The vast majority of eLearning lacks something. Learners can become hopelessly lost, embroiled in a nuanced misunderstanding of the task at hand, and many other situations that show just how dumb our current crop of tools are. The choice between a “next” button to move on or some poorly thought out help pages are not really the answer.

We promise today’s learners an engaging, interesting learning experience free from the constrictions of paper-based or class-based learning and then promptly reveal the key weakness of this new medium to them. It’s anyone’s guess how their training will progress.

So then why artificial intelligence? It’s the subject of both hyperbole and opprobrium mixed with a nagging fear of Godzilla sized robots tearing up the parking lot. If you can get past the natural concerns about something new and uncertain it can provide an interesting solution to the missing link in current eLearning.

HAL: I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

Imagine a friendly coach watching your progress throughout a simulation. It’s always there. Whenever it senses you need help it offers that help in an understated way that gives the learner the choice of using it or continuing to try to succeed on their own.

For example in a simulation an A.I. coach can:

• Check if the learner is taking much longer than other students and offer help
• Warn if the chosen behavior is so counterproductive as to make the simulated problem likely unsolvable
• Track the learner’s route through a 3D environment and provide help to complete the task if the user’s path is being repeated more than x times
• Respond when asked for help with a video explanation of the goal of the next or remaining elements of the simulation
• Provide help based on natural language requests
• Encourage the learner with a statistical analysis of their performance compared with the average
• Provide a “debrief” about the optimal way to solve the simulation compared to their solution
• Recommend area for improvement

Coach – I don’t understand what’s next, can you help?

Before you say it, this is a lot of work for a course designer. However, it can be added incrementally as the simulation is run and behaviors observed.

The pay off is large. A much better experience for learners who are struggling. A fun and engaging additional element to simulations. The coach can have a personality, be funny or serious depending on the simulation.

If you agree eLearning is basically self-paced classroom training without the teacher, then this can be the next generation. By effectively putting a teacher/coach back into the learning experience.

Now that’s intelligent.

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It’s actually super simple and once you sort it out the value of the Unity platform increases significantly.

Our project started with the following requirements:

1. 1. Engaging graphics and environment
   2. Good feedback to the user throughout the module
   3. Emit progress data to xAPI and SCORM and Mysql
   4. Track user mistakes
   5. Provide video in the simulation as a help resource
   6. Allow for a rules-based coach system to react to learner actions
   7. Conduct assessments at the end of the simulation

The Unity platform is fantastically rich, but not designed for this kind of project unless you want it to chug along like a 1980’s pc.

After some experimentation we developed the following simple approach:

The really big deal here is that Unity gets a break and has to do very little work to emit the data. The off-board data manager is responsible for onward transmission and reformats the data for the target system or systems. It also broadcasts real-time information and passes data to an external rules engine that can detect situations that require intervention and then send a signal to Unity to react to the user.

Step through the slides and you can see some of the features. Most notably the last slide is what was appearing on a browser received from the pusher. Below is a brief video of the environment.

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You’ve picked a great partner to make your animation or video, but you aren’t done yet. To end up with a video that does the job you need it to do, and that represents you best, you need to stay involved in the project. How involved? Does it really matter if you take a hands-off approach or roll up your sleeves and do it all?

Don’t micromanage

You’ve done due diligence in your selection process: you’ve hired creative, capable professionals. So now, trust them. Don’t hamstring them by bringing specific expectations or images of what your video should look like. This is important from a number of perspectives.

• You have a budget, and most budgets don’t allow for an extravagant, ultimate production. The production team is expert at taking your message and translating it into affordable reality. They can’t do that if you insist on helicopters, earthquakes, or specific locations.
• Without in-depth experience and understanding of the technologies involved, you can’t judge the cost of an idea. Neither do you have the creativity to arrive at ingenious, low-cost solutions; that’s why you’ve hired your team.
• Today’s digital magic often allows for the creation of unexpectedly complex visual solutions at minimal cost. Rely on your production company to come up with ways of visualizing your concept that fit your budget.

Stay involved

Your production company should make it efficient and easy for you to stay aware of your project’s progress. The most effective way to do that is to use cloud-based tools software, so everyone concerned can easily stay up to date and comment on:

• Production development
• Budget
• Timeline
• Review

Any system that requires collation of comments by email, spreadsheet, or other technique is absolutely likely to lead to confusion.

You should expect to be presented with a range of focused unified tools designed to help you engage with your project and understand what’s happening.

So how involved should you be as your project comes to life? Three basic tips:

1. Don’t over think or plan your production before you start; stay open to the creativity of the people you’ve hired.
2. Stay aware of progress by using your production company’s project management tools software.
3. Participate in an efficient review and comment system.

For other insights, watch the vBook and download the eBook titled “Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Promotional Video Production Company.”

The post Three Tips on How to Create a Promotional Product Video or Animation Without Breaking the Bank appeared first on RCP Learning.

You’ve crunched the numbers and know what you can spend

James talks about the three questions to ask yourself before your next video or animation and goes blah, blah, blah on purpose.
You’re in the last stages of deciding who to hire. Maybe you’ve done this before, and have experience in working with a video production team; you might have a list of capabilities you know you want in the company you decide to to work with.

As you sit down for your final discussions with your top candidates, it’s important to assess whether these people understand your business and what you need. You don’t want to sink a lot of time and money into a product video that misses the mark because the production team didn’t listen well enough, or you feel you didn’t express your needs well enough!

They have to get the message before they can communicate it

You’ve done your research Production companies are similar to advertising agencies: they are a resource capable of delivering a creative solution to your communications needs that will engage, entertain, and inform your target audience.

You’ve vetted the company for the creative and technical skills need to produce your video; now it’s time to assess their business and communication skills.

Have you taken a class from an expert in a field, and been frustrated or disappointed because you didn’t learn much? Their knowledge and experience might have been impressive, but they lacked the teaching skill to transmit their wisdom so you could digest and retain it.

Similarly, you need a video production company that not only has the technical and creative chops to make you a great video, but also has business skills. These include the ability and willingness to learn about your field and understand your business’ unique needs and message, and to manage your project professionally, including meeting deadlines and budgets.

Consider who is listening to you

In short, are you talking to moviemakers or businesspeople? That isn’t to imply that technical and creative skills aren’t essential; they are. But those qualities are becoming ubiquitous. What you need are those skills combined with business skills. You need a company run by business people, just like your company is.

How much do they need to understand?

Every business owner knows the intricacies of their business. You know what is unique about your product or service, and only you know how you want that presented to the world.

Your production team doesn’t have to understand the nitty-gritty details of your operation, but they do need to learn (and want to understand) what you do, who your consumer is, and exactly what you need this video to do for your business.

As the team shows you or talks about projects they’ve completed successfully, you can listen or ask for an understanding of how they worked to learn about those businesses and represent them accurately and deeply.

Listen for indications that the production company is willing to invest time in learning about your business.

• Perhaps they are willing to take product training.
• Maybe they already have demonstrable experience in your field.
• Possibly they inquire about opportunities to sit down with you or your experts.
• Certainly they express interest and curiosity in your work.

The bottom line is that they are able to converse with your organization in in a way that demonstrates understanding and avoids costly factual errors and omissions.

The three questions to Ask Before Your Next Product Demo:

As you sit down with the company you’re ready to entrust with your video project, assess for these three questions.

1. Is the company run by business professionals as well as production specialists?
2. Are they willing to spend the time necessary to understand your service or product?
3. Do they have a track record working on projects that require an understanding of the business they’re working for?

Make a choice that brings you a true partner in bringing your message to the world.

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