A Video-Based Immersive E-Learning Course – A Perfect Client Solution

Giving Learners What They Need so You Get the Business Results You Want

At Artisan E-Learning, we pride ourselves in being able to create YOUR perfect e-learning solution, and that solution is different client-by-client and even project-by-project. From microlearning to gamification and even video-based simulations, our goal is to give learners what they need so you get the business results you want. Our development process includes careful consideration of your learners, your goals, your culture, and more, and is best illustrated through the following story about an award-winning course we developed on a very serious subject – encountering an active shooter. This video-based immersive e-learning course was voted on by industry peers and experts and won the Best Immersive/Simulation Solution award at The Learning Guild’s 2018 Learning Solutions DemoFest. It also won Best in Show as part of Training Magazine’s 2018 Online Learning Conference Test Kitchen.

A Course for Encountering an Active Shooter

When one of our clients requested a course for encountering an active shooter, we took on the important topic with gravitas. Not only was it a tough scenario, but the project parameters added multiple challenges. The course could not depict violence, guns, or blood. Further, we understood that the learner may never apply the information; and if there was an application, it could occur months to years after the learner completed the course. The application would put the learner in a highly-stressed state.

With this active shooter course, our team knew that we were not trying to creating a habit; instead, we needed to create a memory. Additionally, we needed the learner to be in an intense, urgent, and emotional situation, all markers of what moves an experience from short-term to long-term memory.

When you retrieve a memory in your mind, you often see it playing out, much like a movie. We wanted to create that movie-memory but didn’t have a blockbuster budget to do it. Even so, we were able to build a video-based immersive e-learning course that put the learner in a first-person situation.

Creating a Movie-Like Experience Without the Blockbuster Budget

Our team focused on what it would take to create that long-term memory and thought about a current-day response to almost any situation: grab your cell phone and start recording. This response became the foundation for building an immersive course. Using inexpensive equipment, hired actors, and a focus on the first-person experience, the course came to life.

It begins with the learner in the break room at work. While the instinct is to show the active shooter, it’s not how these situations typically unfold. Usually, you hear a noise or hear others yelling about the situation. We wanted to begin the course in the same way. As the learner, you hear a noise, you pick up your phone and begin capturing what unfolds.

Since we wanted the video to be true to life, we intentionally chose to create footage that felt a little shaky, much like typical cell phone footage you see in high-stress situations. The video footage was taken with an iPhone using a specialty app. We used an iPad to view the video as we were filming, another iPad as our scene clapper, simple umbrella lighting, and an auxiliary audio recording device. These inexpensive, but effective pieces of equipment allowed us to stay within our budget while maintaining high-quality realism to create a memorable simulation.

Making Choices and Making Memories

Throughout the course, the learner makes choices based on his reaction to the situation unfolding. While the experience and emotional response were important, so was building on the learner’s choices as he received more information. We replayed scenes for the learner with additional tips for reacting properly to the situation. We chose not to narrate the course, because in real life, you wouldn’t have someone saying, “You are in an active shooter situation. Will you run or hide?” We wanted the course to replicate anything the learner might do in a real situation.

Since each active shooter situation is unique, we presented the learner with different versions of the scenario but used the same techniques. The learner makes choices, replays scenes, and receives the main instructions repetitively, all in the spirit of moving the information into their long-term memory bank.  

There was one concern though: would the learner be able to apply the information at any time, anywhere? Towards the end of the course, the learner must pause and look at her current environment. Then, she evaluates her immediate surroundings and determines where to run, where to hide, and what she could use to fight. By forcing learners to picture themselves in the situation through video-based immersive e-learning, we increase the likelihood of building and retaining this “memory.”

It’s What We Do

This course presented a unique challenge in many aspects, from the topic, to the parameters, to the tools we used to create it, but that’s all part of what we do. At Artisan E-Learning, through our proven process, we take the time to dig into the details to craft the right solution, and this course gave us the chance to do that. Ultimately, our client’s goal was to save lives, and we hope our team has contributed to the future safety of their employees, should such a situation ever occur.

Are you ready for your perfect e-learning solution?