eLearning platform, it is especially important to use a tool that allows for the design and creation of gamified learning content. So, what makes an eLearning platform successful? Personalization, of course!

Modern eLearning tools can facilitate an entirely new learning methodology designed to ease the learning process. New learning pathways can be created with interactive, immersive serious games that use 3D animation.

Below are three tips on how to create personalized and engaging eLearning content using innovative learning methodologies.

1.   The Beauty of Choice

Creating personalized and engaging eLearning content begins with a choice. The freedom to choose should begin with the ability of a learner to customize their digital avatar. They need to embed themselves visually from the start.

As the learner progresses through the simulation, they make choices that lead to a direct consequence or outcome. Using a personalized simulation means that the data collected during these choices are remembered. The decision-making paths are forged and remembered by the platform.

The beauty of choice when using an eLearning platform is that every person who uses the game creates their own learning pathway. This is based on the decisions they made along their journey.

The person gets to choose the story they would like to engage with, and the game is modified based on the learning decisions made by the player. In other words, they choose their own adventure.

The experience is highly personalized and intuitive. The more levels a learner completes, the more the 3D platform adjusts to suit their learner preferences and abilities. Choosing the right eLearning platform has been proven to motivate employees while leaving them feeling far happier once they have completed the training.

Allowing people to choose while they are working through the serious game yields more data, which can then be used to better tailor trainings to their individual needs.

2.   One Size Definitely Doesn’t Fit All

No two people are the same: Everyone has their own temperament, learner preference and attention span. Learning techniques that may suit one person may fail miserably on another. One memorable example from fiction is that Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione often faced the same challenges, but each of them had completely different approaches that matched their strengths.

eLearning content that is tailored to the needs of the individual has a much higher success rate. This means creating a game and content that is designed to fill the knowledge gaps of the individual, rather than the group.

3.   Tailoring Content Based on Capabilities

When creating a serious game, there must be a balance between the capability of the participant and the difficulty level of the content. If the content is too easy, the learner may lose interest and no knowledge gaps will be filled. If the content is too hard, the learner may become anxious and quit, again leading to no new knowledge being learned.

This equilibrium is crucial to continued authentic engagement, therefore counting on tailored content to suit the capabilities of the user is key.

To ensure that training provides learners with the correct level of difficulty, assessments can be set midway through the gamified learning process. If someone fails the assessment, personalized corrective behavior can be taken. Content is then tailored to fill the knowledge gap that the person is struggling to bridge.

Learning using a platform is an ongoing journey that the chosen platform should reflect. As skills are improved, and people work through the flow channel, the platform should adapt and evolve along with the person and their decisions.

It isn’t about lowering the difficulty; it’s about adjusting the approach.

Endgame: A Tailored Authoring Tool for Story Creation

The best way to truly personalize content when deploying an eLearning platform is to use an authoring tool. The tool needs to allow individuals to create their own stories and their own narratives.

The story can be based on their chosen environment, characters and dialogues. The best part is that this is simple to do! No fancy code or computer science degree needed.

Interactive eLearning tools provide far more insight as they are constantly learning how a person thinks. Data collected at certain points in the game further tailors the learning experience.

When people are more connected with the outcome, they are more inclined to feel responsible for the decisions that affect the story of the serious game. When a person edits their game to their preferences, the insights gained can help the game to better adapt to the person’s likes and dislikes while bridging important knowledge gaps.

Data and analytics help to personalize the story even more. Having an easy-to-use authoring tool that allows people to create their own dialogue yields better insights. It allows for the ability to tailor the story within the realistic simulation context.

All of this encourages enthusiastic learning and makes for increased efficiency and happiness in the workplace.