in this issue
	Instructional Design Teleclasses Creativity Thread Interactive Elearning What Kind of Person Are You? Scrap Booking Review

Creativity Thread

Here's an idea that you incorporate throughout a workshop to get people thinking more creatively. It works for traditional classroom training and elearning. Collect a bunch of logic puzzles and "trick" questions. Periodically during class (before each break, when energy is low, at the end of the day, etc.), announce that it's "Puzzle Time," and pose the questions/puzzles to the group. Track how quickly they answer and/or how many people are able to answer the questions correctly. As you go through the workshop, they should be expanding the way they consider the puzzles and, as a result, solving them more successfully. You may be wondering what kinds of puzzles and questions I'm talking about. Here are some examples: What kind of water never freezes? (Hot water) I have two coins that total 15 cents. One of them is not a nickel. What are they? (A dime and a nickel - only one isn't a nickel, the other one is.) Seven months of the year have 31 days. How many have 28? (all of them) These examples are quick and require you to think differently about a problem. They are also fun for most people. You can find these types of puzzles in books and online. One site with fun questions is www.coolquiz.com. Two books I've found with both simple questions and tougher logic puzzles are Puzzle Chest (by Harris & Christin, Main Street Press, 2003) and Colorful Lateral Thinking Puzzles (by Sloan & McHale, Sterling Publishing, 2003). There are tons more - check out the puzzle section of your local bookstore. Use this approach to thread the creativity mindset throughout an entire training session. Periodically ask the group to analyze how they are approaching the problems/questions. What are they doing differently later in the training that they may not have done so easily in the beginning? What problems do they face at work that might be easier to solve if they changed their thinking?

Interactive Elearning

A subscriber recently asked that we share more ideas for elearning activities. This one's for you elearning developers (although it works for traditional training as well). Let's assume that training includes voice capabilities for the trainer and participants. Before training, send out a short survey to learn about each participant. Ask about their backgrounds with the company, training content, and/or the industry. Keep the survey short enough to be completed in less than 10 minutes. Analyze your training plan and identify specific questions you will ask to stimulate discussion. Be sure you have discussion points at least every 10 minutes (every 5 minutes is even better). Before training, identify to whom you will direct each question. (You may want to choose 2 people for each question, one as a backup.) Make your selection based on their survey responses. For example, in a workshop on instructional design, I might direct a question about adapting classroom activities to elearning to someone with experience in elearning. Consider these suggestions for asking the actual question. Say the person's name before you ask the question. ("Mary, what skill do you think is most important in this case?") That way they are sure to hear the entire question. Also, if you have a reason for directing a question to a particular person, say so: "Ian, you've been a manager for a while. What's one thing you wish you had known in the beginning." You might want to keep a log to track when someone responds. I use a roster and make a check mark next to a person's name each time they speak. That helps me recognize who's not involved so that I can call on them when the opportunity arises. Using questions during elearning is critical to keep people involved and engaged. Make your questions insightful, thought provoking, and targeted. Allow time for people to consider the question before they respond. And give them the option to pass if they don't have something they wish to share. (By the way, this activity and related tips work for traditional training and elearning.)

What Kind of Person Are You?

Here's an exercise to get participants thinking about how they express themselves. It's built on an exercise I read in Why Reinvent the Wheel, by Matthew Wood and Simone Ireland. Divide the class into two groups. Name one of the group Optimists and the other Pessimists. Have them form two lines, with each optimist facing a pessimist. Instruct each person to write down 3 statements they could make. Optimists should write down 3 positive statements (Indian food is delicious) and Pessimists should write down 3 negative statements (Most people don't eat a healthy diet). Begin with the Optimists. Instruct them to make one of their positive statements, and have the Pessimists respond with a negative statement. The negative statement should be in response to the statement of the Optimist (Yes, but it is much too spicy for most people's taste). Have the Optimists complete all three of their statements, getting responses each time. Then reverse roles and have the Pessimists make their three statements while the Optimist gives a positive response. (And isn't it great when you see someone successfully make that change!). Debrief by asking questions like: How comfortable were you making the kind of statements you had to make? What was your impression of your partner as they played their role? Did anyone have a partner who really didn't fit the role they were assigned? (Someone who is usually a pessimist had to make optimistic statements, for example.) Can you think of people who are either Optimists or Pessimists? How do you relate to them? Which type of response are you most likely to make? How does that reflect your outlook on things (work, life, managing, etc.)? Did this activity give you any insight into how you might be perceived at work?

Scrap Booking Review

This is a fun way to end a training session and get people's creative juices flowing. You will need some materials for scrapbooking, which can be bought at most craft shops. Purchase scrapbook paper (10x10 sheets), tape, stickers, ribbon, scissors, glue stick, and whatever else strikes your fancy. If possible, take instant photos throughout the training and have them available as well. Just before the last break, explain that they will have an opportunity to recap training in a final exercise. They will work with a team (3-4 people each) to create a scrapbook page to summarize or reinforce a key learning point from training. (You can assign specific concepts to teams or let the teams decide the topic.) Their page should include both words and images, and should be self-explanatory (people should be able to grasp the content without any help). You may want to have an example from an unrelated class (on another topic). Suggest that they be thinking about the page they will create during the break, and have materials on display during the break. After the break, continue with any remaining content and activities. Then put them into teams to create the scrapbook pages. Allow 15 minutes. Post pages on the wall or flip charts and have the group stroll the room to admire the work of other teams. What a great way to visually capture training content. You can keep the pages and create a course scrapbook, scan them and post them online, or use them as ideas for changing the visual look of your training materials. Remember, some of the best training ideas come from your participants.