Gamification Stuff we love: The Gronstedt Group

Gamification Stuff we love: The Gronstedt Group

Yesterday I had the chance to speak with Anders Gronstedt, the founder of The Gronstedt Group Inc based in Colorado in the USA. We shared out interest in 2nd live and 3D-simulations for learning purposes as well as the exciting future of fully immersive solutions for learning, which we both believe Oculus Rift will bring to the market. Immersive learning is how we have learnt since early childhood by experiencing real time feedback on our actions, currently only a few companies have dared to step into this realm, but we both feel it will be powerful for learning.

The Gronstedt group has from the early days of Second Life embraced 3D environments and designs and develops really engaging learning programs which combine transmedia story telling, missions, knowledge testing, simulations and job role play all typically set in an online environment. To be honest although the investment from a corporations perspective is higher, the results and retention also tend to be multiplied.

Here is an example of an interactive sales training Gronstedt group developed for the Avaya sales teams.

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I love the use of missions in a video format, which takes learners through key stages of a sales interaction with their client and prospective clients. Learners have to assist the protagonist in the video through choosing options based on information provided, which you would expect sales people to research like for example company reports, news and pr about their prospect. The choices are then relayed back through an earpiece to the sales person in the video who will implement it accordingly. The client will react and the learner will be fully part in the way the story unfolds. Picking correct choices will earn instant badges and over time the learner will accumulate points which will be part of his overal leaderboard score.

The training is structured in quests and will build in level of difficulty based on the previous levels achieved by the learner. Each quest becomes harder when you do well and reflects real life challenges, it is adapted to your level of learning, which encourages the ‘flow’ feeling which happens when you are working right on target between skills level and challenge level. The training leads to certification and also resulted in a cost saving of class room and traditional training for Avaya. The game elements used ranged  from experience points, badges, levels, quests, goals, achievement rewards, time pressure to leaderboards.

In another project Gronstedt Group worked on changing the culture for Kimberley Clark across 20,000 employees worldwide. They combined all kinds of online media such as television-style video dramatizations, podcasts, scribe videos, QR codes, blogs, eLearning, and more into a transmedia story. The big plot is explained in a video drama series called the ‘iTent’ with the purpose of encouraging and stimulating performance and productivity by managing diverse teams in an inclusive manner. The story is depicted in a ‘mockumentary’ style, which if you have seen “The Office”, you will recognise.

Adults learn better and I would say children too, when the material is engaging and presented with a clear storyline, so they can contextualise it immediately. If you want to read up  on the second example, by all means read Anders take on the project with some great tips on how to use stories for learning as an added bonus in the ATD magazine.