Renaissance eLearning: Creating Dramatic and Unconventional Learning Experiences (Hardcover)

by Samantha Chapnick (Author), Jimm Meloy (Author) "RENAISSANCE eLEARNING is an alternative toolbox for people seeking additional ways to develop themselves and others..." (more)
Key Phrases: learndirect scotland, competitive intelligence skills, white headphones, New York, Creative Learning, Root Learning (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The same people who brought you the most widely used guide to preparing for eLearning are bringing passion back to your learning and training programs. The authors culled through over 400 eLearning programs, hundreds of popular entertainment pieces, and interviews with over 100 people in widely disparate areas to answer a simple question: What will make eLearning have as much impact as popular culture? Renaissance eLearning is the answer. It has everything you need to infuse eLearning with the same magnetism and addictive powers of the typical video game, song, movie, or other form of entertainment. With this book you’ll learn:

• How to make emotion and passion as important to eLearning as cognition and intellect
• How (and why!) to empower learners to take charge of their own experience
• How to get buy-in from stakeholders for alternative and higher return on investment programs
• How to apply the same principles and techniques (including narrative and visual design) used by masters over the centuries to grab attention, foster learning, and have a lasting impact on participants
• How to get the research and information you need without relying on self-proclaimed gurus and exorbitantly priced analysts
• How to find and work with the affordable creative talent needed to make your plans a reality

From the Inside Flap
What if your eLearning programs were as addictive as video games? Generated as much buzz as the latest Hollywood hit? Anticipated as eagerly as a pop star's new release?

Let's face it, eLearning just isn't sexy anymore. Once the novelty wore off, even the most ingenious lingerie or gimmicks couldn't fool your participants. Attendance lagged, support was harder to get, and making it just wasn't much fun.

Now there's a book to change all that. The same people who brought you the most widely used guide to preparing for eLearning are bringing passion back to your learning and training programs. The authors culled over 400 eLearning programs, hundreds of popular entertainment pieces, and interviews with over 100 people in widely disparate areas to answer a simple question: What will make eLearning have as much impact as popular culture?

Renaissance eLearning is the answer. It has everything you need to infuse eLearning with the same magnetism and addictive powers of the typical video game, song, movie, or other form of entertainment.

With this book you'll learn:

• How to make emotion and passion as important to eLearning as cognition and intellect
• How (and why!) to empower learners to take charge of their own experience
• How to get buy-in from stakeholders for alternative and higher return on investment programs
• How to apply the same principles and techniques (including narrative and visual design) used by masters over the centuries to grab attention, foster learning, and have a lasting impact on participants
• How to get the research and information you need without relying on self-proclaimed gurus and exorbitantly priced analysts
• How to find and work with the affordable, creative talent needed to make your plans a reality

After reading this book, anyone—from a new sales manager to a seasoned eLearning professional—will be able to create a learning program that will receive unprecedented praise from participants and the people who want to see tangible performance improvement.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pfeiffer; 1 edition (January 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787971472
• ISBN-13: 978-0787971472
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #821,264 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, some fresh air and fresh ideas!, February 2, 2005

By	eLearning Associates Inc "Steve Armando" (California) - See all my reviews

Most elearning books, training books for that matter, seem to reiterate the same stale advice. The guidance is very useful the first few times you hear it. Once its repeated with slight modification the 15th time it just makes me wonder why anyone pays to hear it.

Not so with this refreshing book. Where else do you hear authors who encourage you to question them and their advice? This is the strongest point in the book, noted especially in the chapter on Reflective Thinking.

The writers urge readers to adopt a new paradigm, one in which learning can really happen, reflective inquiry. They tell us to view every solution, every piece of advice, every institution through the questioning eyes.

Do not, they say, simply take it as a given that something has to be a certain way because it has always been that way. Dare to question it, dare to re-evaluate if it still works. In other words, dare to "find your own path" instead of adopting anothers.

Far from being some namby-pamby self-help guide, this theme is communicated through very tangible advice that is rarely seen in the elearning world. Everything from a chapter on the need to understand we are in a new economy ("The Creative Economy") to the basics of using drama to capture attention and drive long lasting learning to doing down n' dirty realistic research to get the job done fast.

This is a refreshing new spin on problem solving, which is what elearning is really doing. In contrast to other authors who say "Think outside the box to find new solutions to established problems" they say, find new problems! A great example is cited as the man who created post it notes, as we all know. The glue for post-it notes was created at least 10 years before its use. The problem at that point was how to create a strong glue. It was only when another man came up with an entirely different problem, how to have glue so non-sticky it was removable, that post it notes came to be.

I could talk for longer about the rest of the high quality and novel content but I think I have covered one of the biggest assets of this book and the reason why everyone, yes everyone should own it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on Training for ALL readers, February 6, 2005

By	Director Sales, Motorola "Todd" - See all my reviews

I'm a sales manager who needs to do some training not an HR guy. If I had a dime for every book I have ordered, read or borrowed and then thrown out, I'd be rich!

Most of them are either too boring or too philisophical or too academic and they all seem to be written for the training professional in the same unrealistic way.

This book cuts right to the chase and just gives me the practical tangible stuff I need right now. There's no lecturing or tons of background theory. My people appreciate it too. After reading a few chapters I passed it along to the busiest guy who never has time for training and always makes a reason not to go--or grumbles terribly when he finally is forced to attend.

His response: "If a trainer actually made something to fit what they tell him to do I would love it! I'd even promise to go willingly!"

I passed it along to our training manager and can't wait to see the results.