There are many factors that will make your elearning course successful. One of them is branching scenario. If this is something new to you, then allow us to explain.
This concept is a part of scenario-based learning. It is important because it allows the learners to relate to the lessons being taught in the course. Branching scenario, is specifically allowing learners to make decisions during the learning process. The instructor basically provide scenarios that will prompt learners to choose among options or make a new one so they can solve the problem. This will not only allow the learners to connect the lesson to their personal or professional lives, it will also help them practice. That way, after the course is over, they can easily implement the skills and the knowledge that they learned into their daily tasks.
Using your elearning course to help learners practice is a great way to help them realize the consequences of their options without the risks in real life.
Of course, to have all these benefits, you need to be able to integrate branching scenario. Here are a couple of tips to help you use this technique in your course.
- Plot the challenges and outcomes of each branching scenario. This is for you to understand the different options that the learners will have depending on the scenario that they will choose. This will help you filter out the unnecessary options and concentrate on the realistic ones. It will allow you to design the scenario that will not only be aligned to the objectives of your course, but also be most beneficial to the learners.
- Limit the branches in your scenario. In relation with the first tip, you need to remember that every option that you will present to the learner will each have an effect on future options and decisions. This is why you need to be careful about plotting how the scenario will branch out after every decision. As much as possible, limit the decision points before revealing the outcome.
- Target behavioral development. It is true that elearning is really all about ideas. However, if you want effective implementation, it is the right behavior that will make the necessary changes or improvements. This is where branching scenario comes in. If the course is all about rolling out a marketing campaign, you want to create a scenario that focuses on the hurdles that is usually encountered during such tasks. You need to focus on the behavior that will encourage them to implement the skills and knowledge that will help learners succeed in real life.
- Make the characters relatable. While the scenario may be relatable, make sure that the characters you will be using have the same quality. If most of your participants are managers, you do not want your scenario to revolve around the difficulties of a CEO. They may both have roles in that particular scenario but their authority to make decisions are different. You want to give managers a scenario with a character that has the same level of authority as they have. That way, they can effectively put themselves in the scenario.
Implement these tips and you should be able to use branching scenario to make your elearning course more valuable to the participants.
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