Learner engagement can be elusive. It is difficult to grab and hold a learner’s attention with so many smartphone distractions at their desk or at their fingertips. But engagement is possible through specific techniques that command attention and engage the learner. In this session you will learn how to engage learners and how to present content using gamification techniques such as storytelling, feedback, and competition. During this session you will simultaneously learn about engagement techniques and experience them. These techniques will help you to create more engaging instruction within your own organizations or for your clients. You’ll be able to apply these simple techniques to your learning design almost immediately.

1. Twitter:@kkapp
The Engagement Abyss:
Three Effective Methods to
Engage Learners
By Karl M. Kapp
Professor , Bloomsburg University
Author: Gamification of Learning and Instruction

2. Lynda.com Course: Gamification of Learning
YouTube Channel
Web Site:www.karlkapp.com
Books

3. Let’s Get
Started

4. What elements are being
used to drive engagement?

5. Karl M. Kapp
Presents:

6. The Case of the

7. t was a quiet Monday morning, very
quiet, really quiet… almost too…

8. Then, out of nowhere, she flew into my office,
like a boss who had a problem that needed
solved …
Hi Boss.

9. I have a problem that
needs to be solved.

10. We need to
decrease the
Learner Abyss.
She wanted to decrease what she called the
“Engagement Abyss. ” I called it “Learner
Engagement.” She had the MBA—not me.

11. You came to the right
instructional designer that’s
what I do…

12. Yeah, I know…that’s
why I hired you. Ugh..
Now take the new person here
and solve this mystery.

13. For some reason, she didn’t seem bothered
by the fact that she was breaking the
company’s no smoking policy…

14. This is where you come in. We’ve got to
solve this mystery. Help me figure out the
clues …and fast.

15. Text KarlKapp to 37607
Or
PollEv.com/karlkapp
First, take out your text
machines.
K a r l K a p p

16. Choose your disguise…

17. Stakes are high and time is short.

18. The news of disengaged learners was spreading
Disengaged Learners are Everywhere
Learning Eagle
October 30, 2014See Section F for Coupons
Investigation Opened
By Harry James
Las Vegas, NV– It started out as
just another normal day. Larry
the Learner had just sat at his
desk to embark on a learning
journey. A journey that turned
horrific within only a few
moments.
The result is unnecessary
incident that could and should
have been avoided by having
the right instructional strategy
coupled with the right content.

19. We need to find Ivan…the Informant...

20. I knew one of his old haunts…

21. He was about as friendly as a centipede on
crutches.
Hello, Clueless…

22. Look I am going to ask you some
questions, the right answer gives you
a clue to learner engagement.
He was about as friendly as a centipede on
crutches.

23. What do you and your detectives here have
to say about this?

24. What is an often overlooked element of an
engaging learning event?

25. Here, let me show you what I
think is a critical element.

26. He then grabbed his typewriter to show me
the key element of engaging learning.

27. Story—Something
has to happen.
There must be some
action, event or
scenario that
moves the learner
from point A to
point B. Something
the learner cares
about.
Change:
 Character
changes.
 Good defeats
Evil.
 Character
faces conflict
& triumphs.

28. Ivan then grabbed his laptop to show me a
demonstration.

32. Now let’s talk about another
element of engaging learning.
What is your favorite television
show, Detective?

33. Create Open Loops
Law &
Order

34. Thanks, Ivan.Get out of here….
This mystery of engaging learning was starting
to take shape…

35. App-termission
Get the Notes/Slides, Artwork
& Additional Ideas
www.karlkapp.com/kapp-notes

36. Now, let’s check in with the boss and see if she
has any new clues for us.

37. Here, I have a clue for you. I found it in
my desk drawer….

39. I arrived at the place on the matchbook, as
shady as a supermoon eclipse…

40. Enter Question TextHmm…what could this location and clue mean??? Tell
me. Does engaging learners start with action or
content?

41. Action draws in the learner and
encourages further engagement.

42. Too often instruction is about the content
and not about interacting or engaging with
the content. It needs to be about what you
want the learner to do.

43. Make the learner do something
Answer a question
Identify a procedure.
Make a decision.
Solve a mystery.
Confront a challenge.
Pick a team.

44. Time for a recap with the boss…she looked a
little frantic…she wanted to know one more
thing.

45. I want to know one more
thing.
What elements make
learning engaging?

46. What elements did we
encounter today that can
engage learners?

47. Any NOT mentioned so far?

48. Great stuff, you folks really seemed to have
crossed the Engagement Abyss.
Really, you
just said
that?

50. I thought my work was done but the boss
game me a new pack of matches.

51. But we’ll have to leave that mystery for
another presentation….

52. What game elements and
tools of engagement are used
in this presentation?

54. 1) Story/Genre
2) Audience Input
3) Questions
4) Mystery/Curiosity
5) Characters
6) Action
7) Feedback
8) Fantasy

55. The End

56. Credits:
Detective Artwork Courtesy of Vanessa Bailey
Typewriter is MS Clip Art

57. Let’s See All Elements in
An e-Learning Example
-Story
-Feedback
-Choices

58. Let’s Examine the
Elements of Engagement

59. Storytelling
Setting Up PollEverywhere
Power and Types of Feedback
Taking Notes on Powerpoint
Fantasy

60. Storytelling

61. 1. Characters
Stories Need
2. Plot (something has to happen).
3. Tension
4. Resolution
5. Conclusion

62. Researchers have found that the
human brain has a natural affinity for
narrative construction.
Yep, People tend to remember facts
more accurately if they encounter
them in a story rather than in a list.
And they rate legal arguments as more
convincing when built into narrative
tales rather than on legal precedent.
Carey, B. (2007) this is Your Life (and How You Tell it). The New York Times. Melanie Green
http://www.unc.edu/~mcgreen/research.html. Chapter 2 “The Gamification of Learning and
Instruction.

63. Speer, N. K., Reynolds, J. R., Swallow, K. M., & Zacks, J. M. (2009). Reading Stories Activates Neural
Representations of Visual and Motor Experiences.Psychological Science, 20(8), 989–999.
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02397.x
When a person reads about certain
activities in a story, the areas of the
brain associated with those activities
are activated.
The research found that different brain
regions track different aspects of a
story. If the character moved, the
corresponding region of the brain for
physical movement became active.

64. Become a Story Connoisseur—Observe how movie
makers, television directors, and novelists craft stories.
Ask to Hear Stories—When debriefing a person providing
information for a course, ask for stories illustrating key
points.
Ask Story Questions—Stories follow a structure, ask
structured questions around which stories are built.

65. Fantasy

66. Sales
Learning Benefits of Fantasy…
Cognitively a fantasy can help a learner apply old
knowledge to understand new things and help
them remember the content.
Emotionally, a person can connect with the experiences and
not bring with it “real-world” concerns or fears. It impacts
the Affective Domain.

67. Sales
Freedom to explore, fail and explore some more.

68. Feedback

70. Games like The Sims provide feedback on
many dimensions which provide
opportunities to consider tradeoffs and
higher level cognitive thinking.

71. The most helpful feedback provides specific
comments about errors and suggestions for
improvement. It also encourages learners to focus
their attention thoughtfully on the task rather than
on simply getting the right answer.
Shute, V. J., Ventura, M., Bauer, M. I., & Zapata-Rivera, D. (2009). Melding the power of serious games and
embedded assessment to monitor and foster learning: Flow and grow. In U. Ritterfeld, M. J. Cody, & P.
Vorderer (Eds.), Serious Games: Mechanisms and Effects. Philadelphia, PA: Routledge/LEA. 295-321.

74. Recommendations
• Provide authentic and realistic feedback.
• Feedback should be continuous through out
the learning.
• Feedback should be instructional and provide
knowledge of learner’s performance.

75. PollEverywhere

78. Write your question,
then press <Create>.

79. Choose type of
question, and then
write answers. We are
choosing “Multiple
Choice.”
Then press <Create>.

80. Choose response
options, rolling over
icons provide details
about what they do.

81. You can then test the
poll to see if it’s
working.

82. You can then download
your slide to
PowerPoint.

83. In Visual Settings, make sure
“Segment Responses” is
enabled.
Choose the first question for
Segmentation.

84. Each question is a “Poll”. You
can create a number of polls
and group them together for
reporting purposes.

85. Use a Segmentation Report
to determine “winning
team”.

86. Taking Notes on
PowerPoint
http://www.slideshare.net/kkapp/take-notes-right-on-a-powerpoint-slide

87. Questions…

88. Lynda.com Course: Gamification of Learning
YouTube Channel
Web Site:www.karlkapp.com
Books