Regain Engagement & Interactivity: New Tools for the Corporate Trainer

So you are a corporate trainer. You’ve done this for several years, and you thought that this thing was a wrap! But then came 2019! Now, you’re frustrated, as post-pandemic training has been extra tough! Learner engagement has gone to the dogs (thanks to the COVID-19-Zoom age). Well, it’s time to end your frustration! We’re here for you, zooming in (hope you like the pun) with some useful suggestions for how you can regain control over learner engagement for your corporate training.

Before we dive into the juicy stuff, we must give you some background information.

INTERACTIVITY AND ENGAGEMENT – WHY BOTHER?

We know that you know the importance of engaging your learners – after all, this is why you get your jobs. You also know that your service is high-stakes because organisations invest heavily in training to achieve and maintain competitive advantage. However, allow us to remind you of what the research says (we’re doing it so that you don’t have to!).

THE EVIDENCE

Firstly, let’s define your usual target learner. Corporate trainees fit into the category Rabourn et al. (2018)define as non-traditional learners. This term refers to learners “over the age of 24 or over the age of 21 at first entry”. Rabourn et al. (2018) tell us that these adult, non-traditional learners are self-directed, they have their own accumulated knowledge, which they can bring to the learning environment, they are more likely to be actively engaged, and they prefer learning that has immediate application Rabourn et al. (2018).

However, adult workplace learners experience different barriers to success than traditional classroom learners. Again, Rabourn et al. (2018) lend us some insight here:

• They have different time constraints from their various roles within and outside the workplace. (By the way, have you ever felt that you were competing against the organisational schedule when trying to deliver your training?);

• They have different anxieties – Some include learning new skills and technologies, especially when younger – more tech-savvy learners – share the same learning space. According to this article, the higher levels of intrinsic motivation in non-traditional learners do not necessarily translate into high levels of confidence in the learning setting;

Even though these restraints may exist, given the increasing demands of globalised economies and competitive business environments, there is an increasing demand for workers to refine, redefine and increase their skills at different points throughout their careers (Noe et al., 2010).

You – the corporate trainer – must now navigate the concerns and anxieties of your learners with their unique characteristics and potentials to create learning experiences that make the efforts successful and convince the learners and your stakeholders that the learning intervention was successful and worth the while (and every penny spent on it). This can only be done by ensuring your learners fully engage throughout your learning intervention.

Noe et al. (2010), quoting psychologist Khan, remind us that actively engaged learners demonstrate this physically, cognitively, and emotionally. Wang et al., (2022) remind us that based on operant conditioning theory, features like assigning points and badges can help to move learners towards the desired behaviour, while self-regulation theory would support the effectiveness of leaderboards in learning as they satisfy the trainees’ need for positive feedback.

This blog recommends incorporating carefully selected technology apps to achieve this level of engagement in your learning settings.

ENCOURAGEMENT AND CAUTIONS

If you’re considering educational technology (edtech) for your training, here are some of the benefits that you can look forward to:

1. You can achieve immediate application if you select tools that allow for role play or ones that simulate real-life situations;

2. Edtech tools can stimulate all the facets of learner engagement – physical, cognitive, emotional;

3. Edtech tools can aid with immediate transfer of learning as your learners can engage with them to practice or role-play their responses to real-life simulated scenarios.

Now, you ought to be cautious! Rushing in with all sorts of apps or new technologies does not guarantee automatic success, and here are some reasons why:

1. Tools must be relevant and appropriate – Liu et al. (2020) remind us that ed-tech tools such as game-based learning and gamification apps are practical tools to aid students in developing necessary skills and are a ‘means to an end’. Their effectiveness is dependent on the user (in this case, the educator). The principles that apply to any teaching aid apply here – the edtech tool needs to be appropriate, non-distracting, usable by the learners, and able to help to achieve or advance the learning goals;

2. You must know your tool - Rulyansah et al. (2023) have identified these responsibilities of the educator who dabbles in edtech: instructing, creating, guiding and assessing.

   1. Instructing – You must first learn the tool so that you can provide clear instructions to your trainees for usage and troubleshooting. Failing to do so can lead to a failure of your entire training effort;

   2. Creating – You must be able to create your training structure and content using the tool, and in some cases, even the tools may need to be created;

   3. Guiding – Be prepared to guide the use of the tool to help trainees stay on track. Remember that your guidance needs to be relevant to your non-traditional learners;

   4. Assessing – In many, if not all, cases, you would need to know how to assess whether learning has taken place using the chosen tool.

3. Count the cost – While there are a lot of free tools out there, free may not necessarily get you what you need. Augmented reality apps, for example, may be suitable for hands-on training. However, these tools seem to be more regularly accessed in developed countries than in developing countries (Martins et al., 2021). Undoubtedly, this is an issue of cost and affordability.

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THE JUICY STUFF

Background info – checked! Now, on to our top three recommended tools for enhancing learner engagement and interactivity for your corporate training. So that you know, we’ve broken our analysis down into these areas – Overview of the tool (includes advantages, challenges and cost), Technical need-to-knows (includes things like connectivity, integration and support), and Training design (addressing your set-up requirements).

Tool #1 – 3D Bear

Website: https://www.3dbear.io/

Overview: This app has many possibilities as it can create customized scenes and scenarios that utilise virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) learning experiences. Use it to create demonstrations for your training program or to allow trainees to practice what they have learned.

· Advantage - Customization is possible, thereby making applicability almost limitless

· Challenge – Learners can get distracted by irrelevant ideas and activities

· Cost: Free to try

Teacher plan ($99 per year)

One-to-One Classroom plan ($199 per year)

Library plan covers three teachers and 100 student devices.

Pricing for PD, School, and District plans - available by quote.

Technical Need-to-Know:

· Connectivity – App downloads to device; VR headset for VR designs

· Platforms – Android, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch

Training Design:

· Learners should have access to devices

· Audiovisual tools may be required for sound and mass display

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Tool #2 - Padlet

Website: https://padlet.com/

Overview: A digital bulletin board that can be used in any learning environment to create collaborative boards. Use it to engage your learners by having them post ideas, questions, or multimedia content.

· Advantage – Customizable boards and collaborative allowance

· Challenge – Limited video length allowance

· Cost: Individual: Free and paid plans Team: $14.99 per user per month, $149.99 per user per year School: Starting at $1000 per year

Technical Need-to-Know:

· Connectivity – Integrates with major Learning Management platforms such as Moodle, EduFlow, BrightSpace

· Platforms – Mac and Windows

Training Design:

· Learners should have access to devices

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Tool #3 – Mentimeter

Website: https://www.mentimeter.com/

Overview: A web-based interactive presentation platform that facilitates learner engagement through polls, quizzes, and surveys.

· Advantage – Customizable applications; easy to use

· Challenge – Limited integration with other tools

· Cost: Free plan - Free

Basic - $11.99

Pro - $24.99

Custom for Enterprises – contact sales for pricing

Technical Need-to-Know:

· Connectivity – Browser and mobile access; Internet connectivity is required

· Platforms – Mac and Windows

Training Design:

· Learners should have access to devices

· Projector for display, if necessary

A bonus demonstration: Click here or scan the QR code below to use Mentimeter to describe your experience completing this assignment.

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CONCLUSION

We hope these suggested tools convince you that post-pandemic engagement and interactivity are possible in our post-pandemic world. As a matter of fact, we suggest that you act urgently to familiarize yourself with these three or any other that match your needs, as learner engagement is at stake.

As you process the tools for your new toolbox, remember that any edtech app is a mere tool “to facilitate learning or as a means to formative assessment” (Scherer et al., 2019) and has to be properly implemented and integrated into the learning environment to support or enhance the learning process effectively (Peng et al., 2023).

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References:

Liu, Z.-Y., Shaikh, Z. A., & Gazizova, F. (2020). Using the concept of game-based learning in Education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET), 15(14), 53. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v15i14.14675

Martins, B. R., Jorge, J. A., & Zorzal, E. R. (2021). Towards augmented reality for corporate training. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(4), 2305–2323. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2021.1879872

Noe, R. A., Tews, M. J., & McConnell Dachner, A. (2010). Learner engagement: a new perspective for enhancing our understanding of learner motivation and Workplace Learning. Academy of Management Annals, 4(1), 279–315. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2010.493286

Peng, R., Abdul Razak, R., & Hajar Halili, S. (2023). Factors influencing in-service teachers’ Technology Integration Model: Innovative Strategies for Educational Technology. PLOS ONE, 18(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286112

Rabourn, K. E., BrckaLorenz, A., & Shoup, R. (2018). Reimagining student engagement: How nontraditional adult learners engage in traditional postsecondary environments. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 66(1), 22–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2018.1415635

Rulyansah, A., Ghufron, S., Nafiah, Akhwani, & Mariati, P. (2023). Competencies of teachers in game-based pedagogy. Pegem Journal of Education and Instruction, 13(02). https://doi.org/10.47750/pegegog.13.02.39

Scherer, R., Siddiq, F., & Tondeur, J. (2019). The technology acceptance model (TAM): A meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach to explaining teachers’ adoption of digital technology in Education. Computers & Education, 128, 13–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.09.009

Wang, Y.-F., Hsu, Y.-F., & Fang, K. (2022). The key elements of gamification in corporate training – The delphi method. Entertainment Computing, 40, 100463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2021.100463