| TOOL OF THE MONTH |
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Make the most of game shows!
If you've ever tried it, you know -- teams can get a little competitive when playing learning reinforcement games. Usually, this is good. It means they care and are trying hard to impress you with all they've learned.
Unfortunately, this well-intentioned competition can be stressful for the ill-equipped facilitator.
If, for instance, you're playing a game that requires teams to race to answer a question first . . . but you can't tell whose hand went up first, the fun will quickly fade!
Instead, try using a buzzer system like Who's First, which allows teams to "buzz in" if they know an answer. It takes the guesswork out of facilitating the game and lets the trainer and participants focus on the content!
Price: $530.00
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| TIP OF THE MONTH |
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Use Props to Make it Memorable!
Pair a visual prop with your most important learning points. Learners may find it difficult to remember random facts and phrases. But, when they can tie a learning message to a memorable visual stimulus, recall will be much easier.
These 13" plush Sharks make wonderful props when introducing your group to the Fish! Philosophy, discussing ways to deal with competitive behavior, coping with difficult customers, and more. They also make great companions to our plush Fish.
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| TOY OF THE MONTH |
M-O-N-S-T-E-R
Invite teams to make up a name for their Monster and a learning mnemonic that goes with it.
For instance, a customer service group might call him S.P.O.T. to remember these key tenets of customer service: "Stay-in-touch," "Patience," "Organization," and "Trust."
The monsters are inexpensive enough that workshop participants can take them home as a reminder of important learning points. 48 monsters /set.
Price: $29.00
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LINK OF THE MONTH
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Great game resource
I happened upon this website called Wilderdom.com and found a whole host of games for icebreakers, warm-ups, energizers, team-building and more.
The company appears committed to outdoor learning and provides "gear for adventurous learning." Have a look!
http://wilderdom.com/games/
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| Feature: Why "Learnertainment" ® Works |
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by Lenn Millbower
One day, Lenn Millbower heard a group of his college students raving about the movie they saw over the weekend, Titanic. Indeed, these were the same students who couldn't stay awake for a 1-hour lecture, let alone 3 hours!
From that day on, he began looking for entertainment techniques that he could apply to the classroom. Each time he tried something, it worked--test and eval scores rose. And the more techniques he used, the more effective the learning became.
In his article, Why Learnertainment Works, Millbower shares the theory that resulted from his journey to become a "Learnertainer," focusing on a chain of reactions:
- Entertainment creates Emotion
- Emotion creates Attention
- Attention creates Meaning
- Meaning creates Memory
... And that's Learnertainment!
Click here for article
Lenn Millbower began his career as an entertainer. Later, he became a corporate trainer and quickly discovered that entertainment techniques also help people learn. Before long, he was designing training programs that produced amazing results for Disney University and others.
Millbower is author of several books including Show Biz Training, Cartoons for Trainers, and Training with a Beat. He has presented numerous workshops at IAL, ASCD, ISPI, SHRM and ASTD learning conferences. He is the President of Offbeat Training.
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