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Learning content should be inspiring, if not utterly captivating. Ideally, it should be branded and look cool. And it needs to be engaging for the video gamer generation, without alienating more conventional learners. That’s a lot of boxes for modern learning experiences to tick.

Consequently, many companies and organisations are turning to map-based training. Even so, it’s a fairly new area, and the e-learning applications of maps may not be immediately obvious, despite the ubiquity of Google Maps.

That’s why we have put together this article. It explains the difference between 2D and 3D maps and illustrates the structure and advantages of 2D map-based training.

Arguably the most important difference between 2D and 3D maps is the browser performance required. 3D maps are rendered live in the browser, so they require more computing power and a very stable network or internet connection. The upside is that 3D maps allow dynamic perspectives: users can switch perspectives within the map.

A 2D map does not allow dynamic perspectives, but the viewer can create the impression of changing perspective by moving relative to the map. This 2D principle is employed in many strategy games, for example. The map is based on images in which it is not possible to change perspectives. The advantage is that fairly large story/learning worlds can be shown without requiring a lot of browser performance.

As with most learning experiences, it’s a good idea to start with an introduction. The introduction can appear or pop up on the map in the form of a chat window or a specially created page that briefly outlines the storyline and subject matter of the training session. It is advantageous here to explicitly tell the learner what the training task will involve, and what their objectives are. The benefit of showing an introduction directly on the map at the outset is that the learner does not need to leave the learning world and therefore does not lose focus.

It is vital that the main part of the session is self-explanatory. This means the map must be intuitive to use. A certain degree of in-map guidance can be achieved by unlocking individual tasks step by step. That way, learners intuitively know the correct task order, without having to be explicitly told. Crucially, this approach allows learners to discover the learning content for themselves, i.e., exploratively. The navigation leads via the 2D map to various locations that the learner can ‘visit’. An example would be where the map shows a building that the learner can click on and enter in order to progress to the next task or access a learning nugget.

In 2D maps, just as in other learning settings, it is important to clearly mark the conclusion of learning units and tasks so that learners know they have successfully completed the section in question or indeed the entire training session. There are many different ways of doing this. The key is to ensure the method chosen fits with the training session’s overall storyline. For example, you can use a list of checkpoints which is then displayed at the end with all tasks checked off. Or you can show a notification in the chat window.

Can a map-based training session also be short?

To retain the map’s explorative dimension while at the same time creating a training session that can be completed within a short space of time, you can reduce the amount of learning content, streamline the user experience, or confine exploration strictly to key locations on the map. The main thing is to maintain excitement while keeping the learning purposeful.

How gamified can a map-based training session be?

The primary focus must be on the learner experience, so the map should not contain any unnecessary actions or locations.

Surely map-based training sessions are very labour-intensive to produce?

Not necessarily. The total overhead can actually be relatively low, as the world created by a 2D map makes a relatively large contribution to creating an exciting learning experience. It is possible to reduce the design overhead that goes into learning nuggets/subpages by integrating them into a 2D map.

But isn’t that really expensive?

The 2D map format does not necessarily require more design work by our experts, so it is a very good alternative to 3D maps, even for limited budgets.

What are the other advantages over 3D maps?

Good performance, low overhead, faster page loading.

Falk Hegewald is confident that the upcoming big changes are here to stay – well beyond 2022. Many major corporations are driving the development of virtual reality and metaverse. Nike recently acquired a design studio that “produces” NFTs and virtual running shoes.

“The key driver for metaverse is to create a world where you can play. However, that world will also feature workspaces. We are already entering that world with virtual meeting rooms,” Hegewald explains. “At imc, we are taking that as an incentive to develop the 3D aspects of our content to gain a head start in the creation of such digital worlds and environments.”

This year will also see a strong focus on more engaging content that both motivates and captivates the learner. Not everything needs to be a game, Falk Hegewald claims: “You can also use novel engaging activities and formats. There is already demand for inspiring training, as companies have realised that they need to get more buy-in from their employees. As a premium content provider, we can deliver that.”

Adaptive learning will also be very relevant for content in the year ahead. In the past, the focus was on learning management systems featuring intelligent interfaces that facilitate appropriate distribution of training courses. Now, we are moving towards skill management through content. Falk Hegewald is confident that adaptive e-learning content will be in demand this year. “You rarely need everyone to learn everything. Employees with different levels of knowledge attend the same training course. Testing prior knowledge and leveraging suitable tools to assign content becomes a whole lot easier if the content is adaptive, too.”

Last year, Falk Hegewald was particularly excited about the "Cyber Crime Time"awareness game, which deals with IT security issues by letting the learner take on the role of a hacker. Step by step, they learn the most common cyber-attacks first hand. “This goes well beyond your typical off-the-shelf content, be that from us or from our competitors. We wanted to create something that gets the employees’ attention.”

Yet, that was only the first step: This year, Cyber Crime Time will be expanded to include additional training courses and learning nuggets – smaller learning units. “Our aim is to create an entire training world for IT security so Cyber Crime Time remains exciting for our customers,” Hegewald explains.

Falk Hegewald’s department also had their hands full designing custom content for corporate clients throughout 2021: They created a wide range of complex learning content, as well as complete digital learning journeys – covering everything from onboarding through corporate strategy to exciting sales training for customers like Jägermeister. “Generally speaking, many of our customers were more daring in their content design and presentation this past year. We love that trend and believe there is room for even bolder creative moves in the stories and the design,” says Hegewald.

Companies are forever looking to attract talents and retain them long-term. The right onboarding and employee development are playing an ever-greater role in this quest.

To feed into that ambition, it is important that professional development content is up-to-date and dynamic. Falk Hegewald explains: “Young talents joining the job market are used to a different pace, they use media in a totally different way. It can become very challenging for a company to keep them engaged.”

That is why a key aspect will be to make onboarding and professional development courses accessible on all devices, enabling the latest generation of employees to learn anytime and anywhere.

As Head of the Division, Falk Hegewald always gets excited when new colleagues bring fresh and interesting ideas, as is often the case when they join straight out of university. “This type of inspiration is vital. As a content department, we always need to keep an open mind for new ideas.”

Different companies have different requirements for their onboarding process. They might want to use modular and future-proof concepts, achieve cost and time savings compared to current approaches, or enable employees to start working sooner. Moreover, the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital onboarding as face-to-face training has not been possible. Despite the pandemic introducing more relaxed, remote working arrangements, hybrid work arrangements will become the norm; hence digital onboarding will become the tool to deliver a great first experience to new employees.

Yet, companies are not the only stakeholders – Employees have their own expectations of the onboarding process. This is why many HR managers are deciding on learner-centric onboarding that revolves around the needs of new employees:

“I want to know what makes my company tick,” – “I want to feel like I’m becoming part of the community,” – “I want to improve my skills.”

To achieve that, your onboarding needs a framework that provides guidance and an emotional connection while assessing the current state of knowledge and developing expertise.

This article explains how to design an exciting and creative digital onboarding process with new and existing e-learning content, even without a learning management system (LMS).

Our experts are always developing concepts suitable for a wide range of requirements. Get a head start with our “best of” compilation. Let’s imagine this situation: You want to digitise five days of basic training that has always been conducted on site. You are looking at a very diverse group of participants. The target group for this training extends beyond new colleagues, and also includes “old hands,” as well as some external service providers. They each have a different level of prior knowledge, different hardware, and different levels of access to a learning management system (LMS). Some might not have any access at all.

How do you satisfy them all? The solution is to design a structured framework for digital onboarding. Our experts recommend getting a head start with these 6 modules:

The virtual kick-off at the beginning of each training day serves to agree and discuss the agenda and objectives for the day together with the trainers. The focus should be on social onboarding, on promoting interaction between the participants. Our experts recommend a playful warm-up with surveys, icebreakers, or activation games aka energisers. Why not play a round of “I packed my bag” to get started? It is helpful to establish a meeting netiquette, specifying that cameras and microphones must be switched on.

In the self-learning phase, each learning format achieves a specific objective. For example, digital performance cards help employees gain knowledge with a certain focus, and then apply it in simulations as part of web-based training. Virtual scavenger hunts help them familiarise themselves with the company or the intranet. Companies can also integrate existing training courses or offer individually tailored or branded content. Variation between different e-learning formats has proven particularly effective.

Finally, the learner makes their personal entry in the learning diary. An easy way to integrate the diary is to design a page in the intranet, a document in the cloud or a form that mirrors the central starting point, and which each participant completes for themselves. This serves to summarise the core messages from the workshops or formulate the questions and tasks for the self-learning phase, as well as compiling key insights from the training courses. The personal learning diary thus becomes an individual reference resource participants can look things up in long after their onboarding.

Digital onboarding works. This approach can absolutely be appropriate while also saving resources. Nevertheless, some onboarding processes are easier to realise in a hybrid format. Of course, that does require new employees to travel to the location.

One example for a good hybrid solution would be to communicate theoretical content through online self-study, and then bring participants on site to carry out specific actions, such as operating machinery. The face-to-face part of the training can then be utilised for practical exercises and to clarify questions.

Similarly, a dual approach helps with understanding the corporate culture. For instance, companies might invite new employees for an intro day before their first day of work. Make the most of this day by asking colleagues to talk about how they realise the values, objectives, and mission of the company in their daily work. This meeting can also be leveraged to establish an emotional connection with new recruits and build enthusiasm for the company.

In our experts’ experience, it is not as clear-cut as one approach being universally better. Rather, it is about selecting suitable formats and linking them in a helpful way based on the new employees’ needs and the learning objectives.

... and suddenly, the training had to be scrapped. Many companies made that experience in lockdown number one. Employees needed to be trained, but the training was postponed due to Corona. Again. And again. However, most types of training simply cannot be endlessly postponed or even be cancelled altogether.

A pragmatic and swift solution is needed – training needs go where the employees are: their home office. For many companies, that means digitising learning content, and doing so quickly. They need rapid content development. This trend was already apparent before Corona, but the pandemic greatly increased the demand for the technologies that facilitate rapid content development.

This article explores what qualifies as rapid content development, what type of learning content is suitable for rapid digitisation, and what risks a strong focus on speed entails.

We want things now: fast food, coffee to go, messenger services, online shopping … we no longer have time. Companies have also clocked onto this trend, and want to stay up to date with their training courses. An ever-increasing amount of knowledge is expected to be available almost instantly on various media while maintaining a high quality standard and staying within budget.

The solution: rapid content development. But wait a minute! No matter how fast you go, the quality of the overall learning solution must not be compromised. That’s why learning experts like Eva Lettenbauer always look at the big picture.

Especially at the beginning of the pandemic, many companies were facing the challenge of having to digitalise their face-to-face training in a short space of time. However, directly transitioning classroom-based training courses to a virtual classroom or web session is not always effective, and it’s most certainly not efficient.

That is why we always examine the specific issues and objectives. This allows us to digitise specific learning content in a way that drives outcomes and boosts performance.

Since requirements differ as widely as the type of knowledge to be conveyed, digital solutions vary enormously. We start by analysing the sharable knowledge and the desired outcome. We also examine if the integration of certain existing learning solutions or curated content would add value, and examine the suitability of different learning infrastructures. Finding the right formats for the content at hand has to be a priority, as this then allows new content to be created quickly and systematically.

Scientists estimate that if we watched children for a whole day, we would see them play at least seven hours a day. There’s a good reason for that: Children learn from games. Playing improves their motor and cognitive skills and can boost their confidence and self-awareness.

This positive impact is not limited to children. Playing even enables adults to fully exploit their potentials. The brain is revved up to the max during a game.

Many large companies utilise this very fact in the professional development and qualification of their employees. We took a closer look at the most popular types of games, and summarised practical examples for potential applications.

Learning adventures:

A great tool for changing perspectives, helping to convey emotional content and sensitise participants for specific topics.

Learning adventures are based on the genre of point-&-click adventures. They focus on explorative learning and discovery, integrating storytelling – content is linked with an exciting story. imc applied this principle in the adventure game City of Goods created for Linde Materials Handling. During a virtual visit to the warehouse, participants need to discover, document and collect potential optimisations.

Simulation games:

A strong contender for learning practical skills. Knowledge is primarily transferred through interdependencies and the cause-effect principle. Simulations present a simplified picture of reality, which can be changed through the parameters or algorithms in the game code. This type of learning is particularly helpful for movement flows, dangerous actions or machine handling with high cost risks. Flight simulators used in pilot training [LINK to Lufthansa case study] are a well-known example.

Dear E-Learning Punk friends, one year of corona, one year without a holiday. Do you remember back when it was possible to travel the world with ease?

Cocktail in one hand, a good book in the other. Feet in the sand, sun on your face, looking at the roaring sea. That’s how many of us remember the perfect holiday. But there are many other ways to travel: From city breaks through backpacking tours to cruises, there’s something for everyone. The same applies to a learning journey.

What exactly do you need to pay attention to when planning, preparing and going on this journey? Over a nice cocktail, we asked travel guide and expert Eva Lettenbauer to offer some tips and hand you a checklist.

Am I going on to explore far-flung places, or do I return to the little finca at the edge of the fishing village in Mallorca? We often go into holiday mode as soon as we start planning our trip. But we do have to decide on the destination.

Similarly, we need to figure out what digital training is meant to achieve for the company. What corporate goals is the training geared towards? What performance goals are being pursued? What exactly do we want to bring across? Should the training focus on background knowledge? Practical application? Sharing experiences? The more clearly you can define where you want to go with this journey, the more effectively you can leverage the different learning formats.

Everyone goes at their own pace on holiday. One person might want to see all of Paris in a day, while the next person would rather watch the hustle and bustle while sitting in a street café in Montmartre. But in the end, both want to take a picture in front of the Eiffel tower.

Defining the goals – the destination – and the contents of a training course is crucial for the success of a learning journey, but so is taking account of the actual learners. They are the target group the learning offers need to be tailored to. If employee requirements are met, they learn more efficiently and learning success is achieved more effectively. Learners should be enabled to close their knowledge gaps to the best of their abilities and learn at their own pace.

Finally, the time has come! A quick check to see if last year’s bikini still fits and the sunscreen hasn’t hardened up. Now to the evening outfits – What can I wear when it gets cooler at night? Hang on. Does it even cool down in Bali?

Packing the right stuff for my destination is important. The same applies to training objectives: Each format is suitable for a range of contents and has its own advantages. Virtual classrooms are great for exchanging ideas, while web-based training helps participants to learn theoretical content at their own pace. By packing the right formats, you create a learning journey. This also opens up the opportunity to create small, digestible learning nuggets that are easy to integrate into day-to-day work.

Shoes, clothes, cosmetics, books and, of course, my sunglasses land in my suitcase.

For a learning journey that means the individual modules are defined. You might pack a virtual classroom, game-based learning, on-the-job challenges, social learning, quizzes and fill each with suitable content.

For imc customers, Eva Lettenbauer handles that part. She is a specialist for learning experience design at imc and turns contents into learning content. Above all, the learning journeys she thus creates motivate and aim to activate the learners.

“You want to capitalise on the strengths of each format and cater to different requirements and levels,” says Eva. “Depending on the level, advanced employees might even skip simpler topics. The better the modular system, the more flexible it is, allowing you to tailor it to the specific demands of each learner.”

Finally arrived and checked in. A quick look around the hotel, then I’ll see what I can reach on foot. Each journey has different stages. I need to get my bearings before I party in the best club in town with the locals without sticking out as a tourist. ¿Quién sabe? Maybe I even speak a few words of Spanish by the end of my trip?

The learning journey also goes through different stages. First, the learner needs to find their way around. A brief introduction helps to set the tone for the topic and motivate the learner. Then, the theoretical foundation is created as the necessary knowledge is gained. In the next step, the learned material is applied – on-the-job challenges, job aids, tests in quiz format and, of course, social learning can be leveraged to achieve this stage goal. Finally, it all has to be internalised to reach the end of the journey. From this point onwards, the learner can also act as a mentor and support others in their development.

The science fiction epic "Avatar" from 2009 is still considered the most successful 3D film of all time. "Titanic" director James Cameron immerses the viewer in a strange, magnificent world full of beauty and, at the same time, grave danger. While cinema-goers still had to wear 3D glasses for Avatar, it is now possible to get the same effect without them. Professional development content can also benefit from spatially compelling images. That's why the imc 3D Map content format is currently so popular with imc clients. What is 3D Map? We've taken a look at it.

Exploratory learning with 3D Map – it might look something like this in James Cameron's world: The learner opens a spatially dynamic map of Pandora's Earth-like yet alien lunar landscape. He can go to different regions of Pandora and zoom in to get acquainted with the life and culture of the natives. He meets the beautiful Nav'vi woman Neytiri, chats with her and supports her in the battle that will decide the fate of the planet and its inhabitants. What makes this learning scenario so special – apart from lots of fiction?

First of all, learning in this visually engaging environment is interactive. The learner can interact with objects and beings, such as the Nav'vi woman Neytiri, in the 3D world. As a guide or a kind of personal assistant, Neytiri assists the learner with tips and tricks. Moreover, learning becomes an exploratory process. In other words, there is very little that is pre-structured. The learner is free to decide where to navigate next. While actively exploring the virtual space, learners have to independently work out a solution to the problem to the extent possible – in this case, to save the planet. And they experience the consequences of their plan: Salvation or Pandora's downfall? Drama, baby, Drama!

Another concrete example for the use of the imc 3D Map is a virtual world called "Moto City".

I joined the imc newsroom team in 2021. As a journalist my heart beats for content and storytelling.

I’m excited to figure out how e-learing and digitization affect the future of work. My task is to create content to talk about and I’m always looking for trends.

Privately I love to travel and eat Tapas.

Topics: E-Learning Trends, Corporate Social Responsibility, Press and Influencer Relations, New Work

Even after more than 30 years, GIFs still enjoy great popularity, despite their somewhat dated appearance. The popular moving images are widely used, pixelated and limited colour spectrum notwithstanding, because they can be integrated almost anywhere and are easy to create and share. What’s more: Our digital communications, whether on Twitter, WhatsApp or Teams, would certainly be a lot less entertaining and descriptive without GIFs. Speechless? No problem! Joy, sadness, compassion, shame – no matter what feeling you want to convey, you can always find a GIF for it.

Social media is not the only place for GIFs. They can also make learning more vivid and entertaining. We have compiled the most important arguments for the use of GIFs in e-learning for you:

GIFs visually represent ideas and information in a few seconds
A GIF is easier to follow than a series of still images
GIFs usually run in a loop and are also perceived out of the corner of the eye
GIFs therefore do justice to the attention span of Generation Goldfish (<8 seconds)
Creating GIFs is much easier than creating high-end video content
GIFs play automatically on almost any system
GIFs trigger emotions. The stronger the emotion, the better the memory
GIFs are mobile-friendly and ideal for micro-learning

Our fifth Punky Talk is our 2020 Festive Season Special. As a one-off, it is dedicated to the e-learning basics rather than to trends. After all, countless lists of top trends for the coming year are popping up wherever you look. We would rather use the year-end to ask: What are the fundamentals companies need to have in place before they can focus their efforts on the latest digital professional development trends in 2021?

And who is better placed to answer this question than Sven R. Becker? Sven was appointed to the Management Board of imc in January 2019 after many years of service for the company. During his studies, Sven already worked intensively on e-learning and UX design. Having paid close attention to the developments in the industry for years, he noted: 2020 was not just the year of corona, but also the big moment for “digital literacy”. A digital mindset now exists pretty much everywhere. Consequently, the relevance of e-learning is no longer limited to large corporations and companies in heavily regulated industries.

Sven recommends that anyone seeking to venture into the digital professional development world in the new year take an iterative approach. The important thing now is to get started! When trying to decide whether or not a trend is useful for your company, Sven suggests taking a closer look at the target group.

Sven also talks about costs, grassroots movements and the impact e learning has on corporate success.

Enjoy watching!

Tips for Using 2D Maps in e-learning

The many advantages of putting learning content into a map structure

Differences between 2D and 3D maps

2D animation

The introduction: arriving on the map

The main narrative: read the map

GOOD TO KNOW

The conclusion: leave the map

Questions?

Rapid Content Development

Gamification takes corporate learning to a new level

Contact person

This year’s e-learning content trends

Interview with Falk Hegewald, Director E-Learning at imc

INFO

Now, we’re really getting started: 3D, VR and Metaverse

INFO

Engaging content and adaptive learning

Premium off-the-shelf content will be big next year

The war for talents goes into the next round

As Content Director, what are you looking forward to this year?

Gamification takes corporate learning to a new level

Awareness trainings are the key to success in the prevention of cyber attacks

Contact person

Six vital modules for every digital onboarding concept

A blueprint for efficient onboarding with lasting impact

An illustration of the key building blocks

My Digital Onboarding Kit – The modules in detail

GOOD TO KNOW

Digital vs hybrid onboarding

We linked a special treat for anyone interested in hybrid onboarding:

Digital Learning Journey

LMS Hot Topics: Science fiction or near future?

Contact person

Rapid Content Development: Creating E-Learning Trainings Quickly

Why fast creating digital trainings is possible but risky

INFO

Speedy please – but without quality loss

Hi Eva, thanks for “quickly” making time for us. How did you experience the rapid content development hype last year?

How do you handle requests for “rapid” content?

What risks does rapid content development involve, and how do you avoid them?

When would you recommend slowing down?

GOOD TO KNOW

What are the limits for content creation with authoring tools?

What would a worst-case scenario look like? How “not to” do it?

How about a quick summary? Happy to be at your service:

Digital Learning Journey

User-generated elearning content meets artificial intelligence

Contact person

Gamification takes corporate learning to a new level

Why game-based learning boosts motivation

Games motivate us to take the initiative to learn

The most popular types of game-based learning

A snapshot of the advantages of game-based learning

Go for Game-based Learning

Training soft skills with serious games

Contact person

Digital Learning Journey: I am packing my suitcase. What I take along...

The key items one should never forget on a digital learning journey

Planning a learning journey – What’s the destination?

Packing the suitcase – What are the essentials?

Let the journey begin

Checklist

Exploratory 3D Learning

Immersive Learning during the Crisis

Contact person

Exploratory 3D Learning

Spatial depth brings profound changes to the world of professional development

Digital 3D professional development

Maximum educational value x3

Application scenarios for 3D Learning x3

Onboarding

Product training

Security training

Contact person

E-Learning Punk

E-learning's not dead. It's time for

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