Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014 - (Page 3)

FROM WHERE I SIT - D OU G H ARWAR D SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND GAMIFICATION B E CO M I N G M A I N S T R E A M There is a lot of hype about the viability and advantages of using gaming and social tools to make training more engaging and interactive. Logic tells us that making learning more fun and collaborative has to be in the best interest of the learner. But, the bigger question is, whether it is in the best interest of the business. Many training leaders have been looking for best practices on how to implement gamification and social tools. Learning leaders want to ensure they stay in line with current trends and behaviors, but if leveraging these tools is done solely for the purpose of making the learning more engaging then the risk of spending training dollars unwisely is high. Training objectives must be tied to business objectives. According to Brian Burke, an analyst at Gartner, a technology research company, we have to design gaming, social and collaborative environments with the business objectives in mind first. But in order for the environment to meet those objectives, we must make sure it is designed with a player-centric approach. This means designing environments that "motivate players (and participants) to achieve their goals - and those goals should overlap with the business goals." This allows us to then measure the investment of these environments based on how they contribute to achieving business results, as opposed to how much the learner enjoyed the experience. From where I sit, there are many examples of companies that have invested a lot of dollars into these social and gaming environments, but unfortunately too few that have demonstrated measureable results. Our objective for this issue of Training Industry Magazine is to help you understand how gamification, social and collaboration tools can impact the business, and provide you with ideas on how to effectively align these tools with business goals. WE NEED TO GO BEYOND JUST SIMPLY MAKING THE TRAINING EXPERIENCE FUN AND ENGAGING. We need to go beyond just simply making the training experience fun and engaging for the learner; it must also be in the best interest of the business. Doug Harward is CEO of Training Industry, Inc. and a former learning leader in the high-tech industry. Email Doug. T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - SPRING20 1 4 I WWW.TRAINI NGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE 3 http://www.trainingindustry.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014

From Where I Sit
Table of Contents
Contents
Guest Editor: Do You Feel Lucky?
Network Performance: The Power of Social Learning and Behavior
Meaningful Work: Not Just for Millennials
Four Levels of Engagement
What L&D Professionals Need to Know about Gamification
Enhancing Learning with Social Media
Gamification in Sales Training: Seven Critical Considerations Before the Games Begin
Let the Disruption Begin: Social Media and the Great Expansion of Enterprise Learning
Learning Made Fun: Gadgets, Games and a Safe Place to Explore
How Silicon Valley Inspired an Era of Social Learning
How Games Drive Learning
Roll the Dice: Learning with Board Games
Casebook: BAE Systems: Speeding the Business of Learning through Collaboration and Knowledge Management
Salespeople, Coaching and Gamification
Three Ways to Make Learning More Engaging
Stop Creating Dysfunctional Relationships with Employees
What's Online
Company News

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2014